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Nevada Air National Guardsmen and four C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft returned home Oct. 4 after a six-month deployment in support of Operation Epic Fury, following one week’s notice of the federal call-up.
It was the largest short-notice deployment of the Nevada Air Guard since the Persian Gulf War in 1991.
And it is the third largest such deployment in the organization’s history. The other occurred during the Pueblo Crisis in 1968 when 600 Nevada Air Guardsmen in Reno, Nevada, mobilized on a one-week notice in response to North Korea’s seizing of a U.S. naval vessel.
Aircrew, maintenance and support personnel for four aircraft participated in this summer’s deployment, bringing the total mobilized Airmen to more than 200.
The 152nd Airlift Wing, with its C-130 H3 tactical airlift mission, was listed as a “contingency response available” unit this spring before Epic Fury began.
“It’s a six-month available window to be ready for any overseas contingency,” said Lt. Col. David McNally, the 192nd Airlift Squadron commander and pilot who deployed this summer. “The High Rollers were on the list to go and answered the call. We are always ready when our nation calls and this deployment showed that.”
The 152nd High Rollers provided tactical airlift for theater movement during Epic Fury, including munitions and personnel.
“I don’t think our unit has faced a bigger threat,” McNally said. “They were in weapon engagement zones. They did a hell of a job and operated for six months through war. They did it without any losses and were one hundred percent mission effective the entire time. Any tasking we were called to do, we filled. It all comes back to our training here in Nevada. That played a significant part in our success.”
The Nevada National Guard will not release additional specifics on theater operations because of operational security for military members currently deployed in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.
Master Sgt. Aubrie Chiatovich, a maintainer, said she’s looking forward to feeling more at home.
“Can’t really go into detail about it [the deployment], but I’m so happy to be home and really happy to have ranch [dressing] again,” she said. “They did not have ranch when we were deployed, so I want ranch and Dutch Bros [a popular Nevada coffee chain].”
The 152nd AW has operated at the Nevada Air National Guard Base at the south runway of the Reno-Tahoe International Airport since 1954.
Before that, its aviators worked out of the Stead Air Force Base north of Reno from 1948 to 1954. It has operated C-130 Hercules since 1996.
The Nevada National Guard offers services for military members and their families, including chaplains, behavioral health specialists and the Military and Family Readiness Program.
—Reported by Capt. Emerson Marcus
