Three Team Offutt members part of the final group to leave Iraq

  • Published
  • By Ryan Hansen
  • 55th Wing Public Affairs
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. --  The U.S. military has had personnel in Iraq since March 2003, but come Dec. 31, the last American troops will have officially left the country after more than nine years.

Some of the final group of service members to leave Iraq was three individuals from Team Offutt: Tech. Sgt. Nicole Beye, 2d Weather Squadron, Staff Sgt. Josh Ferrell, 55th Logistics Readiness Squadron, and Staff Sgt. Alexis Johnson, 55th Operations Support Squadron.

The trio returned home Dec. 21 and while all of them were ecstatic to be back with their family and friends just in time for the holidays, they were also very proud and honored to have been some of the last Airmen to serve in Iraq.

"I am really happy to be able to have such a unique mark on my career," said Beye, who is a weather intelligence forecaster with the 2d WS. "Not very many people can say they were there when military operations ended, at least not for an operation as large as Operation New Dawn."

"This was my second deployment to Iraq," said Johnson, who serves as an airfield management operations supervisor with the 55th OSS. "I was there in 2008 and the mission was completely different because we were still in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"Deploying this time under Operation New Dawn and really helping the Iraqi military be self sustaining with the aid of the U.S. military was huge," she continued. "Although it had a presence last time I was here, this time it was really about the U.S. military and Iraqi military uniting for a common cause, and I am honored to be a part of that."

"It is pretty remarkable that I was one of the last troops out of Iraq," said Ferrell, who is a logistics journeyman with the 55th LRS. "It was very rewarding to be such an integral part of this historic event."

All three deployed to Iraq from Offutt this past summer and immediately hit the ground running. While they all served in their primary Air Force positions, they've also worked in other areas as the mission dictated.

Beye spent the first five months of her deployment serving on the combat weather team. In that capacity she took a minimum of hourly weather observations, developed five and seven day forecasts for bases throughout Iraq and in order to help with the drawdown, she helped close down the weather shop Nov. 1.

Since then Beye had been assigned to the protocol office where she helped plan for the historical end of mission ceremony.

"In the final month, we supported distinguished visitors such as general officers, ambassadors, the chief of staff of the Air Force as well as the vice president," she said. "My team and I were on the last plane out of Sather Air Base, Iraq, after all of the DV's had left."

During Johnson's deployment to Baghdad International Airport, she served as the deputy airfield manager where she inspected the airfield, coordinated aircraft missions for all inbound and outbound aircraft, ran the airfield driving program and responded to aircraft in-flight and ground emergencies.

What was unique for her was that while she was accomplishing those tasks, she was also helping to train members of the Iraqi military.

"In order to meet the deadline, I had to train multiple groups of Iraqi soldiers on airfield driving so that they could continue security on the airfield after our military presence was gone," she said. "I trained multiple Iraqis on standard airfield driving procedures and trained five individuals on how to set up their own airfield driving program so that they could establish and enforce standards of their own."

Ferrell was part of the 447th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron working in logistics plans. He identified passengers and cargo assets needing redeployment by the Dec. 31 deadline, as well as scheduled airlift requests to move the assets out of the country.

"I had to email three day previews of flight departures as well as final same day flight departures and ensure the (logistics data) was correct to ensure efficient redeployment of passengers and cargo," he said. "I also helped train 20 unit deployment managers to aid in redeployment processes."

As most military members will tell you, during a deployment a tight bond develops between personnel who spend between 12-16 hours a day for months on end accomplishing the mission together. For this group of three Team Offutt members, that bond and being some of the final Americans to leave Iraq is something they'll never forget.

"I just want to say that this was my first deployment and I've been really lucky to have great leadership all the way up," Beye said. "I was fortunate enough to serve with some excellent Airmen, Soldiers and Sailors in Iraq."

"I am proud to serve and say that I was one of the last boots on the ground in Iraq when Operation New Dawn ended," Johnson said.

"This is not an occasion that many military members get to be a part of and I am very honored that I got to participate," Ferrell said. "This is an event that I get to talk to my family about, my children and grandchildren in the future."

While the American troop presence in Iraq is now officially over, the sacrifices made there by them will never be forgotten. Since combat operations began, more than one million service members have served there.