CAMP MURRAY - The Washington National Guard will bid farewell to the 116th Air Support Operations Squadron in a ceremony on Saturday, March 26 at 6:00 p.m. in Building #92 on Camp Murray.

The unit will serve in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and will be
based in Afghanistan.  Approximately 20 Washington Air National Guard
members will comprise the deploying force of the 116th.

"We are extremely proud of the 116th.  They are well trained, experienced
and ready to accomplish any mission they are given," said Major General
Timothy J. Lowenberg, the Adjutant General and commander of the Washington
National Guard.

The 116th is headquartered at Camp Murray and is part of the Washington Air
National Guard's 194th Regional Support Wing.  The citizen-airmen of the
116th are Tactical Air Control Party members; often considered the furthest
extension of Air Force influence on the Army's battlefield.  TACP airmen
deploy into combat with Special Operations teams and serve as close air
support experts, advising ground commanders on the use of Air Force assets
in combat.  They serve as forward air controllers, winning battles by
guiding weapons onto target.

Pre-deployment training for the 116th began last fall and included events at
Fort Irwin, California and Fort Stewart, Georgia.  The deployment is
scheduled to last approximately four months.  Although individual members of
the unit have deployed previously, this is the first deployment in the
squadron's history of this size.