MILITARY & VETERANS AFFAIRS NEWS RELEASE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT: COL John Dwyer, Public Affairs Officer  101 EGGERT CROSSING ROAD LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ 08648 609-530-6939
RELEASE: IMMEDIATE (27 April 00)

Beginning this Saturday, 580 members of the 177^th Fighter Wing of the New Jersey Air National Guard out of Atlantic City International Airport will deploy to the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center in Michigan in the largest deployment the wing has conducted in 15 years.

Starting before dawn Saturday morning, members of the various squadrons of the 177^th will arrive at the base to begin preparation for the deployment to Alpena. Because of the deployment's size, it will take both Saturday and Sunday for all 580 personnel to be moved to Michigan. In addition, 12 F-16C Fighting Falcon aircraft will be going on the deployment. The Combat Readiness Training Center is located just outside of Alpena. The wing will return on May 6.

The deployment is part of the wing's preparation for future participation as part of the Air Expeditionary Force. During the deployment, unit members will work on developing their wartime skills in preparation for a two-day operational readiness exercise, which will test wing members' abilities to operate under combat conditions.