CAMP MURRAY, WA – Citizen-Airmen from the Washington Air National Guard’s 111th Air Support Operations Squadron (ASOS) return home Thursday, September 12 after a six-month deployment to Afghanistan.
Approximately 25 soldiers from the 111th ASOS, based out of Camp Murray, deployed in February to Kabul, Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
“The 111th represented the state of Washington with great pride over the last six months,” said Major General Bret Daugherty, the state’s adjutant general. “I am proud of the unit, the leadership and each citizen-airmen that served in Afghanistan.”
The 111th ASOS is part of the Washington Air National Guard’s 194th Wing. Their mission in Afghanistan was to serve as the Air Support Operations Center. The ASOC serves as the primary control agency for execution of air and space power in direct support of land operations, and acts as a liaison between Air Force and Army elements. The deployed ASOC was primarily manned by members from the Washington Air National Guard, with help from Active Duty personnel and members of the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force ASOC.
Their pre-deployment training began in the fall of 2012 and included events in Germany, Joint Base Lewis-McChord and Camp Murray. This deployment marks the unit’s third deployment, including prior missions in 2004 and 2007.
The citizen-soldiers and airmen of the Washington National Guard are dedicated to the mission of safeguarding lives and property in Washington State, and serving as sentinels for freedom overseas.