The Nevada Air National Guard High Rollers are back home, after being deployed for six months in Iran for Operation Epic Fury.
Airmen returned Sunday afternoon at the Reno National Guard Base, just south of the Reno-Tahoe Airport.
Dozens of family members sat just off the runway, waiting to welcome their troops home. Two planes circled the reno airport carrying guardsmen from the 152nd Airlift Wing, better known as the High Rollers.
They were deployed with only three days' notice, making this the largest short-notice deployment for the unit since the Persian Gulf War in 1991, and the third largest in its history. The other one occurred during the Pueblo Crisis in 1968.
The High Rollers provided tactical airlift for movement during the conflict, including munitions and personnel.
Suzanne McKenzie welcomed her husband home after 64 days in the Middle East. She brings a unique perspective, having been deployed herself. She says stability is the number one thing that her husband needs coming home.
“It's just as hard for them coming home as it's been for us, waiting for them to get here,” she says. “I think that being able to bring in that perspective of just being that rock and being that member for the service members.”
McKenzie brought the whole family to welcome her husband home, including all of their children, and both her parents and her husband's parents. She says in her experience, the mindset shifts from planning missions to coordinating family gatherings.
The 152nd was listed as a "contingency response available" unit, meaning they're on standby to go on short notice.
Lieutenant Colonel Reed Kobernick received a warm welcome from his wife after what he says was not a normal deployment.
“We didn't know what we were getting into,” he says. “We didn't know where we were going, essentially, until we landed. We ended up, flying in really the first modern air war in anybody's memory."
The pilot says they didn't find out when they were going home until two months ago.
Aubrie Chiatovich says she’s relieved to be back home and is eager to get back to the finer things in life.
“This was the scariest six months of my life,” she says. “Can't really go into detail about it, but I'm so happy to be home and really happy to have ranch again. They did not have ranch when we were deployed, so I want ranch and Dutch Bros."
Chiatovich served as flight chief, so it was her job to oversee maintenance personnel. She's proud to say the High Rollers never had to cancel a flight due to maintenance over the six-month deployment.
On those flights, the high rollers provided tactical airlift during the conflict, including moving around munitions and personnel.
2 News Nevada thanks the brave men and women of the 152nd Airlift Wing for their service.
