Soldier surprises daughter at school

BENTON, Wis. (CNN/WKOW) - A day at school brings an emotional reunion for a 7-year-old in Wisconsin.

Emma Zinkle hadn't seen her father in almost a year when he surprised her at school on Thursday.

First Lieutenant infantry officer Ryan Zinkle left for Kuwait with the Army National Guard last July. The two talked to each other as often as possible, but the time change didn't make that easy.

Lieutenant Zinkle got back to the United States two weeks ago, but it wasn't until Wednesday that he knew he'd get a chance to see his daughter the next day.

Lieutenant Zinkle says this was the longest amount of time a deployment has kept him away from his daughter.

He doesn't know of any scheduled deployments in the future.