Capt. Greg Barasch of the 14th Fighter Squadron greets Allie, 2, and his wife, Karen, after returning to Misawa Air Base, Japan, on Saturday from a five-month deployment to Iraq. Barasch was among 300 returning airmen. (Jennifer H. Svan / S&S)
Capt. Greg Barasch of the 14th Fighter Squadron greets Allie, 2, and his wife, Karen, after returning to Misawa Air Base, Japan, on Saturday from a five-month deployment to Iraq. Barasch was among 300 returning airmen. (Jennifer H. Svan / S&S)
Trinity Loucks, 7, left, and Jazlynn Loucks, 5, proudly display their homemade signs welcoming their dad, Staff Sgt. Michael Loucks, home from Iraq. (Jennifer H. Svan / S&S)
Scores of families, friends and co-workers greeted Misawa Air Base’s 300 returning airmen Saturday morning outside Hangar 949. The airmen were deployed to Balad Air Base, Iraq, for nearly five months. (Jennifer H. Svan / S&S)
Misawa Air Base, Japan, airmen deployed to Iraq since January pour off the plane arriving home Saturday morning. About 300 airmen were welcomed by an exuberant crowd of families, friends and co-workers outside Hangar 949. (Jennifer H. Svan / S&S)
MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan
The waiting is over.
After several days of delays en route from Iraq, 301 of Misawa’s airmen returned home Saturday after nearly five months downrange.
The homecoming outside Hangar 949 on a warm, sunny morning was nothing short of exuberant, a stark contrast to the somber goodbyes exchanged in January when the 14th Fighter Squadron and supporting units deployed.
As the airmen’s chartered plane touched down at 8:17 a.m., cheers erupted, tiny hands waved and cameras flashed. A few minutes later, as the plane door opened, kids jockeyed for position behind the rope holding back the crowd. They were trying to glimpse their mom or dad in the long line of desert-camouflage beginning to snake from the aircraft to the hangar.
As loved ones embraced, the tears seemed to flow in equal amounts from spouse and warrior.
“It’s such a relief,” said 1st Lt. Christopher Byrne, an F-16 pilot with the 14th Fighter Squadron, while embracing wife Liz and 16-month-old MacKenzie. “I couldn’t wait to see my girls.”
The 14th was deployed to Balad Air Base, Iraq, north of Baghdad, primarily to provide close-air support to coalition ground troops. The Misawa units supporting that mission downrange included the 35th Maintenance Squadron, 35th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron and 14th Aircraft Maintenance Unit.
Lt. Col. Chuck Toplikar, 14th Fighter Squadron commander, said Misawa’s airmen accomplished their mission.
“We did very well,” he said. Most importantly, “we accounted for everybody and brought them home all safely.”
Not all of Misawa’s airmen are home: The 13th Fighter Squadron — Misawa’s other F-16 squadron — replaced the 14th in Iraq last month, and more than 700 airmen from Misawa are deployed for the current Aerospace Expeditionary Force rotation. They’re expected home in September.
For those just back to Japan, the next three duty days will be for in-processing, Toplikar said, but then airmen get 14 days leave for “reconstitution.”
As airmen waited to turn in their weapons and fill out paperwork, they said they were worn out from the long flight and several days of delays in Qatar due to aircraft maintenance problems and weather.
“I’ve been sleeping in an airport for three days trying to get here,” said Staff Sgt. Danny Goodrum of the 35th Maintenance Squadron.
Goodrum had good reason to be eager. Waiting for him at Misawa were his wife, Rayna, and two sons, Danny, 5, and Jaylen, 19 months. Also waiting was newborn Maria.
Goodrum couldn’t take his eyes off his tiny new daughter clad in red, white and blue.
“I can’t even find the words,” he said, when trying to describe his feelings. “It feels great.”
