More than 120 Airmen from McChord Field's 8th Airlift Squadron will be greeted by family and friends today after a 120-day deployment in support of Operations ENDURING and IRAQI FREEDOM.

The 8th AS airmen were deployed as the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron to an overseas contingency location in the Middle East.

During their deployment, the C-17 squadron flew 2,789 sorties, equaling more than 7,000 hours, moved more than 37,000 passengers and delivered more than 115 million pounds of combat sustainment cargo for U.S. military forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Earlier this month, the 816th EAS participated in Operation EVEREST. They dropped a record-breaking 837 bundles on 22 drop zones with a combined weight of more than 1.1 million pounds of cargo. The record of 837 bundles is the highest number of bundles dropped in a week ever by a C-17 squadron.

"I've really enjoyed watching this team work -- setting a goal, setting the bar high and watching them achieve it," said Lt. Col. Stephen Ritter, 816th EAS commander. "They came in from day one to do the job right and to help everyone do great things. It just goes to show the great things you can achieve when you build a cohesive, tight, professional team."