Home > News > Article Display

SJAFB deploys work force

By Airman 1st Class Mariah Tolbert, 4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs / Published September 12, 2011

PRINT | E-MAIL
SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. -- On the eve of the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11, Airmen here prepared to deploy to Afghanistan.

Approximately 300 Airmen from the 335th Fighter Squadron, 4th Medical Group, 4th Mission Support Group, 4th Aircraft Maintenance squadron and the Explosive Ordinance Disposal flight deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Sept. 10.

"Leaving on the tenth anniversary of 9/11 has special meaning to me because I was one of the first individuals over in Afghanistan after the attacks in 2001," said Lt. Col. David Moeller, 335th FS commander. "For Seymour Johnson, this is a fairly significant deployment. It is part of a normal rotation; however for about 90 percent of the folks, this is the first time they have deployed. They weren't even in the military when 9/11 actually occurred."

Seymour Johnson AFB will be deploying approximately 600 Airmen from more than 24 different career fields over the next couple of weeks.

"We are supporting Operation Enduring Freedom," said Capt. Crystal Kirkley, 335th FS weapons system officer. " That is U.S. and NATO troops going into Afghanistan to help rebuild some of the infrastructure, to protect civilians, as well as train and assist Afghan National Police and their army to be able to work on their own once U.S. and NATO pull out of Afghanistan."

"I've been in the Air Force for 16 years," Moeller said. "Deployments have just been a part of life. Seymour Johnson, the community of Goldsboro and the state of North Carolina have a very strong support for the military so I'm very comfortable leaving my family at this time."

As Airmen say "see you later" to friends and families, they can feel overwhelmed with emotions. While feelings ranged from excitement to sadness, shock and pride, Airmen from Seymour Johnson AFB are trained and prepared do their job and defend the country against terrorism.

"I'm excited, but there is a little bit of sadness there that will be initial shock just from the process of leaving," Kirkley said. "For the most part, I'm just ready to go out there, do my job and do good work,"

For many, this is not just a time to remember those who have fallen, but to remember those still fighting and protecting our country, 10 years later.
USAF Comments Policy
If you wish to comment, use the text box below. AF reserves the right to modify this policy at any time.

This is a moderated forum. That means all comments will be reviewed before posting. In addition, we expect that participants will treat each other, as well as our agency and our employees, with respect. We will not post comments that contain abusive or vulgar language, spam, hate speech, personal attacks, violate EEO policy, are offensive to other or similar content. We will not post comments that are spam, are clearly "off topic", promote services or products, infringe copyright protected material, or contain any links that don't contribute to the discussion. Comments that make unsupported accusations will also not be posted. The AF and the AF alone will make a determination as to which comments will be posted. Any references to commercial entities, products, services, or other non-governmental organizations or individuals that remain on the site are provided solely for the information of individuals using this page. These references are not intended to reflect the opinion of the AF, DoD, the United States, or its officers or employees concerning the significance, priority, or importance to be given the referenced entity, product, service, or organization. Such references are not an official or personal endorsement of any product, person, or service, and may not be quoted or reproduced for the purpose of stating or implying AF endorsement or approval of any product, person, or service.

Any comments that report criminal activity including: suicidal behaviour or sexual assault will be reported to appropriate authorities including OSI. This forum is not:

  • This forum is not to be used to report criminal activity. If you have information for law enforcement, please contact OSI or your local police agency.
  • Do not submit unsolicited proposals, or other business ideas or inquiries to this forum. This site is not to be used for contracting or commercial business.
  • This forum may not be used for the submission of any claim, demand, informal or formal complaint, or any other form of legal and/or administrative notice or process, or for the exhaustion of any legal and/or administrative remedy.

AF does not guarantee or warrant that any information posted by individuals on this forum is correct, and disclaims any liability for any loss or damage resulting from reliance on any such information. AF may not be able to verify, does not warrant or guarantee, and assumes no liability for anything posted on this website by any other person. AF does not endorse, support or otherwise promote any private or commercial entity or the information, products or services contained on those websites that may be reached through links on our website.

Members of the media are asked to send questions to the public affairs through their normal channels and to refrain from submitting questions here as comments. Reporter questions will not be posted. We recognize that the Web is a 24/7 medium, and your comments are welcome at any time. However, given the need to manage federal resources, moderating and posting of comments will occur during regular business hours Monday through Friday. Comments submitted after hours or on weekends will be read and posted as early as possible; in most cases, this means the next business day.

For the benefit of robust discussion, we ask that comments remain "on-topic." This means that comments will be posted only as it relates to the topic that is being discussed within the blog post. The views expressed on the site by non-federal commentators do not necessarily reflect the official views of the AF or the Federal Government.

To protect your own privacy and the privacy of others, please do not include personally identifiable information, such as name, Social Security number, DoD ID number, OSI Case number, phone numbers or email addresses in the body of your comment. If you do voluntarily include personally identifiable information in your comment, such as your name, that comment may or may not be posted on the page. If your comment is posted, your name will not be redacted or removed. In no circumstances will comments be posted that contain Social Security numbers, DoD ID numbers, OSI case numbers, addresses, email address or phone numbers. The default for the posting of comments is "anonymous", but if you opt not to, any information, including your login name, may be displayed on our site.

Thank you for taking the time to read this comment policy. We encourage your participation in our discussion and look forward to an active exchange of ideas.