Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst airlift unit deploys, families bid farewell

Published Oct. 27, 2009
By 2nd Lt Christine Darius
Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs

JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- Family members were joined by 305th Air Mobility Wing and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst leadership, as they bid farewell Oct. 26 to 6th Airlift Squadron Airmen departing for Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.

A farewell ceremony was held at the base's passenger terminal to mark the deployment. The squadron deployed en masse -- which happens once every two years. The 6th AS's last deployment of this kind occurred in August 2007.

"We employ our C-17 Globemaster IIIs to provide airlift and air medical assistance throughout the world," said Lt. Col. John Price, Jr. "We move people, equipment and injured personnel throughout the (Area of Responsibility). Whether it's bullets, beans, Airmen, Soldiers or Marines, we're moving it around the clock to every kind of location -- from modern airfields to dirt strips."

When the 6th AS is at home station it executes contingency and planned missions in small crews. The squadron members view this mass deployment as a great opportunity to demonstrate their expertise and professionalism in service to our nation.

"This is what we train to do all the time and now we finally get to do it," said Capt. Jeffery Overstreet, 6th AS aircraft commander. "It's kind of like a football or baseball player, he or she practices all week ... all year, and then the season finally comes along and they get to show everyone what he or she was trained to do."