Small Hawaii Army National Guard Unit to Deploy to Horn of Africa
Media Advisory- February 21, 2008
WHEN: Friday, February 22, 2008, 10:00 - 10:30 a.m.
WHERE: Army Aviation Facility #1, Wheeler Army Airfield, Oahu
WHO: Detachment 55 (Det 55), Operational Support Airlift Command
WHAT: A deployment ceremony will be held Friday for six Soldiers deploying in support of the Global War on Terrorism
A deployment ceremony will be held Friday, Feb. 22, for Det 55, a small Army Aviation unit in the Hawaii Army National Guard. The unit will soon begin their Mobilization Training at Fort Benning, Georgia before deploying to Djibouti to join the Combined Joint Task Force–Horn of Africa.
Det 55 operates a C-26 aircraft which is a twin engine turboprop plane that has accommodations for a pilot and a co-pilot and 19 passengers and/or cargo or a combination of both. The Det 55 pilots flew in support of the recovery operations from the destruction caused by Hurricane Iniki in 1992. Since then, Detachment 55 pilots have flown over 8,800 hours in support of various missions which include inter-island transportation for VIPs and National Guardsmen, cargo, and burial details. The C-26 is operated exclusively by Air and Army National Guard units throughout the nation.
Djibouti hosts the only U.S. military base in sub-Saharan Africa; it has about 1,800 troops and is a front-line state in the global war on terrorism.
If you would like to attend this event, please RSVP with the PAO at 733-4258 or Capt. Berry at 457-0511. Media will need to be escorted on Wheeler AAF by the PAO.
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For more information, contact:
Capt. Jeff Hickman
Public Affairs Officer
Office: (808) 733-4258
