McGuire AFB, NJ – Approximately 70 members of the 108th Air Refueling Wing of the New Jersey Air National Guard will depart Saturday afternoon, March 8, from McGuire AFB. They are some of the more than 200 who were recently mobilized under the Air Force’s Air Mobility Command to support Operation Enduring Freedom. They will be assigned to an undisclosed location in Europe.

Their mission: provide air refueling and airlift support for the War on Terrorism. This mobilization comes on the heels of the unit’s mobilization and deployment of approximately 200 “Guardians of Freedom” to Oman from Dec. 2001 to July 2002, also in support of Enduring Freedom.

Members of the media are invited to cover the troop departure. Contact Major Denise Waggoner, 609-754-4173 not later than Saturday, March 8, 10:00 a.m. Please provide the following: Name of media outlet and number (and names if available) of media representatives attending, as well as phone contact #s.

Media should report to McGuire’s 24-hr gate, Gate #2, not later than 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 8. A public affairs representative will escort all media to the McGuire AFB Passenger Terminal. Media will be permitted to interview the troops between 10:45 a.m. – noon, and to cover the troops boarding a Boeing 757 at approximately noon.

Since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on America, the 108th Air Refueling Wing has played a key role in both Operations Enduring Freedom and Noble Eagle.

In October 2001, the 108th ARW began providing air refueling for the Combat Air Patrol (CAP) missions in the Northeast Corridor. Air Guard personnel from the 108th ARW provided daily support of these homeland security missions for six months. On April 16, 2002, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) ceased mandatory around-the-clock CAPs over New York and Washington, D.C. However, the 108th ARW continues to respond at a moment’s notice to provide air-refueling support to the CAPs as directed in support of Operation Noble Eagle and the homeland defense mission.

In early October 2001, more than 100 members of the 108th Security Forces Squadron were mobilized in support of both Operations Noble Eagle and Enduring Freedom. Their mission: provide security for government installations throughout the Washington D.C. area and the continental United States, as well as performing other security-related missions around the world. In August 2002, the Secretary of the Air Force authorized the extension of the Security Forces personnel for a second year.

Providing air-refueling support and strategic airlift, the 108th ARW has 20 KC-135E Stratotankers, making it one of only three “super tanker wings” in the Air National Guard. The wing routinely deploys its people worldwide to perform military missions. Locations include Turkey and Saudi Arabia, helping to enforce the no-fly zones over Iraq, as well as Germany, Spain, Italy, France, Kuwait, Japan, Korea and Panama.