Capital Region Army National Guard Aviators Return from African Deployment

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NewYork Army National Guard Soldiers of Detachment 20 Operational Support Airlift Agency in Djibouti, Africa. The unit returned home to New York Aug. 9.

LATHAM, NY (08/08/2014)(readMedia)-- A small unit of New York Army National Guard aviators from the Capital Region who fly the military's C-12 transport plane have returned home after serving in the Horn of Africa since November.

Seven Soldiers assigned to Detachment 20 Operational Support Airlift Agency arrived at Fort Hood on August 1. The Soldiers conducted outprocessing and returned home on Thursday evening.

The Soldiers provided air transportation and cargo support for the United States Joint Task Force- Horn of Africa, based at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti.

The detachment consists of six warrant officer pilots and two administrative and operations sergeants based at the Army Aviation Support Facility in Latham at the Albany International Airport.

The Operational Support Airlift Agency is a joint Active Army and Army National Guard entity which provides passenger transport for Army and other military passengers within the United States.

The C-12 is the military version of the Beechcraft Super King Air turboprop aircraft which can carry up to 13 passengers depending on the model and configuration.

The unit deployed to Afghanistan in 2009/2010 where the Soldiers flew specially configured C-12s designed to spot improvised explosive devices from the air. The detachment also deployed to Columbia in 2006 to support U.S. operations in that country.