22 airmen from 133rd Airlift Wing to return from Asia deployment

Twenty-two Airmen from the Minnesota Air National Guard’s 133rd Airlift Wing will return to Minnesota this afternoon (Thursday, July 22) following a two-month deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

The returning airmen deployed to Afghanistan in early May aboard one of the Wing’s eight C-130 “Hercules” aircraft.

The C-130 “Hercules” supports many military missions, including airdrop and airland delivery of critical supplies, equipment and personnel to remote airfields and to areas not easily reached by ground travel.   C-130s also provide aeromedical evacuation of wounded service members, where trained medical personnel provide timely, life-saving medical care while patients are transported to a medical facility.

The Wing launched four C-130s and personnel earlier in July from the Minneapolis, St. Paul International Airport headed to Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. This was the second wave of deployments of 133rd Airlift Wing Airmen and aircraft to Afghanistan this year.

In addition, early in July, the 133rd Airlift Wing deployed 30 Security Forces Squadron members to Iraq where they are supporting Operation New Dawn for six months.  

By the end of July, the 133rd Airlift Wing will deploy over 130 Airmen and four C-130 aircraft overseas while approximately 75 Airmen complete their missions and return home to their family and friends.

More than 350 Airmen deployed from the 133rd Airlift Wing throughout 2010, including aircrew members, maintenance personnel, security forces, chaplain staff and others.

In 2009, 133rd Airlift Wing deployed more than 700 Airmen to 16 countries in support of U.S. operations worldwide. Since Sept. 11, 2001, the Wing has deployed 4,600 Airmen to locations around the world in support of the Global War on Terror.

The Twin Cities-based 133rd Airlift Wing is comprised of approximately 1,250 men and women who serve in support of state and national needs.