A group of airmen stationed in central Arkansas deployed to the Middle East over the weekend to support Operation Freedom's Sentinel.
The standard deployment is part of the Little Rock Air Force Base's 41st Airlift Squadron's regular rotation overseas, said Lt. Col. Andrew Smith, the squadron's director of operations. The 41st completed a deployment to Afghanistan in January 2017.
Many of the airmen heading to the Middle East spent part of 2017 deployed domestically and abroad in support of flooding and hurricane relief, Smith said.
"We're ready to go at a moment's notice," Smith said of the squadron, which operates C-130J aircraft.
Operation Freedom's Sentinel is the U.S. Department of Defense's name for the transition from Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. The department changed the name at the start of 2015.
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Photos by Thomas Metthe
Photos by Thomas Metthe
The war, which began when the U.S. invaded Afghanistan in 2001 after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, is the longest armed conflict in U.S. history.
The airmen from Arkansas will provide tactical airlift support, transporting cargo, personnel, equipment and food and making airdrops.
"Basically whatever needs to be moved to support the mission," Smith said.
The deployment is scheduled for "standard length," but the Air Force doesn't release the exact start and end dates to protect troop movement, an Air Force spokesman said.
Fifteen U.S. troops died in Afghanistan last year, and one was killed by hostile fire on Jan. 1.
The U.S. became involved in Afghanistan to eradicate al-Qaida and remove the Taliban from power. As al-Qaida forces in the country have dwindled, the military's focus has shifted to the Islamic State extremist group.
The 41st Airlift Squadron, which celebrates its 76th anniversary next month, traces its roots to World War II where it provided tactical airlift from C-47s in the Pacific theater, according to the Air Force.
Squad members, nicknamed "Black Cats," wear a patch with a cartoon picture of a black cat carrying a kitten in its mouth. The name stems from the squadron's exceptional safety record during World War II, flying over the "Black Cat Trail" in New Guinea, according to the Air Force.
The group has made deployments over the 20th and 21st centuries in support of combat and humanitarian relief to Afghanistan, Africa, Bosnia, Europe, India, Iraq, Kuwait, southeast Asia and the Americas.
"They've spent a lot of time training for the mission," Smith said. "It's the culmination of a lot of hard work."
Metro on 01/08/2018