WMBFNews.com | Myrtle Beach/Florence, SC | News, Weather, SportsSC's Shaw Air Force Base squadrons slated for Iraq
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Associated Press - November 18, 2009 9:15 AM ET
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. (AP) - Several Air Force F-16 fighter squadrons based in South Carolina are in line for four-month deployments to Iraq in the coming year.
Military officials say the 77th fighter squadron from Shaw Air Force Base outside Sumter is preparing for a deployment to Iraq in January. By the time the unit returns in April, the pilots from the 55th Fighter Squadron from Shaw will head there.
Sometime in the spring, the 169th F-16 squadron based at McEntire Joint National Guard base in Eastover will also deploy to Iraq.
More than 200 airmen, pilots and support staff left Shaw in October for Afghanistan. They are flying missions to support the ground combat operations of Army, Navy and Marine Corps units. They are expected back next year.
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