Madison Brothers, 1, sees her daddy, Senior Airman Justin Brothers, for the first time in four months Friday at RAF Lakenheath. The airman with the 493rd Fighter Squadron was in Iceland. His wife, Natalie, watches the reunion. (Ron Jensen / Stars and Stripes)
RAF LAKENHEATH, England — Not all deployments go south. Some go north.
Not all deployments are to the deserts of southwest Asia. Some are to the land of geysers and glaciers and rainbow-kissed waterfalls.
More than 70 members of the 493rd Fighter Squadron, part of the 48th Fighter Wing, returned Friday from a four-month deployment to Iceland, where the squadron’s F-15C Eagles continued a decades-long defense of the island country in the north Atlantic.
Since World War II, the United States has been the country’s military, the result of a treaty between the two members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Accomplishing that requires regular rotations of fighter squadrons from the U.S. Air Force to keep the skies threat-free.
The 493rd replaced a squadron from the Massachusetts Air National Guard. The 18th Fighter Wing from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa replaced the airmen from England.
Although Iceland is not a war zone, the separation from family is no less arduous.
“It’s four months away from your husband. It doesn’t matter where he’s at,” said Tara Voss, wife of Senior Airman William Voss.
“It’s still difficult. You still miss him,” said Molly Carruthers, wife of Senior Airman Marshall Carruthers.
And the reception awaiting the airmen Friday — with balloons, placards and flowers — was the same as those for troops returning from Iraq or Afghanistan.
“I was grateful he didn’t have to go to the desert, but it was definitely hard,” said Natalie Brothers. “It’s difficult when you have to be separated from family so long.”
The three were among the wives waiting at the base. With them were several small children.
Since Senior Airman Justin Brothers last saw his daughter, Madison, on Jan. 3, the girl has had her first birthday, sprouted six new teeth and learned to walk.
For many, the deployment marked the first separation between the spouses. That made them even more grateful the deployment was to a place as serene and safe as Iceland.
“I don’t think it will ever get incredibly easy having your spouse deployed for a number of months,” Natalie Brothers said after her husband’s return from his initial deployment. “But at least I’ll have a little more preparation about what to expect [next time].”
Some spouses did enjoy one benefit that won’t be available to them if their husbands do deploy southward next time. They were able to travel to Iceland to spend time with the men.
“I visited him for a couple days in February,” Molly Carruthers said of her husband. “It was cold, but it was beautiful.”
Jenny Rodriguez had an additional reason to visit Iceland. It’s her homeland. She met her husband, Senior Airman Dennis Rodriguez, when he was assigned to Keflavik Air Station in Iceland a couple of years ago and spent a month there during his deployment.
“I got to go see both him and [my] family,” she said. “It was a very easy [deployment]. If only they were all so easy.”
