Steamboat Springs — Shea Hurley is full of surprises.

For instance, former Steamboat Springs head football coach Mark Drake remembers Hurley catching the D'Evelyn defense off guard in Steamboat's 2003 playoff run to the state semifinals. In what Drake called a "turning-point play," Hurley ran a screen pass in for a touchdown to put the Sailors ahead, 10-0, against the previously undefeated team. Hurley went on to earn first-team All-League honors as a running back and linebacker. He graduated in 2004.

Last week, Hurley's surprise was on a pair of his former teammates.

Hurley, a specialist in the 1041st Engineer Company of the Wyoming Army National Guard, returned unannounced - except to his parents - from Iraq for a two-week visit.

"Shea's father called and asked me to come over to his house to help him move some furniture," said Charlie Pappas, a 2005 Steamboat graduate who was lured to the Hurley residence along with Dave Gittleson, another close friend from the football squad. "He said, 'The furniture's in that room,' and we go in and Shea's just sitting there laughing at us. It shocked us. I wouldn't have expected to see him in a year."

"They looked dumbfounded," Hurley said.

For his part, Hurley said he's enjoying the open schedule of his visit and the opportunity to hang out with his longtime friends. He also likes all the dinners that other people are buying for him.

Being in Steamboat is a far cry from staying in the Middle East, where Hurley has been since Sept. 26, when his unit touched down in Kuwait. The unit then moved to FOB Speicher, a base near the city of Tikrit in northern Iraq. His company's primary responsibility is to provide escort security for large supply convoys.

Hurley said encountering IEDs, or improvised explosive devices, is a constant concern for the convoys. And he knows the work is dangerous. His bunkmate was injured in an explosion just before this leave.

But Hurley said he sees the progress occurring in Iraq, and he thinks the media fail to capture the constructive elements of the work being done in the country. He also feels positive about the overall experience.

"The entire deployment has been life-changing," he said. "You're thrown into this 24-7, and it's made me look at the important places and people in my life."

Those people include his closest friends here in Steamboat. Hurley and his buddies have "grown up together and known each other since we were in diapers," he said.

"They're what keeps me going - them and my family" Hurley said, noting the constant e-mail banter he exchanges with friends, family and coach Drake. "Hearing their jokes and remarks, it brings a smile to my face when things get hectic and stressful."