Airmen deploy to Southwest Asia

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jarad A. Denton
  • 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. --  Approximately 300 Airmen from Ellsworth Air Force Base deployed to Southwest Asia, Jan. 15.

The Airmen will be providing operational support to the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing during their deployment.

"We've put a lot of time developing and training our Airmen," said Lt. Col. Allen Griffis, 37th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron commander. "Now it's time to take what we've learned and put it into practice."

For some Airmen, this will be the first time they have used their training in a deployment setting. Airman 1st Class Genevieve Kohl, 28th Operations Support Squadron communications security technician, said this, her first deployment, has brought about mixed emotions.

"I'm excited and nervous at the same time," she said. "Adapting to a new schedule and expectations will be challenging, but I'm ready to handle it. The hardest part will be leaving my 7-month-old son behind."

Airman Kohl said the night before she left, her son held onto her as tight as he could and wouldn't let go.

"It was like he knew I was leaving. I cried for two hours," she said. "I love him more than anything in the world; and I have to keep reminding myself that I'm doing all this for him. I'm going over there to make a better life for both of us."

According to Lt. Col. Derek Leivestad, 37th EBS instructor pilot, the hardest part of wearing the U.S. Air Force uniform is saying goodbye to family when it's time to deploy.

"It's never easy, saying goodbye, especially as my children have gotten older," he said. "But, you know this day is coming. It's what we all signed up to do when we raised our right hand."

Colonel Leivestad, who is deploying for the seventh time in his military career, said staying busy is the key to passing the time quickly. He said the internet has made communicating with his family much easier, and a lot more frequent.

"It's great that we can talk online now, almost anytime we want," said Claire Leivestad, wife of Colonel Leivestad. "That's a long way from one 15-minute phone call a week."

Mrs. Leivestad said part of getting through a deployment, for those left behind, is to have a strong support network.

"Our families are close by, in case we need anything," she said. "And the squadron spouses have been really great helping my children and me through this."

Colonel Griffis said the support from family, friends and the local community has been overwhelming.

"It's not just our Airmen walking out the door to go downrange," he said. "It's about their families, friends and local community coming together to support what we are doing. It's about them realizing that, while this is a temporary hardship, we do this to safeguard the lives and freedom of everyone back home."