PEASE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, N.H. -- Eleven New Hampshire Air National Guardsmen of the 157th Air Refueling Wing at Pease Air National Guard Base have deployed to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, to join the task force supporting the arrival of vulnerable Afghans there.
The Department of Defense recently approved a request for assistance from the State Department to provide temporary housing, sustainment, and support inside the United States for vulnerable Afghans at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin; Fort Bliss, Texas; Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey; and Fort Lee, Virginia. Pease Airmen are expected to support the task force until at least Sept. 30.
U.S. Northern Command is the Department of Defense's lead combatant command for this mission in the continental United States and is providing oversight in support of the Department of State.
U.S. Army North, as U.S. Northern Command's Joint Force Land Component Command, is the lead operational command for this mission. The task force at JBMDL will provide the housing, medical, logistics, and transportation support.
The New Hampshire Air National Guard has a long tradition of volunteering to answer our nation’s calls for support, and this time is no exception,” said Brig. Gen. Jed French, the commander of the NH Air National Guard. “I am proud of the Airmen who have volunteered on short notice to support our Afghan partners and their families."