FAMILY, FRIENDS TO WELCOME 8TH AIRLIFT SQUADRON HOME
Date March 3, 2009 at 12:55 pm | Topic: Local News
| MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. - More than 120 Airmen from McChord's 8th Airlift Squadron will be greeted by family and friends here early Thursday morning after a 120-day deployment in support of Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom.
The 8th AS Airmen were deployed as the 817th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, and Manas Air Base, Kyrgyzstan.
The squadron flew more than 1,200 missions transporting more than 130,000 passengers and more than 40,000 short tons of cargo to sustain U.S. military forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. They also transported 16 critical patients from theater to advanced medical care in Germany on five separate emergency aeromedical evacuation missions.
The McChord-based Airmen also flew 13 combat airdrop missions delivering more than 400 bundles of resupply material to 23 remote forward operating bases in Afghanistan. The combat airdrop missions aided in improving force protection by eliminating some resupply convoys to forward locations.
"While we are extremely proud of our deployed accomplishments, we would be remiss if we did not recognize and thank our families for the tremendous job they did on the home front," said Lt. Col. Albert G. Miller, 8th AS commander. "They managed all the issues back home so we could focus on our deployed mission. We are all looking forward to a long awaited and greatly anticipated reunion with our families and friends."
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