Portland, Ore. – More than 90 Citizen-Airmen from the Oregon Air National Guard’s 116th Air Control Squadron (ACS) were welcomed home in a formal demobilization ceremony at Camp Withycombe, in Clackamas, Oregon, Jan. 22.
The 116th ACS, based at Camp Rilea, in Warrenton, Oregon, is a deployable air control and radar/communications unit. Members of the 116th ACS deployed to Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates from May to November 2015.
The Airmen operated and maintained surveillance, communications and air space management systems to support coalition air operations in and around the Arabian Gulf area of responsibility including, Operations Inherent Resolve (OIR), Resolute Support (ORS), Combined Defense of the Arabian Gulf (CDAG), and Freedom’s Sentinel (OFS).
The Airmen worked with joint service and coalition personnel to operate and maintain the world’s largest control and reporting center. Their knowledge and manpower provided a picture of the theater of operations, ensuring the defense of seven Arabian Gulf nations, the safety of 27,000 aircraft across 13 countries, and enabling the disruption of enemy forces throughout the region.
In attendance at the ceremony were Oregon Governor Kate Brown; U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader; Maj. Gen. Michael Stencel, Adjutant General, Oregon, and many other special guests and supporters.
