Oklahoma airmen return home just in time for the holidays
MIDWEST CITY, Okla. (KFOR) - The 552 Air Control Wing returned home to Tinker Air Force Base on Sunday night after being deployed in the United Arab Emirates for six months.
About 200 members came home, and families gathered beforehand with lots of anticipation.
"I'm excited, little bit nervous, but I know he's going to cry and I think all of us are going to cry, so we're just ready," Mackenna Crocker said.
Her husband got to meet their 10-week old baby for the first time.
Many kids greeted their loved ones with 'welcome home' signs, and now families can catch up on all that they missed while they were gone.
"So daddy's going to be getting a lot of surprises because we're standing up and getting ready to walk, and all the other things, screaming 'da da' a lot," Melanie Kelley said, holding her baby.
It's even more special right before the holidays.
"It's phenomenal. This is the best part of my job, just to welcome my folks back home, especially families here to meet them," Commander Sean Ames, of the 964th Airborne Air Control Squadron, said.
The airmen will be home for about a year.