Wisconsin Air Guard security force members deploy to Kyrgyzstan

Approximately 30 Wisconsin Guard airmen left Friday for a six-month deployment in support of the global war on terrorism.

The airmen are members of the Madison-based 115th Security Forces Squadron, part of the 115th Fighter Wing. After completing about two weeks of preparations at Fort Bliss, Texas, they will depart for the Kyrgyz Republic, located in the Central Command area of operations. They are expected to serve for approximately six months conducting law enforcement duties such as base defense and security escorts.

This scheduled deployment is part of the U.S. Air Forces’s Air Expeditionary Force concept that identifies units in advance for probable deployment. The security force squadron members were notified in late 2008 of the Kyrgyzstan mission. The unit deployed to Kuwait and Iraq in 2005.

Since Sept. 11, 2001, every unit in the Wisconsin National Guard has deployed soldiers and airmen in support of the global war on terrorism. There are currently about 3,500 Guard members on active duty in Iraq, Afghanistan and several other places around the world. The Guard’s remaining 6,500 members are ready in Wisconsin and fully capable of providing support anywhere in the state or nation.