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Sunday, September 5, 2010 | Serving Del Rio and Val Verde County: Since 1929
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Welcome Home, Airmen!
Published November 28, 2009
For the families of 13 airmen, the best part of this year's Thanksgiving didn't come from an oven but instead from a bus.
Shortly after midnight Thursday morning 13 airmen assigned to the 47th Security Forces Squadron at Laughlin Air Force Base returned home after a six-month deployment to Southwest Asia.
Greeting them were wives, friends and fellow airmen whose hugs and handshakes, and the occasional bag of McDonald's fast food, brought smiles to the faces of the people who braved the cold to welcome the men and women home.
“Of course there are multiple feelings when something like this occurs. We are all proud of what they sacrificed in the service of duty. Really you feel pride and excitement when something like this occurs,” Col Jeff McDaniels, 47th Flying Training Wing Commander, said. “It's exciting to have the whole team back in one piece, and we're thankful that it was tonight. They'll get to spend Thanksgiving with their families. What more could you be thankful for than for the return of these 13 brave men and women. It's a wonderful night for the wing, but we still have 60 or more personnel who won't be here for Thanksgiving or Christmas. We need to keep them in our thoughts tomorrow.”
According to Capt. Ian Dinesen, commander of the 47th Security Forces Squadron, the groups' primary function was to serve as security and perform law enforcement duties in and around their assigned base in Southwest Asia.
“They dealt with the enforcement of rules and just the duties of enforcing law and order in general. When you're dealing with so many different elements and with other services it can be an interesting challenge,” Dinesen said.
“They handled everything from security to law enforcement to anti-terrorism … really anything and beyond,” Dinesen added.
The airmen will begin their in-processing Monday to ensure they are physically and mentally fit to return to work, but once that is all complete they'll have two weeks of leave to recover and reconnect with friends and family.
For Tech Sgt. Robert Spencer, this was his seventh trip overseas.
Married, but with no children, Spencer said he's become used to these kinds of deployments but that they always seem to get harder for his wife.
“The first time any of us really showed any emotion coming home is when they announced on the airplane that we were back in U.S. air space. Coming home for Thanksgiving just made it more special,” Spencer said.
“You get the same feelings each time you come home, but in my case the only difference was the 'honey do' list got longer. But I'm really looking forward to spending time with my wife and getting to watch football at a normal time,” he added.
Carolina Henderson, wife of Staff Sgt. Henderson, greeted her husband when he arrived at the San Antonio International Airport. They've been married for six years and this was his second deployment.
“I was shaking for five minutes when I saw him,” Carolina said. “Both times he's been gone were nerve wracking.”
As for Staff Sgt. Henderson, he already had his Thanksgiving planned out.
“We're just going to take it easy, and she's making my favorite dish - lasagna,” he said.
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