Daddy's home

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Lauren Gleason
  • 507th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Families, friends and Air Force Reserve leaders lined up June 11 to greet thirteen Citizen Airmen of the 507th Maintenance Group here upon returning home from a four-month deployment to Southwest Asia.

Master Sgt. Robert Mills of the 507th Maintenance Squadron here had a special guest waiting to meet him: his two-month old baby boy who was born during his deployment.

Mills’ wife, mother, and two sons anxiously awaited his arrival back from his third deployment, just one week before Father’s Day.

Robert’s wife, Jordan Mills, said deployments come with many challenges. She said she relied on the tremendous support from her family.

“My mom and mother-in-law got me through,” Jordan said. “I couldn’t have done it without them.”

Mills said he didn’t let the distance keep him from being involved in his son’s birth. 

“It was interesting going through the whole birth over the phone,” Mills said. “My mom gave the play-by-play.”

 

When asked about their plans they had for the evening, Mills said he and his family planned to eat the one kind of cuisine that was not available at the dining facility: Mexican food.

 

Mills said he was also excited to get a good night’s sleep and take his kids to the park.

 

“It’s going to be nice to get home and help out with little Luke," Mills said.

 

Jordan offered some advice for military spouses coping with a loved one’s deployment.

 

“Pray as often as you can,” Jordan said. “And watch a lot of Netflix.”

 

Col. Travis Caughlin, 507th Maintenance Group commander, greeted the Airmen and gave them a warm welcome.

 

“We are very proud of the great work that they did,” Caughlin said. “We’re glad to see them back home.”

 

The deployed team provided KC-135R maintenance in support of Central Command’s combat operations, where Mills served as coordinator on the flightline. 

 

The 507th Air Refueling Wing here employs more than 1,110 Citizen Airmen who operate and maintain eight KC-135R Stratotanker aircraft and provide worldwide aerial refueling to U.S. and NATO aircraft in times of peace, war and national emergency.

 

Following a deployment, Airmen are required to report in to complete paperwork, and then are allowed leave for about a month to recuperate and to reunite with family.

 

The Air Force Reserve’s Yellow Ribbon Program helps military members maintain resiliency during all stages of deployment, which is integral to the morale and welfare of Airmen and families.

 

Yellow Ribbon is a series of events designed to provide members and families with essential resources prior to departure, a level of stability and support during deployment, and successful re-integration techniques after the deployment cycle ends.

 

Many of the Citizen Airmen who returned on Saturday plan to use the program following leave.