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Two Hawaii Air National Guard KC-135 Strato-tank- ers are refueling fighters and bombers that are part of increasing U.S. airstrikes on the Islamic State in Iraq.
The two jets and about 40 Air Guard personnel with the 203rd Air Refueling Squadron and 154th Maintenance Squadron are operating from an air base "in the region," said Lt. Col. Chuck Anthony, a Hawaii National Guard spokesman.
Due to "host-nation sensitivities," Anthony said he could not identify where the Hawaii planes are based.
"They’ve been flying virtually every day," Anthony said.
The mission represents a returned focus on Iraq for Hawaii — albeit on a very small scale. It also pales in comparison with the type of Iraq involvement that previously dominated active Army, Army National Guard and Marine Corps activity in the state.
About 14,000 Hawaii troops were returning from or preparing to head to Iraq and Kuwait in the latter half of 2008 and early 2009, for example.
The two Air Guard KC-135s "are refueling various types of U.S. Air Force and naval aircraft that are conducting operations in the (region)," Anthony said.
B-1 Lancer bombers are likely being used in airstrikes on Iraq, and the United States has identified F/A-18 Hornets, F-15 Strike Eagles, F-16 Fighting Falcons and MQ-1 Predator drones as being used since Aug. 8, IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly reported.
Anthony said the Air Guard refuelers are not devoted solely to the renewed Iraq mission.
"They are performing a lot of missions within the theater," he said. "For instance, there’s movement of troops into and out of Afghanistan at this time."
C-17 cargo aircraft coming and going from Afghanistan need to be refueled, he said.
"So that would also be the kind of mission that they would be participating in as well," Anthony said.
Anthony said the deployment of the Air Guard tankers, which began in July and is expected to end sometime in October, is the only one of its kind for the Hawaii unit so far this year.
"We’re very proud of the job our (Hawaii) airmen are doing" in the U.S. Central Command area, said Col. Glen Nakamura, vice commander of the Air Guard’s 154th Wing.
"They have been very busy and making significant contributions to an important mission in that part of the world," Nakamura said.
Anthony said he anticipates some other Hawaii Air Guard units deploying to the region in the not-too-distant future, but he said it is too early to identify those units.
To defeat a threat like the Islamic State, "we have to be smart, we have to use our power wisely and we have to avoid the mistakes of the past," President Barack Obama said Saturday.
The United States "is prepared to take action" against the group in Syria as well, Obama said.
The Pentagon recently announced 475 more U.S. troops for Iraq, bringing the total to about 1,600 in the country.
Fifteen to 20 "advise and assist" teams will be created. Some in Congress have called for more special operations involvement.
About 300 service members are assigned to Special Operations Command Pacific in Hawaii, and of those, about 20 percent are special operations forces.
The command serves as U.S. Pacific Command’s theater joint force special operations commander and plans all special operations across the Indo Asia Pacific region.
The command "is not projecting to send troops to Iraq; however, SOCPAC stands ready to answer the nation’s call, both in the Pacific region and around the world," said spokeswoman Maj. Kari McEwen.
The Army in Hawaii said it so far is not planning any unit deployments to Iraq.
The Pearl Harbor-based destroyer USS O’Kane, meanwhile, is deployed and assigned to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command. The ship was operating in the Arabian Gulf in mid-August.
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