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http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=7834 Stars And Stripes Tuesday, April 16, 2002 Air Force begins weapons training deployment to Slovakia By Sean E. Cobb, Kaiserslautern bureau European edition, Tuesday, April 16, 2002 Aircraft from Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, flew their first missions Monday during a weapons training deployment to Slovakia. "We just started flying this morning, and we have two launches today," said Tech Sgt. Rich Romero, a spokesman for the 81st Fighter Squadron, the unit deployed to Second Air Force Base Kunchyna in Slovakia. More than 200 Air Force members and eight A-10 air-to-ground attack aircraft arrived Friday in the country for range bombing and for training with members of the Slovak air force. "We�re thrilled to be here," said Lt. Col. Mark Koechle, the squadron�s commander, in a Friday news release. "This is a great opportunity to strengthen our working relationship between the U.S. and Slovak air forces." Deployed for two weeks, the squadron expects to complete about 140 training flights. The deployment allows the squadron to complete specialized training that is difficult to accomplish in Germany because of the weather, Koechle said. Pilots are conducting basic range and bombing practice, low altitude tactical navigation and first-run attacks on targets at the Kunchyna range, Koechle said. The squadron previously traveled to Spain, Turkey and Tunisia for the air-to-ground training, but the Slovakia location allows the unit to cut travel time, said Maj. Paul Lancaster, the squadron�s assistant director of operations, in the news release. Kuchyna is a short distance north of Bratislava, the nation�s capital. The air base is about 550 miles from Spangdahlem. Planes from Spangdahlem have trained at the base before, but things were a little different this time, Romero said. The Slovak air force reorganized since the last visit and hangar space was at a premium. After some shuffling, the host country made room for the American war planes, Romero said. So far the training has been going so well. Officials are planning two more deployments to the area later in the year, they said. While in Kunchyna, deployed airmen will visit local schools to talk with children and give them exposure to U.S. servicemembers, Romero said. Squadron officials also are planning an open house and festival during a return deployment by the squadron this summer. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - online filing with TurboTax http://taxes.yahoo.com/ --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9617B Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
