S.D. Air Guard unit activated

[unhappycamper]

S.D. Air Guard unit activated
By Peter Harriman - The (Sioux Falls, S.D.) Argus leader
Posted : Monday Dec 8, 2008 20:53:13 EST

On a stage flanked by the kind of heavy construction equipment they expect to be employing next month on an undisclosed air base in southwest Asia, 52 members of the South Dakota Air National Guard’s 114th Fighter Wing were called to active duty Saturday for a six-month deployment.

The 114th Civil Engineer Squadron Base Engineer Emergency Force team “will maintain the functionality of the air base,” according to Lt. Col. Reid Christopherson, the 114th’s executive officer. The BEEF team will maintain heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems, do construction projects, maintain electrical and power systems, and stand ready for emergency management.

About half the members of the unit previously deployed in 2003.

Staff Sgt. Tonja Jorenby, in charge of emergency management, will be on her third deployment.

“She’s one of the finest members of the South Dakota Air National Guard,” Christopherson said. He’ll be able to get along without her while she’s gone, he said, because “we’ve got some more she’s trained to pick up the pieces at home.”


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/12/air_guard_deploy_120808w/%2e