CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — More than 200 Marines and sailors returned to Okinawa Saturday after a seven-month deployment to Iraq.

The troops were among the first of 560 from Marine Wing Support Squadron 172 to return from Al Asad Air Base in Anbar province. The rest of the unit is expected to wrap up its first combat deployment since Vietnam in the next several days.

The squadron’s performance was "extraordinary," as they worked around the clock to repair the base’s 35 miles of flight line, keep the fuel flowing and perform other maintenance tasks, said Maj. Darien Pedota, the unit’s executive officer. He said there were a lot of "long hours and long days."

The Marines provided aircraft fuel for 11 to 13 flight squadrons on a daily basis, Pedota said. Normally, an aviation support squadron would support only five to six flight squadrons, he said.

The unit repaired the base’s airfield — which had been neglected for years — and roads and other structures. Pedota said one of the highlights of the deployment was building an RRP, or rapid refueling point, from the ground up.

The project included creating 2,000 meters of protective berm, an anti-vehicular ditch and four bunkers surrounding the encampment and building 14 huts with electrical outlets, lighting and air conditioning units.

Pedota said his squadron performed many new tasks not typically expected of a Marine aviation support unit, including refueling commercial 747s as well as tanks. But the toughest part of their time in Iraq was dealing with "trying to hand Iraq over" to the Iraqis, he said.

For 1st Lt. Mary Nell, the squadron’s adjutant, "the human factor" was the hardest part of the deployment. Working with the same group of people and then going back to the same living area with them everyday — seeing the same faces "day in and day out" for seven months — was tough, she said.

"You can work with people and get along for so long, and then you just have to dig deep down inside of yourself and find some common ground," she said.

The sand and dust were his biggest irritants, said Cpl. Christopher Loredo, 20, a combat engineer who’s just "glad to be back."

Loredo’s plans for his first day back included Taco Bell and bowling — not that he’s a good bowler, "but it’s hilarious to watch other people," he said.

The first thing Cpl. Chris Tornow, 23, a combat engineer, wanted to do was "go to the room and take really long shower without turning off the water."

By the numbers

During Marine Wing Support Squadron’s deployment in Anbar province, Iraq, from late March to mid-October, the Marines put up these numbers:

Maintained more than 25 generator sitesSupported more than 1,800 requests for basic construction, infrastructure improvement, electrical repairs and other engineering supportConducted more than 165 small repairs — repairs of small holes and cracks — in the 35 miles of flight line at Al Asad Air BaseCompleted 20 dust-abatement projects on the flight lineBuilt or maintained 23 helicopter landing zonesDrove more than 429,700 miles on and off Al Asad Air Base on convoys and to deliver cargoMoved or delivered more than 103,000 tons of cargoIssued more than 19 million gallons of JP-8 jet fuel to more than 17,000 fixed and rotary wing aircraftDrove more than 34,000 miles to deliver fuel to aircraft at Al Asad Air Base.Source: Marine Wing Support Squadron 172