thedrifter
01-31-08, 06:18 AM
HMM-261 returns
BY KEVIN FORSYTHE
January 30, 2008 - 4:03PM
DAILY NEWS STAFF
The Marines once again proved they know how to make an entrance.
What started out as a group of small dots on the horizon soon became a 21-helicopter fly-over for a large cheering group of family and friends attending Wednesday’s homecoming of Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 261 at New River Air Station.
The aviation combat element of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit was the latest part of the unit to arrive back home.
The HMM-261, comprised of 280 Marines and Navy personnel, was returning from a six-month deployment.
The full return of all elements of the 22nd MEU is expected to be completed by Friday.
Many of the returning Marines and their families still had an eye on Christmas — last Christmas.
“We’re going home and celebrating Christmas,” said Sgt. Trent Kekel, whose wife Shannon said the tree and all of the other decorations were still up.
“But first,” he added, “I’m taking a good long, hot shower.”
Sheila Williams had her eye on making up for two missed holidays.
“We’re celebrating both Thanksgiving and Christmas,” said Williams, whose boyfriend Sgt. Larry Edinger’s only request was to have a ham with hollandaise sauce dinner ready for the celebration.
But there were those whose thoughts weren’t of a white Christmas, but of white sandy beaches — Vanessa Haar and her boyfriend are headed to the Aloha State.
Haar struggled to hold a large bunch of blue balloons aimed at helping Staff Sgt. Jeremy Gahn, who was returning from his sixth deployment, find her in the crowd.
“We’ve got plans to spend six wonderful days in Hawaii,” she said.
Cpl. Nicholas Moneymaker’s 3-year-old daughter, Mackenzie, took part in a popular deployment tradition to know just when her daddy was getting home.
“We counted out the exact number of M&Ms for each day he was away,” said Moneymaker’s wife, Nichole. “Every day, Mackenzie would eat one of the M&Ms. Today she ate the last one.”
The HMM-261 consisted of CH-53 Super Stallion, CH-46E Sea Knight, Huey and Cobra attack helicopters and six AV-8B Harriers.
The six Harriers flew a total of 68 sorties in Iraq this past fall. These missions provided ground units an extra set of eyes by reporting suspicious activity.
The Harriers also flew combat missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom over Afghanistan. There, Harriers acted as convoy escorts and delivered precision guided munitions on enemy targets when coalition forces were engaged.
“This is what we train to do, and we did it well,” said Lt. Col. James Flynn, commanding officer of HMM-261. “Our pilots were ready for anything, and it’s good to know that we were able to directly support those ground forces when they needed it the most.”
Ellie
BY KEVIN FORSYTHE
January 30, 2008 - 4:03PM
DAILY NEWS STAFF
The Marines once again proved they know how to make an entrance.
What started out as a group of small dots on the horizon soon became a 21-helicopter fly-over for a large cheering group of family and friends attending Wednesday’s homecoming of Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 261 at New River Air Station.
The aviation combat element of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit was the latest part of the unit to arrive back home.
The HMM-261, comprised of 280 Marines and Navy personnel, was returning from a six-month deployment.
The full return of all elements of the 22nd MEU is expected to be completed by Friday.
Many of the returning Marines and their families still had an eye on Christmas — last Christmas.
“We’re going home and celebrating Christmas,” said Sgt. Trent Kekel, whose wife Shannon said the tree and all of the other decorations were still up.
“But first,” he added, “I’m taking a good long, hot shower.”
Sheila Williams had her eye on making up for two missed holidays.
“We’re celebrating both Thanksgiving and Christmas,” said Williams, whose boyfriend Sgt. Larry Edinger’s only request was to have a ham with hollandaise sauce dinner ready for the celebration.
But there were those whose thoughts weren’t of a white Christmas, but of white sandy beaches — Vanessa Haar and her boyfriend are headed to the Aloha State.
Haar struggled to hold a large bunch of blue balloons aimed at helping Staff Sgt. Jeremy Gahn, who was returning from his sixth deployment, find her in the crowd.
“We’ve got plans to spend six wonderful days in Hawaii,” she said.
Cpl. Nicholas Moneymaker’s 3-year-old daughter, Mackenzie, took part in a popular deployment tradition to know just when her daddy was getting home.
“We counted out the exact number of M&Ms for each day he was away,” said Moneymaker’s wife, Nichole. “Every day, Mackenzie would eat one of the M&Ms. Today she ate the last one.”
The HMM-261 consisted of CH-53 Super Stallion, CH-46E Sea Knight, Huey and Cobra attack helicopters and six AV-8B Harriers.
The six Harriers flew a total of 68 sorties in Iraq this past fall. These missions provided ground units an extra set of eyes by reporting suspicious activity.
The Harriers also flew combat missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom over Afghanistan. There, Harriers acted as convoy escorts and delivered precision guided munitions on enemy targets when coalition forces were engaged.
“This is what we train to do, and we did it well,” said Lt. Col. James Flynn, commanding officer of HMM-261. “Our pilots were ready for anything, and it’s good to know that we were able to directly support those ground forces when they needed it the most.”
Ellie