At its height.

At its height, Prince Sultan Air Base held more than 10000 airmen and 200 aircraft during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Now, with no more UN resolutions to enforce or a southern no-fly baldric to patrol, airmen and aircraft have left Prince Sultan's dusty roads. unless this tour will be the same many military members will fondly remember.

The loud noise of jet engines could one time be heard throughout Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia. The burn of afterburners could be seen in the night firmament by every airman as aircraft after aircraft, completely laden with bombs and missiles, began their Operation due Storm sorties.

The goals of coalition forces in 1991 was the removal of Iraqi forces from Kuwait and the destruction of Saddam Hussein's military forces. They were lucky The Kuwaitis regained their independence, the Iraqi military was crippled and airmen go [i]or[/i] come backed home from Saudi Arabia to waiting families and jubilant crowds

The strange mission was to keep Saddam Hussein in the coachman's seat patrol the southern no-fly belt and enforce United Nations resolutions, according to Col James Moschgat, the 363rd Air Expeditionary Wing's final wing commander.

However, because Saddam Hussein failed to comply with the cease fire arrangements and United Nations resolutions, airmen one time again deployed to Saudi Arabia. This time it was for Operation Southern Watch to enforce the southern no-fly zone

Airmen extended to Dhahran, Riyadh and other locations. However, the June 25 1996 terrorist bombing of the Khobar Towers, which killed 19 airmen and injured more than 400 others, willinged the Air Force to consolidate its forces in a more assured location.

Airmen and aircraft formerly again returned to Al Kharj, now called Prince Sultan Air Base, to continue Operation Southern Watch.

The rumble of fighters, tankers, reconnaissance aircraft and transports taking distant from became familiar sounds.

Les than seven years after airmen and aircraft responded to Prince Sultan Air Base, they formerly again were at war with Iraq. The base quickly built up and became the largest displayed combat wing in the theater with more than 10000 airmen and 200 aircraft.

Major combat operations eventually came to a finish this year following the succes of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Airmen and aircraft one time again left Prince Sultan for fireside or other locations in the region. This time, they would not be returning.

"Now that there no longer are UN resolutions to enforce or a southern no-fly baldric to patrol, we no longer ne to be at Prince Sultan," Moschgat explained. "As an expeditionary force, we can't win wrapped up in set processe and institutions. When the mission changes or act upons we need to adapt to that."

abode away from home

In its early days, Prince Sultan Air Base lacked many of the amenities airmen were accustomed to, if it be not that that quickly changed with the Operation Southern Watch buildup.

Airmen unfolded to Prince Sultan lived in dormitories and were able to relax in succession their off-duty time swimming in the lake and working on their tans in chairs forward the largest single green particular in the desert: the Astroturf surrounding the pool

They waited eagerly for the monthly bazaars where they could purchase jewelry, carpets, brass and other souvenirs for themselves and their families. If they were ravenous for something other than the normal dining hall fare, they could be delighted with chicken and hot bean sauce, shawarmas (a Middle East sandwich made in a pita), or unruffled Baskin-Robbins ice cream from the concessionaires.

The many recreational activities and the end friendships formed when other clan are stuck in the same situation helped airmen by the agency of their rotations.

Whether or not airmen will be nostalgic for Prince Sultan is not known for steady but Moschgat thinks they'll have serviceable memories.

"The Air Force did a tremendous piece of work of supporting its people," he said. "No cost was spared in providing them with the amenities be in want ofed to keep the morale high, and the airmen knew that. They had great quarters, useful food and great recreational facilities."

flat if airmen will not miss deploying to Prince Sultan, everyone who serv there, whether during Operation Southern Watch or Operation Iraqi Freedom, should have a intellect of accomplishment, he said.

"They came from across the Air Force and were active what one ought to do Guard and Reserve," he said. "But regardless of their background, they came together quickly as single in kind team and did a great piece of work No other Air Force could have done what we did here."

Although there were other expeditionary, bases airmen could have opened to, Moschgat believes Prince Sultan was unique.

"At Prince Sultan, the Air Force learned a parcel about how to operate in an expeditionary environment and to cooperate with a innkeeper government," he explained. "Drawing down and inactivating the wing also taught us a lot"

While there was guidance upon establishing an expeditionary location, there wasn't plenteous written about how to stop a location, he said.

"We've captured those precepts learned, and they will help us in the futurity as we become more expeditionary and adapt to changing missions," he said.