Nine civil engineers from Delaware Air Guard to return home mid-day Wednesday May 14 from Kuwait after four-month mission

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NEW CASTLE, Delaware --  Delaware Air National Guard
Headquarters, 166th Airlift Wing
2600 Spruance Drive
New Castle, DE 19720-1615 

Contact: Tech. Sgt. Benjamin Matwey
Public Affairs Specialist, 166th Airlift Wing, Delaware Air National Guard
Cell 302-593-2126, or Office 302-323-3369
E-mail: Benjamin.Matwey@denewc.ang.af.mil
Release No. 2008-05-003
May 13, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW CASTLE - At mid-morning on Wednesday, May 14, 2008, nine Airmen from the Delaware Air National Guard's 166th Civil Engineer Squadron are scheduled to come home to New Castle County Airport after a four-month mission in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom in Southwest Asia.

Airmen will arrive Wednesday, May 14 at Baltimore-Washington International Airport, and then be transported overland to New Castle to meet families and loved ones at about 10:00 a.m. in the base dining hall.

The Airmen served near Kuwait International Airport, Kuwait, where the temperature hit a high of 107 degrees Fahrenheit today, May 13, 2008. They should arrive on May 14 to a forecast temperature of 76 degrees Fahrenheit in New Castle.

Media are invited to the homecoming, and may arrive as early as 9:00 a.m. Wednesday.

Last week, on May 6, another 22 Airmen from the same unit came home.

Near the end of May, eight fire fighters from the same squadron will return home.

Finally, in late July three more squadron members, all explosive ordinance disposal (EOD) specialists who neutralize unexploded ordinance and improvised explosive devices, will return home from Kandahar, Afghanistan after a six month tour of duty. This July return of three Airmen will mark the final homecoming out of 43 total squadron Airmen who have served in Southwest Asia in 2008.

These missions are part of the Air Force Aerospace Expeditionary Force 120-day deployments that active duty, reserve and guard units must support on a rotational basis every 20 months.

The large majority of the Airmen have performed air base support activities in Kuwait using the core skills of the civil engineers; carpenters, plumbers, electricians, heating and cooling specialists, heavy equipment operators, power generation specialists, concrete and construction experts, and even two firefighters.

Eleven Airmen from the civil engineer squadron left Delaware on Dec. 30, 2007, and another 16 Airmen left New Castle on New Year's Day. Another 16 Airmen left from Jan. 5 to mid-January, for a total of 43 Airmen from that unit.

The homecomings are open to news media, but not to the general public. Photographs and interviews with Airmen and a modest number of family members are permitted where possible. Media must present driver's license, and proof of vehicle registration. CALL AHEAD TO PUBLIC AFFAIRS IF ATTENDING at cell number 302-593-2126. Address: 2600 Spruance Drive, New Castle, DE 19720.

Directions: From Wilmington take I-95 South to Exit 5A for New Castle, immediately after Exit 5B for Newport. At this point you are only minutes from the base. Merge onto Basin Road; at second traffic light turn Right on Commons Boulevard; move into Left lane (just past FedEx building) and take first Left, crossing over Commons Boulevard. Follow signs for U.S. Air Force, Delaware Air National Guard. Address: 2600 Spruance Drive, New Castle, DE 19720.

The Delaware Air National Guard is a reserve component of the U.S. Air Force with 1,100 positions under Command of the Governor of Delaware, or the President of the United States when mobilized. The Delaware ANG has been serving Delaware and the United States of America since 1946.

This release is in the public domain, and any part may be used as written.

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