By Khalida Sarwari
Air National Guardsmen at Moffett Federal Airfield will take off for Djibouti tonight to assist a joint task force in its developmental and diplomatic efforts in the Horn of Africa region.
“After a busy year of saving lives during fires and hurricanes, our Airmen are ready to perform our combat search and rescue mission overseas,” Col. Amos Bagdasarian, commander with the 129th Rescue Wing, said in a statement.
The crew from the 129th Rescue Wing will depart for a 40-day stint to provide search and rescue support for Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, which according to its Web site, employs an “indirect approach” to counter violent terrorism and conducts operations to strengthen partner-nation and regional security capacity to enable long-term regional stability, prevent conflict and protect U.S. and coalition interests. The task force is composed of U.S. soldiers, marines, sailors, airmen, civilians and partner nations.
According to 129th Rescue Wing spokeswoman Alyson Teeter, the crew will help the task force coalition improve friendships and forge relationships with the region, as well as assist with building hospitals and improve infrastructure there.
The 30-member crew, maintainers and personnel will board MC-130P tankers at 5:30 p.m. from the Moffett Federal Airfield.