Squatters ruin Hutto soldier's home

HUTTO, Texas (KXAN) - The life of a military family can be hard sometimes -- between constantly moving, making new friends and making kids switch schools.

Dustin Vinyard has been a drill sergeant in Oklahoma for the past two years, and before that he was deployed to Afghanistan.

Dustin recently received orders to Fort Hood, giving him and his family the chance to move back into their Hutto home they had left a few years ago.

A few weeks before the family was set to move back into their home, the family was devastated to find out squatters had taken over the home where Dustin and his wife Kerlina Vinyard welcomed their first child.

"It was kind of a stab in the back because I was defending people who did this to my house," said Dustin.

"The fact that it was happening to us while my husband was in Afghanistan, I was very angry," said Kerlina.

But help was not far behind.

Team Rubicon , a disaster organization made up of veterans, caught wind of what happened and wasted no time putting a team together to help.

"There was literally holes in every single panel that had to be patched or replaced," said Steven Kling, of Team Rubicon.

More then 40 volunteers showed up this past weekend to put their hands and hearts into helping the Vinyard family get their home back.

"This is an opportunity for veterans to give back and continue to serve their communities during a disaster, " said Kling.

Some $5,000 worth of material was donated, in large part by Home Depot.

Even though there is still work to be done, the Vinyard family said the team has restored something the family thought they would never get back.

"It restored my faith in what I do and this country because there are people out there willing to help," said Dustin.

For more information on Team Rubicon visit its website Team Rubicon.