POINT MUGU : Air Wing Called Up; 1st Time in 29 Years

Forty-three reservists are scheduled to leave Point Mugu for Saudi Arabia early Monday, the first members of the Air National Guard’s 146th Tactical Airlift Wing to be activated since the Berlin Wall went up 29 years ago.

Maj. Michael W. Ritz, a spokesman for the Channel Islands Air National Guard base at Point Mugu, said the wing’s aeromedical evacuation squadron was activated last month for a six-month tour in the Persian Gulf region.

The 160 medical technicians and nurses in the squadron are trained to stabilize the wounded and airlift them from the battlefield to aid stations or hospitals. Although only 43 are leaving Monday, others may soon follow, Ritz said.

About half of those leaving are women.

In past months, other National Guard personnel have departed for Saudi Arabia from the Channel Islands Air National Guard base next to the Point Mugu Naval Air Station. Until now, all of the citizen-soldiers have volunteered for active duty.

As of this week, another 53 from the Channel Islands base have volunteered to support the U.S. buildup of troops in the Persian Gulf region. More than half are in Saudi Arabia, Ritz said. The rest are at bases in Europe or the United States, filling in for active-duty personnel sent to Saudi Arabia.

Next month, about 100 pilots, mechanics and cargo handlers with the 146th Tactical Airlift Wing are scheduled to go to England to help transport supplies around Europe and possibly to the Persian Gulf.