Air Force to send 300 airmen home from Iraq, Afghanistan

[Judi Lynn]

Posted 9/3/2005 5:49 AM Updated 9/3/2005 8:30 AM

Air Force to send 300 airmen home from Iraq, Afghanistan

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. Air Force will send 300 airmen home from Iraq and Afghanistan to help their families cope with emergencies on a hurricane-devastated airbase in Biloxi, Miss., a spokesman said Saturday.

The airmen, all based at Keesler Air Force Base, would begin flying home over the next two weeks, said Air Force Capt. David Small, spokesman for U.S. Central Command Air Forces in Qatar.

The group includes airmen who were scheduled to rotate home in September and others whose deployments would be cut short.

"Those who weren't scheduled to go home, we're going to send them home anyway to take care of their families and the hurricane damage," Small said.
(snip/...)

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-09-03-katrina-iraq_x.htm?POE=NEWISVA

[CanOfWhoopAss]

1. What about La National Guard troops and troop moral?

Guess they have to stay in Iraq. Probably don't know about the hurricane to keep up moral.

[rodeodance]

2. good PR move by the military

[sabra]

3. 300 US airmen bound from Iraq, Afghan to Louisiana

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N03447006.htm

300 US airmen bound from Iraq, Afghan to Louisiana

WASHINGTON, Sept 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. military will send home from Iraq and Afghanistan more than 300 Air Force airmen based at an installation in Mississippi battered by Hurricane Katrina to allow them to assist their families, officials said on Saturday.

The airmen, both active-duty airmen and reservists, will end their deployments early and return to Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, to help their families and aid in base recovery in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Air Force said in a statement released in Qatar. They will not be participating in the broader relief effort in the region, officials said.

In addition, nearly 100 airmen due to deploy from Keesler to Iraq and Afghanistan will remain at the base, with their positions overseas filled by others in the Air Force not affected by the hurricane, the Air Force said.

"We're robust enough (in manpower) that this wouldn't upset anything. But it's the right thing to do to bring them back," said Lt. Col. Patrick Barnes, an Air Force spokesman at the Pentagon. Barnes said there were roughly 20,000 Air Force personnel in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere in the U.S. Central Command region.

[MadAsHellNewYorker]

4. oh, so only 300 service men are from the gulf coast!

:sarcasm:

[MaineDem]

5. They're going to Keesler in Mississippi, not Louisiana I think (nt)

[StellaBlue]

6. No surprise

I've been thinking over the past couple of days that perhaps the reason it's taken so long to get troops there is because they really ARE coming from Iraq. But of course the administration could never admit this.

Impeach NOW!

[Up2Late]

7. CORRECTED-300 US airmen bound from Iraq, Afghan to Mississippi (Reuters)

(How much you want to bet that these are mostly Helicopter pilots? Hey, thanks for the bone Rummy.)

CORRECTED-300 US airmen bound from Iraq, Afghan to Mississippi

Sat Sep 3, 2005 12:02 PM ET

In WASHINGTON story headlined "300 US airmen bound from Iraq, Afghan to Louisiana," please read in headline ... Mississippi ... instead of ... Louisiana

By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military will send home from Iraq and Afghanistan more than 300 Air Force airmen based at an installation in Mississippi battered by Hurricane Katrina to allow them to assist their families, officials said on Saturday.

The airmen, both active-duty airmen and reservists, will end their deployments early and return to Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, to help their families and aid in base recovery in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Air Force said in a statement released in Qatar. They will not be participating in the broader relief effort in the region, officials said.

In addition, nearly 100 airmen due to deploy from Keesler to Iraq and Afghanistan will remain at the base, with their positions overseas filled by others in the Air Force not affected by the hurricane, the Air Force said.

"We're robust enough (in manpower) that this wouldn't upset anything. But it's the right thing to do to bring them back," said Lt. Col. Patrick Barnes, an Air Force spokesman at the Pentagon. Barnes said there were roughly 20,000 Air Force personnel in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere in the U.S. Central Command region.

<http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=9552441&src=rss/domesticNews>
(more at link above)

[FreeStateDemocrat]

8. The troops from La. will want to help their families too. Send'em home,now

[Up2Late]

9. Louisiana doesn't have 2 ReThuglican Senators

So, until that happens, I guess you're out of luck with this WH.

Or it could be that they are just being brought back to clean up the mess at the Air Force Base, Gen. Richard Myers is AF after all.

[yorkiemommie1]

10. On AAR Johnny Wendell said it was to avoid a 'mutiny'

that the troops were furious, so the decision was made to send them home.


Anyone else hear that?