VMR Belle Chasse Detachment returns from Central Command deployment

Photo By Tammy Prine | Lance Cpl. Mitchell T. Spead Jr., VMR BC Det crew chief, holds one of his young daughters after arriving home from a three-month deployment to Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar. (U.S. Navy Photos by Tammy Prine)  

BELLE CHASSE, LA, UNITED STATES

05.17.2011

Story by Cpl. Jad Sleiman 

Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES)

BELLE CHASSE, La. – The first of 20 Marine Transport Squadron Belle Chasse Marines returned home from a six-month tour supporting Operations Enduring Freedom and New Dawn in Afghanistan and Iraq, May 11.

The Marines used two UC-35D jet aircraft to ferry high-value personnel and equipment to and from Afghanistan and Iraq under strict time constraints. They were based out of Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, throughout their tour.

The slender aircraft were used as a faster and easier mode of transportation when cargo or personnel were light yet critically important. Often, the Marines ferried unit commanders and urgently needed equipment.

“If I have two people who need to get somewhere in a hurry, it’s more efficient to use my aircraft tha,n say, a C-130,” said VMR Belle Chasse commanding officer Lt. Col. Tom Ringo referring to the hulking C-130 Hercules military cargo plane.

The rest of the detachment is set to return home over the coming week before the unit’s aircraft return May 18 with the last Marines to leave theatre.

Lance Cpl. Mitchell Spead, a UC-35D crew chief, said he was eager to finally “eat some real food,” but saw the importance of his time spent overseas.

“We’re making a lot of progress over there,” he said. “It’s definitely more secure.”

The hardest part about being away for his first deployment, he said, was the time he spent away from his family.

Lt. Col. Enrique Bourgeois, the detachment’s director of safety standardization, echoed Spead sentiments, adding, “I’m just glad to be home.”

• Date Taken: 05.17.2011
• Date Posted: 05.17.2011 10:15
• Story ID: 70527
• Location: BELLE CHASSE, LA, US