For Immediate Release- October 7, 2013
Small Hawaii Army National Guard Unit to Deploy to Afghanistan
WHEN: Tuesday, October 8, 2013, 9:00 – 10:00 a.m.
WHERE: Army Aviation Facility #1, Wheeler Army Airfield, Oahu
WHO: Detachment 55 (Det 55), Operational Support Airlift Command
WHAT: A deployment ceremony will be held Friday for 13 Soldiers deploying in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
A deployment ceremony will be held Tuesday, Oct. 8, for Det 55, a small Army Aviation unit in the Hawaii Army National Guard. The unit will soon begin its mobilization training at Fort Hood, Texas before deploying to Afghanistan to join Task Force ODIN. Det 55’s role in TF ODIN is to operate Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System (MARSS) aircraft with both pilots and Aerial Sensor Operators (ASO’s). Det 55 is providing about one fourth of the personnel that make up Bravo Company, TF ODIN.
Detachment 55 previously deployed in 2008 in support of 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 and a co-pilot and 19 passengers and/or cargo or a combination of both. The Det 55 pilots flew in support of the recovery operations from the destruction caused by Hurricane Iniki in 1992. Since then, Detachment 55 pilots have flown nearly 12,000 hours in support of various missions which include inter-island transportation for National Guardsmen, cargo, and burial details. The C-26 is operated exclusively by Air and Army National Guard units throughout the nation.
If you would like to attend this event, please RSVP with the PAO at 733-4258. Media will need to be escorted on Wheeler AAF by the PAO.
### For more information, contact: Lt. Col. Charles Anthony Public Affairs Officer Phone: (808) 733-4258