Dyess Airmen Deploy to Asia
By: Dyess Public Affairs
Updated: January 15, 2009
Airmen and several B-1 aircraft from the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess AFB began deploying to Southwest Asia today in support of Operation Iraqi and Enduring Freedom. The Airmen who left this morning are the first of several groups, that are scheduled to leave upcoming weeks. More than 295 Dyess Airmen from the 9th Bomb Squadron and7th Operations Support Squadron, as well as the 7th Maintenance, 7th Operations and 7th Medical Groups will join their co-workers for a six-month rotation in the area of responsibility (AOR).
“I think everybody is extremely excited to go and do America’s business,” said Lt. Col. Jen Fullmer, 9th Bomb Squadron commander, who will lead the contingent of aircrews and support Airmen.
While in the AOR, Dyess Airmen will support missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Common to the Air Force, Dyess Airmen are deploying as part of an Air Expeditionary Force rotation. Bases are responsible for deploying forces for four or six months to locations throughout the world.
Currently, the base has more than 460 Airmen deployed. This group brings the total number of Dyess Airmen deployed to more than 745. Next month, approximately 200 more Airmen are expected to deploy.
In addition to Airmen assigned to 7th Bomb Wing, the 317th Airlift Group (C-130s) will be deploying nearly 150 airmen to the AOR. These Airmen will replace those currently deployed after an overlap to spin-up the newcomers. Overall, in the next few months, Dyess will have as many as 1,000 of its Airmen deployed.
