Stream of airmen deploy from Yokota Air Base

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Stream of airmen deploy from Yokota Air Base
By Bryce S. Dubee, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Friday, February 13, 2009

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — Early Wednesday morning, as most of the base was just starting to get moving, a small contingent of airmen from the 36th Airlift Squadron were preparing to deploy to the war zone.

Flying out on a C-130, the 16 airmen represented two air crews that will be flying airlift missions throughout Southwest Asia in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, said 1st Lt. Jenn Sherwood, a navigator and one of those deploying.

"I’m pretty excited," said 1st Lt. Adam Cole, a co-pilot who was heading off on his first deployment, explaining that he was looking forward to performing his mission downrange. "My family is more anxious than I am."

Though the deployment might seem somewhat small, it represents an ever-flowing stream of airmen deploying from and returning to Yokota. Last year, according to base officials, more than 2,200 servicemembers deployed from Yokota to support various exercises as well as operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"It’ll be nice to get away from the desk for a while," Sherwood, who also serves as the 36th’s executive officer, said of the scheduled four-month deployment. "In the office I’m handling a lot more paperwork. Out there we just fly."


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=60666