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107th ARW security forces deploy

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Rebecca Kenyon
  • 107th AW
NIAGARA FALLS ARS, N.Y. --  Families and friends gathered inside the security forces classroom in building 901 on Feb. 25 to say goodbye to their loved ones, knowing it would be months before they would see each other again.

The send off began a series of deployments for a group of 107th security police who will join forces in Iraq to help secure Air Force personnel and assets over the next several months.

Senior Airman Kelli Sweeney, 107th ARW Security Forces, put her sophomore year at college on hold to join her fellow airmen on the deployment. Sweeney said she isn't worried about taking time off of school for the deployment. She said she looks forward to the experience.

"I'm young and I want to travel, its good experience so I don't mind it," said Sweeney.

Sweeney said she will miss the people in her life the most but she expects the deployment to go by very quickly.

Sweeney said she feels proud about serving, "We all volunteered, it's not like I had to go," she said.

Tech. Sgt. Adam Piedmont, 107th ARW Security Forces, left his fiancé and his civilian career as a police officer at home to deploy on Feb. 25.

Piedmont, who has been in the military for nearly 10 years, said he expected to deploy.

"I'm ready," said Piedmont, "It's got to get done."

Piedmont said he prepared for the deployment by taking all of his training seriously.

On Feb. 21 the deploying security forces returned from 16 days of combat skills training in Nevada.

Piedmont said the training in Nevada will help him with the deployment. He added staying current with the news to become familiar with the region and the environment also helped him prepare for the deployment.

Piedmont said he will miss his family, his friends, his dog and his job, but most of all, he looks forward to completing the mission and returning home with the same people he left with.