South Dakota’s Air Guard deploys to the Middle East

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — One-hundred and fifty members of the South Dakota Air National Guard are on their way to the Middle East as violence rises between Israel and Hezbollah.

The acting commander of the 114th Fighter Wing says this deployment is part of a scheduled rotation that takes place every four years to sustain military forces in that part of the region.

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But the timing of this deployment is nerve wracking for their families.

The U.S. now has about 40,000 troops in the Middle East and soon members of the South Dakota Air National Guard will be there too.150 members deployed Tuesday. “It was very hard,” Nicole Ryan said. Ryan, who is a Master Sergeant in the Air Guard and will be retiring soon, says it was important for her to be at the Air Base to see them off. “I did cry a little bit just saying good-bye to all my friends, you know with everything going on in the world right now, it’s very scary,” Ryan said. Officials won’t say what country they are going to be stationed at, but it’ll be on a secure air base.Brian Phelps’ son is part of the deployment. “As a parent there really is no comfort to anything when your kid is shipped away,” Phelps said. Phelps says his son has been deployed overseas before, but this one feels different. KELOLAND News reached out to the Air Guard for comment, but weren’t able to get an interview in time for this story, but they did issue us this statement.It reads in part: “We are extremely proud of our Airmen who have answered our Nation’s call, have full confidence in their ability to serve well, and look forward to welcoming them home after a job well done.” A feeling echoed by family and friends back home. “But every day when you wake up and every night when you go to bed you have them on your mind,” Phelps said. “We’ll pray for them every night and keep in contact with them, but until they’re home you won’t sleep easily until you know that they are back in America and safe,” Ryan said.

The 150 members of the 114th Fighter Wing will be gone for six months.

Below is the full statement by the acting commander:

“The 114th Fighter Wing has deployed more than 150 personnel to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility as part of a scheduled rotation to sustain U.S. Air Forces Central’s robust fighter posture within the Middle East. The deployment is part of the Air Force Force Generation, or AFFORGEN model, which in the Air National Guard is a four-year cycle that culminates in a six month availability to deploy, which is where the 114th Fighter Wing is at now. We are extremely proud of our Airmen who have answered our Nation’s call, have full confidence in their ability to serve well, and look forward to welcoming them home after a job well done. We also want to express our gratitude to our Airmen’s families, and our local communities. Without the love and support of family, and without our community’s support, our citizen-warriors could not do what they do.”