Photo By Master Sgt. Paula Aragon | On Sept. 12, 2015, the members of the 210th Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy...... read more read more
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. – The New Mexico Air National Guard hosted more than 65 Airmen, their families and friends for a yellow ribbon sendoff ceremony for the 210th Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineer (RED HORSE) Sept. 12, 2015, at the 150th Special Operations Wing here.
The 210th RED HORSE, a self-sustaining and highly mobile squadron, will deploy to Southwest Asia where they will provide heavy repair and construction support.
The Airmen of the 210th, led by Lt. Col. Thomas Benton and Chief Master Sgt. Johnny Lucero, have been committed to their training and are prepared to deploy to accomplish the mission. While this is the first federal activation to a combat zone for the unit since being stood up in the fall of 2010, many members of the RED HORSE Squadron have deployed to field training exercises, a humanitarian mission to the Dominican Republic, and other missions that have helped them hone their various skill sets. They will be gone from their family and friends for approximately six months following some additional Combat Skills Training in Texas.
Airman 1st Class Michael Craig, a heavy equipment operator with the 210th originally from Moriarty, New Mexico, said he joined the RED HORSE unit specifically to deploy. He went on to comment that the RED HORSE Squadron itself is a very special unit with its own personality. Craig said he is both nervous and excited about the deployment and thinks he’ll miss the Moriarty Mountains and Keva Juice most.
The yellow ribbon ceremony is part of a program the military uses to show its support of the family members left behind. The event itself is a portion of a larger series of informative meetings that aim to provide resources, introductions to key personnel, and facilitate discussions about the deployment between family members and those going forward. The ceremony offers an opportunity to create a tangible, visual reminder of those deployed in the form of a yellow ribbon tied onto a tree. Craig said the ceremony felt like it was beneficial for the family in order to be able to better accept and understand the deployment.
Carleen Santos, mother of Senior Airman Billy Santos, said the yellow ribbon event and the Family Programs were wonderful. Even though she felt as prepared as possible, she still expressed some apprehension toward her young son deploying.
“I am honored, proud, scared, excited, nervous, all of that and more,” Santos said. “I want him to experience camaraderie. I want him to see a different way of being, living and I want him to come back knowing that he did something to be proud of.”
New Mexico National Guard Adjutant General Brig. Gen. Andrew E. Salas thanked the Airmen and their families for serving. He said the unit came from ground zero to being fully stood up with an entire other set of career fields in the course of the past four years. Salas said the RED HORSE is a whole new way of thinking and he recognized the sacrifice made by those in uniform and those supporting them.
“Your Nation has called on you to step into harm’s way; you’re ready and you are going,” Salas said. “Thank you for investing the best years of your life in service to God and country to protect this wonderful land of ours.”
Salas assured the deploying Airmen that their families will be taken care of back home in order for them to be able to focus on the mission at hand and ensure their own safety and that of their fellow Airman.
“Don’t fail,” Salas said. “Your nation needs you, your family needs you, generations of Americans yet to come need you, and you must not fail. It’s up to you to take that training, to take that passion, that dedication and make a difference during your deployment. Don’t falter; adapt and overcome.”
At the close of the ceremony, Benton and Lucero along with their wives tied yellow ribbons onto a young tree. In the military, the symbolism of the yellow ribbon dates back to a time when sweethearts of GIs tied a yellow ribbon in their hair to signify their devotion to their deployed loved one.
The 210th RED HORSE tree, now covered in ribbons sporting the names of the service men and women penned by their loved ones, will be displayed prominently at the New Mexico Air National Guard headquarters as a steadfast reminder of the members of the squadron. It will be cared for, nurtured and grow over the next six months awaiting the return of all of the Airmen.
| Date Taken: | 09.12.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 09.16.2015 15:53 |
| Story ID: | 176247 |
| Location: | ALBUQUERQUE, NM, US |
| Hometown: | MORIARTY, NM, US |
| Web Views: | 630 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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