NEW CASTLE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Del. -- More than one hundred Airmen assigned to the 166th Airlift Wing deployed with C-130H aircraft to Southwest Asia in support of the United States Central Command, June 25 and 27, 2018 at New Castle Air National Guard Base, Del.
USCENTCOM is a warfighting Combatant Command. Its mission is to direct and enable military operations and activities with allies and partners to increase regional security and stability in support of enduring U.S. interests.
For some Airmen, this is their first time deploying to an overseas location.
“I’m very excited to get over there for my first deployment,” said Tech. Sgt. Briana Walker, 166th Maintenance Squadron scheduling and documentation. “I’ve known about this for about a year now and I’ve been anxiously waiting to get my foot out the door. It’s going to be an adjustment but at the end of the day, we’re going there to do what we do in support of what we signed up for.”
Over seventy percent of the Delaware ANG are part-time, traditional Guardsmen.
“Their knowledge and abilities are unique,” said Col. Robert Culcasi, 166th AW commander. “They have both their civilian and guard life which brings experience that our active-duty brothers and sisters just don’t have and they are able to employ both of those when they deploy.”
Though many Guardsmen are traditional, deployments offer the experience of serving on active duty to support active-duty missions.
“What these men and women do is a big sacrifice,” said Culcasi. “This state and this nation couldn’t do it without them.”