BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. –
Troops from the 940th Operations and Maintenance Groups completed another successful deployment in support of the Global War on Terror.
Nearly 120 citizen warriors, along with four 940th Air Refueling Wing KC-135T Stratotankers, performed rotating de-ployments for six weeks to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey. They provided air-to-air refueling and areo-medical evacuations in the region.
“Our reservists were actually there saving lives and helping democracy take root in Afghanistan and Iraq,” said Col. J.D. Lynd, vice commander, 940th Air Refueling Wing.
“What people don't understand is how important our mission was there. We were refueling the cargo aircraft, which are able to deliver to numerous hostile areas. This helps cut down on the number of land convoys through dangerous areas. We were literally helping save lives,” Colonel Lynd said.
The main deployment rotations began Nov. 27 and ran through Jan. 7. The 940 ARW citizen warriors were part of the Total Force Team supporting the war.
During the deployment, the missions included operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom and the Pakistan earthquake relief. They even supported the United Service Organizations, which brought the Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment group to entertain troops in Kandahar, Afghanistan, according to Lt. Col. Jonathan Philebaum, 314th Air Refueling Squadron director of operations.
The 940th also provided air refueling support to medical evacuation missions and transported three military patients from Djibouti International Airport, Africa to Ramstein AB, Germany, Colonel Philebaum said.
In all, the unit flew over 72 refueling missions during the course of the deployment, which averages out to approximately 17 missions per week. Multiple aircraft including C-17s, C-5s, E-8s and F-16s were supported.