Peterson airmen gain experience through deployment to Africa

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http://gazette.com/peterson-airmen-gain-experience-through-deployment-to-africa/article/1515269



U.S. Army soldiers with Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa's East Africa Response Force (EARF) depart an U.S. Air Force C-130 Hercules from Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, Dec. 18, 2013. The EARF deployed to South Sudan supporting the ordered departure of the U.S. Embassy. The EARF is part of a new Defense Department initiative of regionally aligned forces, which provides the commander of U.S. Africa Command an additional capability to respond to crises and contingencies within East Africa.

Peterson airmen gain experience through deployment to Africa
By Tom Roeder Updated: February 24, 2014 at 4:02 pm • Published: February 23, 2014 | 5:00 am

A group of Peterson Air Force Base airmen became the first airlift troops assigned to Africa on a recent deployment.

The deployment, which ended in January, proved to be one of the busiest in the history of the 302nd Airlift Wing, with relief flights into unimproved fields, the evacuation of civilians in war-torn South Sudan, and helping get federal dignitaries to Nelson Mandela's funeral.

"This is old-school C-130 flying," said Lt. Col. Jason Terry, who commands the wing's 52nd Airlift Squadron.

The wing sent one C-130 plane to Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti to support a growing task force dealing with issues including violence in Sudan and Somali piracy.