Gannett News Service April 03, 2004
McGuire troops savor welcoming hugs, cooler weather
By Kirk Moore
During their two months in the desert, Air Force troops helped send thousands of soldiers home from Iraq. Friday, it was their turn.
Thirty members of McGuire's airlift control teams returned to the base, coming from 100-degree days at an Iraqi airfield to cold rain at McGuire's passenger terminal.
About 100 specialists from McGuire's Tanker Airlift Control Element were on a 60-day mission of moving Army troops out of Iraq and bringing in 8,000 Marines to relieve the soldiers, said Lt. Col. Frank Benjamin, commander of McGuire's 721st Air Mobility Squadron. Defense officials have called it the biggest U.S. troop rotation since World War II.
"Is that him? Is that Daddy?" asked 2-year-old Sian Seeger, as she saw a C-17 Globemaster III jet transport taxi across the McGuire field, carrying her father, Tech. Sgt. Greg Seeger.
"Yes, that's him, in the C-17," said her mother, Lt. Iris Seeger, a communications officer and test director at the Air Mobility Warfare Center school at nearby Fort Dix.
Sian knows her aircraft types?
"With both Mommy and Daddy in (the Air Force), she has to," Lt. Seeger replied. "We've both been to Saudi (Arabia), but this is his first time in Iraq."
The McGuire troops provided complete airfield services at the Al Asad Air Base, from weather forecasts for pilots to managing cargo. Situated in the desert of western Iraq, it was formerly a major Iraqi air power center of Saddam Hussein's regime. Al Asad and most of its aircraft were captured in April 2003 by Australian special forces troops, according to GlobalSecurity.org, an independent defense analysis organization in Washington, D.C., and has been used by coalition forces during the occupation.
The facilities there "absolutely don't meet our standards," Benjamin said. "We always bring our own tents, our own food, MREs (meals ready to eat), and water, because you never know what to expect.
"The biggest issue my guys had in terms of morale was the lack of shower facilities," Benjamin added. In time, they were able to set up cold shower stalls to clean off the dust.
The area is under threat from Iraqi insurgents, and a rocket attack about three weeks ago killed a Marine, Benjamin said. But overall the base is well protected, he said.
"The Marines and Army guys do a pretty good job of security. They had the airport pretty locked down," with a wide buffer area guarded by vehicles, helicopters and "some other things I can't talk about," Benjamin said.
Aircraft arrivals and departures were fast and steep to frustrate anyone on the ground who might take aim, "but the aircraft were safe coming in," Benjamin said.
In contrast, he said, "Baghdad is still a very hostile place. Aircraft are getting shot at there."
After the C-17 parked at McGuire, its passengers came by bus to meet their families. The airmen filed off the bus in desert camouflage uniforms, some toting M-4 carbines and M240 machine guns. The Seegers embraced in a group hug, with television camera operators drawn to Sian's enthusiasm.
"It's pretty hard to put into words," Greg Seeger told reporters. "It's good to be home."
The crowd moved inside, leaving Col. Scott Chestnut outside with Sandra Miles to wait for her husband, Master Sgt. Robert Miles. Word was he missed the bus while he was running a forklift to unload the C-17.
"Little do we know he's already home," joked daughter Taylor.
"On the couch, with the sports channel on," Sandra said with a laugh.
A security vehicle pulled up with Miles in the back seat. He stepped out into the chilly rain.
"Welcome back. Welcome to spring," Chestnut said.
"Good. It's good," Miles beamed, wrapped in a heavy winter parka.
"We saw him barely half a year last year," Sandra Miles said. The family hopes he won't be deployed again soon, she said.
Most of the airfield troops spent about 150 days in the Persian Gulf region last year, Benjamin said. They could be called again anytime the military needs to set up airport operations, he added.
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