Military Families Return to Misawa Air Base
By Staff Sgt. Marie Brown35th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan - A Boeing 767 aircraft carrying more than 150 passengers arrived here 22 April, one week after the Department of Defense ended the voluntary departure authorization for military dependents affected by the 11 March earthquake. The flight was the first of three chartered missions, commissioned specifically to reunite family members with their loved ones at Misawa Air Base from the United States.
Airmen of the 35th Fighter Wing have been working around the clock to ensure those who want to return on one of the special flights, commonly known as the "patriot express," receive reservations. Travel for family members includes two trips: One flight to travel from their safe haven location to Seattle, and another on the patriot express flight to bring them to Misawa. Their return signals the final phase of a return to normalcy as the base recovers from the quake.
"We look forward to the return of our Misawa families," said Col. Michael Rothstein, 35th FW commander. "We'll do our best to support them whether they are coming back tonight, next week, or sometime this summer."
This article was originally published at: http://www.misawa.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123253077
** Stay connected and engaged with us at Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, and via our RSS feed **