ALTUS, Okla_ Troops from
Altus Air Force Base are making sure the Fort
Sill troops deploying to Turkey
get there safely.
The Sill troops
will provide support for patriot missiles based there. It's an effort to shore
up their defenses in case the ongoing civil war in Syria
leads to attacks on Turkey.
Since late last
week, Altus Air Force Base has been busy serving as a hub, transporting the
troops and missiles to Turkey.
About 400 soldiers unloaded a bus and boarded a C-17 Globemaster 3 at Altus Air
Force Base. The plane is destined for a non-stop flight to Turkey.
For Fort Sill Specialist
Bryant Burn-Martin, leaving from Altus AFB was a surprise.
"I didn't
expect us to fly out of Altus; I thought it was
going to be out of Fort
Sill, but there's a lot of
stuff behind the scenes that I don't know."
The troops will
be joined by dozens of patriot missile batteries to augment Turkey's defense capabilities.
"The stuff
I have seen like the load plans, the vehicles, and getting ready have gone
fairly smoothly," Burn-Martin said.
Altus AFB
officials say they had 9 missions in connection with the Turkey flights,
and they've completed all of them.
Other bases
from around the country will complete 12 others.
