The Two-Year Reserve Duty: Members of the Air Force Reserve Command’s 773rd Airlift Squadron, Youngstown ARS, Ohio, have returned home after two years of duty in Iraq, reports the Youngstown Vindicator. They flew their C-130s for Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom from Dec. 1, 2003, to Nov. 30, 2005. When they returned, the commander of the 910th Airlift Wing, the unit’s parent, presented 220 Air Medals and 10 Aerial Achievement Medals to unit members.
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.