HAWAII ARMY NATIONAL GUARD SOLDIERS RETURN FROM AFGHANISTAN
WHEELER, HI- The main body of soldiers from the Hawaii Army National Guard’s Company B, 1st Battalion, 171st Aviation Regiment will return to Hawaii and greet their families August 10, 2011at Schofield Barracks after being deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF).
For Immediate Release: Aug 9, 2011
HAWAII ARMY NATIONAL GUARD SOLDIERS RETURN FROM AFGHANISTAN
WHEN: Approximately 6:00 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2011
WHAT: The main body of soldiers from the Hawaii Army National Guard’s Company B, 1st Battalion, 171st Aviation Regiment return home to Hawaii
WHO: Captain Johnny Wandasan, Commander
First Sergeant James Burkhart, First Sergeant
Soldiers from Co. B, 1-171st Aviation Regiment, their families and friends
WHERE: Wheeler Army Air Field, Wahiawa
WHEELER, HI- The main body of soldiers from the Hawaii Army National Guard’s Company B, 1st Battalion, 171st Aviation Regiment will return to Hawaii and greet their families August 10, 2011at Schofield Barracks after being deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). The Soldiers have been mobilized on active duty for the past year. They spent several months training at Fort Hood, Texas, before deploying in October of 2010, to Regional Commands (RC) South and East in Afghanistan, where they provided CH-47D helicopter lift support to the Combat Aviation Brigades.
The 150 Hawaii-based Soldiers are scheduled to return via chartered aircraft, turn some equipment in, receive administrative briefs, have one last formation and then be released to their families.
Company B, 1-171st Aviation Regiment was mobilized in August of 2010 and deployed to Afghanistan two months later. The unit and its 12 CH-47D Chinook helicopters were split-based in four locations; Bagram Airfield, Forward Operating Base (FOB) Salerno (Khowst Province) and FOB Shank (Logar Province) in RC East and one group at Kandahar Airfield in RC South. The unit’s missions were in support of combat resupply, battlefield circulation, general support, and deliberate operations against the Taliban in support of various ground units. During a ten-month period they flew over 1,400 missions, 6,500 combat flight hours, transported over 7.5 million pounds of internal and external cargo and about 69,000 passengers.
Media interested in attending, should RSVP NLT 12:00 p.m. Wednesday, August 10th by calling Public Affairs Office at 733-4258. Media will meet at Lyman Gate, Schofield Barracks at a predetermined time to be escorted to Area X. Interested media are requested to provide the Hawaii National Guard Public Affairs Office a point of contact’s phone number or email so that they can be informed immediately of any changes.
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For more information, contact:
Lt. Col. Charles Anthony
Public Affairs Officer
Phone: (808) 733-4258
