Department of Defense

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

NEIL ABERCROMBIE

GOVERNOR

MAJ. GEN. DARRYLL D.M. WONG

DIRECTOR

MEDIA RELEASE

For Immediate Release         July 12, 2014

#2014-0013

HAWAII ARMY NATIONAL GUARD UNIT RETURNS FROM AFGHANISTAN DEPLOYMENT

WHEN: 3:30 p.m., Saturday, July 12, 2014

WHAT: Detachment 55 returns to Hawaii from Deployment from Afghanistan

WHO: Detachment 55 (Det 55), Operational Support Airlift Command, Hawaii Army National Guard Soldiers, their families and friends

WHERE: Wheeler Army Air Field

WHEELER ARMY AIRFIELD, HAWAII- Soldiers from Detachment 55, Operational Support Airlift Command return to Hawaii today after being deployed to Afghanistan for the last nine months. There will be a short ceremony, scheduled for 3:30 p.m., and then the Soldiers will be released and reunited with their families.

Det 55 was a part of Task Force ODIN and their role was to operate Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System (MARSS) aircraft with both pilots and Aerial Sensor Operators (ASO’s).  Det 55 provided about one fourth of the personnel for Bravo Company, TF ODIN.

Detachment 55 previously deployed in 2008 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) to Djibouti, Africa and also in 2012 to Bogota, Colombia in support of Special Operations Command.

Det 55 operates a C-26 aircraft which is a twin engine turboprop plane that has accommodations for a pilot, a co-pilot and 19 passengers and/or cargo or a combination of both.

Interested media wanting to attend this event, please RSVP with the PAO at 733-4258.  Media will need to be escorted on Wheeler AAF by the PAO.

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For more information, contact:

Lt. Col. Charles Anthony

Public Affairs Officer

Phone: (808) 733-4258