The 70 aircrew, maintenance staff and support personnel deployed to Ramstein Air Base, Germany. An additional 80 members of the 144th Airlift Squadron and a total of four HC-130 aircraft will deploy in the following weeks and join the group in an effort that is slated be completed by the end of August, said Alaska Air Guard officials.
Operation Joint Forge, which replaced Operation Joint Guard in 1995, is the mission responsible for providing a NATO Stabilization Force in the Bosnian area.
The primary mission of the local deploying guard members will be to provide airlift and logistical support involving both personnel and cargo in Europe.
Brig. Gen. Gene Ramsey said in a press release that the group, the second to be deployed from the Alaska Air Guard, was up for the challenge.
"We are fit and ready to be involved with this important mission," he said. "We are proud to have Alaska Air guard members serving in two major operations in separate areas of the world."
About 170 members of the 176th Wing, part of the 210th Rescue squadron, were deployed to the U.S. Central Command region in the Middle East last month for a 180-day duty rotation in support of Operation Enduring Freedom - the war on terror.
The 144th was not to be gone during this time frame. Other airlift deployments throughout the world left scheduled forces depleted, and the 144th volunteered to fill the void, said officials.
One of the biggest challenges for deployed personnel is worrying about their family back home, said Sr. Master Sgt. Jan Myers, director of the Family Support Program from the Alaska National Guard. Myers said her agency works as a resource and referral center for the guard, including deployed personnel and their families.
"If there is problem contacting a deployed spouse, problem with military payments, or you just need to talk, that's what we do," said Myers.
The center, on Northern Lights Boulevard, was expanded last month to fill growing needs. Myers said if deployments, like the current 144th stint, make it necessary, the center can transform from regular business hours to a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week operation.
"We try to make the experience bearable," said Myers.
Reach the reporter at gdart@alaskastar.com