LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. –
Light rain fell across the flight line as eager families welcomed home nearly 150 Team Langley Airmen Monday from a four-month deployment to Guam.
The assignment marked the first ever F-22 Raptor deployment to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, in support of the Pacific Theater Security Package to ensure stability in the region.
According to Master Sgt. Tonya Conrad, 27th Aircraft Maintenance Unit armament specialist, the deployment proved to be a busy, but fruitful experience for the team, who worked alongside Airmen from the 36th Wing during critical evaluations.
"We participated in two [operational readiness exercises], an [operational readiness inspection] and participated in Operation Valiant Shield through our deployment," she said. Operation Valiant Shield was an integrated, 11-day joint-training exercise among U.S. military forces off the coast of Palau and Guam.
Sergeant Conrad called the sight of Langley's F-22s in the region "a show of force in that area."
"The most exciting thing to see was our F-22s take off with B-52s from Minot [AFB, N.D.]," she said. "To know that power was in the air was awesome, and when they landed it was a real sense of accomplishment."
The island climate and weather conditions provided new challenges for Team Langley Airmen, most notably extreme humidity and frequent downpours, according to Sergeant Conrad.
"We had to overcome rain and humidity, but it was really good to learn what we could do, what our equipment could do and what the F-22 could do in that environment," she said.
When not working, the team took advantage of the sights the Pacific island offered.
Sergeant Conrad called Guam "beautiful," while Capt. Adam Heisinger, 27th Fighter Squadron flight surgeon, said he and fellow Airmen enjoyed diving, snorkeling and hiking on the island.
Remaining Team Langley personnel and aircraft are expected to return to Langley this weekend.