Staff Sgt. Xavier Drake drives an Air Force Humvee as part of a convoy from Fort Sill, Okla. to Altus Air Force Base, Okla., Jan. 3, 2013. The 97th Security Forces Squadron escorted multiple convoys of Soldiers from the 31st Air Defense Artillery Brigade, Fort Sill, to Altus AFB to deploy to Turkey. The deployment followed U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's orders Dec. 14, 2012 to deploy batteries of Patriot air defense systems. Staff Sgt. Xavier Drake is a base defense operations controller (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Kenneth W. Norman)
Airmen unload an M984 Wrecker from a C-5 Galaxy on the Altus AFB flightline Jan. 4, 2013. Airmen from 97th Air Mobility Wing, Kentucky Air Guard Contingency Response Group, 31st Air Defense Artillery Army Brigade, Fort Sill, Okla. and 167th Airlift Wing, Martinsburg, W. Va., together helped deploy Patriot batteries, more than two million pounds of equipment and approximately 300 personnel from 3-2 Air Defense Artillery Battalion to Turkey in support of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Levin Boland)
Senior Master Sgt. Mark Snyder assists Sgt. Daniel Hanke chain down an M983 Truck inside a 167th AW C-5 Galaxy on the Altus AFB flightline, Jan. 4, 2013. Airmen from 97th Air Mobility Wing, Kentucky Air Guard Contingency Response Group, 31st Air Defense Artillery Army Brigade, Fort Sill, Okla. and 167th Airlift Wing, Martinsburg, W. Va., together helped deploy Patriot batteries, more than two million pounds of equipment and approximately 300 personnel from 3-2 Air Defense Artillery Battalion to Turkey in support of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Levin Boland)
Airman Mikal Moore chains down an M983 Truck on the Altus AFB flightline inside a C-5 Galaxy, Jan. 4, 2013. Airmen from 97th Air Mobility Wing, Kentucky Air Guard Contingency Response Group, 31st Air Defense Artillery Army Brigade, Fort Sill, Okla. and 167th Airlift Wing, Martinsburg, W. Va., together helped deploy Patriot batteries, more than two million pounds of equipment and approximately 300 personnel from 3-2 Air Defense Artillery Battalion to Turkey in support of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Levin Boland)
Flight crew members review pre-flight checklists in the cockpit of a 167th Air Wing C-5 Galaxy on the Altus AFB flightline, Jan. 4, 2013. Airmen from 97th Air Mobility Wing, Kentucky Air Guard Contingency Response Group, 31st Air Defense Artillery Army Brigade, Fort Sill, Okla. and 167th Airlift Wing, Martinsburg, W. Va., together helped deploy Patriot batteries, more than two million pounds of equipment and approximately 300 personnel from 3-2 Air Defense Artillery Battalion to Turkey in support of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Levin Boland)
Soldiers board a C-5 Galaxy on the Altus AFB flightline, Jan. 4, 2013. These Soldiers are from the 31st Air Defense Artillery Army Brigade, Fort Sill, Okla. Airmen from 97th Air Mobility Wing, Kentucky Air Guard Contingency Response Group, 31st Air Defense Artillery Army Brigade, Fort Sill, Okla. and 167th Airlift Wing, Martinsburg, W. Va., together helped deploy Patriot batteries, more than two million pounds of equipment and approximately 300 personnel from 3-2 Air Defense Artillery Battalion to Turkey in support of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Levin Boland)
1/8/2013 - ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. (AFNS) -- Mobility Airmen are enabling their Army counterparts to meet a Secretary of Defense order to move two Patriot anti-missile batteries and hundreds of Soldiers to support Turkey, a U.S. ally.
According to officials, Airmen worked around the clock to support a NATO request to deploy two Patriot batteries to Turkey. The deployment is a defensive measure intended to deescalate the situation along the Syrian border while demonstrating NATO resolve.
"This operation is a great example of how Airmen support our allies across the globe every day," said Brig. Gen. Larry Martin, the 618th Air and Space Operations Center (Tanker Airlift Control Center) vice commander. "The Air Force has the means to provide rapid global mobility in support of an important ally to demonstrate the strength and capability of both the U.S. and the NATO Alliance."
The operation is expected to extend into early next week, culminating in the deployment of approximately 400 U.S. service members and equipment.
One KC-10 Extender, KC-135 Stratotanker air refuelers, and six C-5 Galaxy airlifters will transport the Patriot batteries and much of the equipment and personnel belonging to the 3d Battalion, 2d Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Fort Sill, Okla., directly from Altus AFB to Turkey. Additionally, several C-17 Globemaster III aircraft will depart here to create an air bridge allowing further deliveries into Turkey, officials said.
According to air mobility leaders, an effort of this speed and scope in the midst of ongoing support to forces throughout Southwest Asia demands contributions from a total force team of active, Air National Guard and Reserve Airmen.
That team includes planners, mobility liaisons, contingency response Airmen, aircrews, maintainers and dozens of other support personnel.
"Mobility Airmen are proud to be part of an amazing joint team supporting NATO," Martin said. "We take great pride in making complex global mobility requirements a reality."
Participating units include Airmen and aircraft from Bangor, Maine; Pease, N.H.; Joint Base McGuire-Dix Lakehurst, N.J.; Pittsburgh Pa.; Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas; Westover Air Reserve Base, Mass.; and Martinsburg, W.Va.
According to a NATO news release, Germany, the Netherlands and the United States offered to deploy two Patriot batteries each to Turkey. Germany will deploy its batteries to Kahramanmaras, the Netherlands will deploy its batteries to Adana, and the United States will deploy its batteries to Gaziantep.
