Homestead reservists depart Balad Air Base, Iraq

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. LuCelia Ball
  • 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq --  With the roar of jet engines, more than 260 reservists from Homestead Air Reserve Base, Fla., departed Balad Air Base, Iraq, Aug. 9, completing 45 days of one of the busiest missions they had ever faced. 

The 482nd Fighter Wing Airmen, who were assigned to the 332nd Expeditionary Fighter Squadron while deployed, departed with 12 F-16 Fighting Falcons. The aircraft were assigned to a 90-day rotation and will be returned to the 93rd Fighter Squadron at Homestead.

"The way we deploy is to cover a 90-day rotation with two units," said Lt. Col. Jose Monteagudo, 93rd Fighter Squadron commander. "We deployed as an aviation package, with operations Airmen, maintenance Airmen and maintenance support, which includes avionics, mechanics and administration specialists, among others."

The 90-day rotation was shared between Airmen from the 482nd Fighter Wing at Homestead, and the 301st Fighter Wing at Carswell, Texas. The two units had a mission to provide close-air support to Army, Air Force, Marine and other ground forces.

"Our challenge upon arrival, was dealing with a very high operations tempo," the Colonel said. "We came in on a surge, with longer sorties and delivery of a lot of munitions. It meant some long hours in a short period of time."

Most of the Homestead Airmen had been here before in 2006, when they deployed to Balad to relieve the Carswell Airmen. The unit has been replaced by Airmen from the 158th Fighter Wing, Burlington, Vt., who arrived a few days before the 482nd FW Airmen departed to ensure a smooth changeover.

"The new guys flew with us for a few days to get to know the environment," Colonel Monteagudo said. "We showed them what had changed since they were here last and then let them take over. We were still available to assist them for a few days."

The unit culminated their deployment with a going-away party.

"We just want to say 'thank you' to the wing leadership and all of the units here who supported us," the colonel said. "We look forward to returning on our next AEF cycle."