Utah Guard unit returns from Iraq

Eighty members of the Utah Air National Guard's 109th Air Traffic Control Squadron have returned safely from their seven-month deployment to Iraq.

Lt. Col. Kenneth Gammon, commander, said only 80 of the squadron's 130 airmen were deployed because existing infrastructure did not require the services of other members of the squadron. The air traffic controllers were stationed in Baghdad, Balad and Kirkuk.

The squadron's job was to coordinate all air traffic flying over Iraq, Gammon said. "We positioned air tankers and fast-moving aircraft where they could best support the troops on the ground. We acted like a ground-based AWACs."

The deployment was made easier by all the support from home, Gammon said. "The support from the communities, the families and employers for my folks was incredible. It would be much harder to do the job without their support. Businesses like Colonial Flag sent free flags, and we got CARE packages. It was incredible the way the community supported us."