12 Fighter Pilots Back Home After Iraq Duty

A dozen fighter pilots who patrolled the skies over Iraq during the war returned home Thursday to family and friends who greeted them with chocolate chip cookies and drinks.

About 70 people at Langley Air Force Base greeted the “Ironmen” of the 71st Fighter Squadron as they climbed out of their single-seat planes.

“We’re all looking forward to taking some time off,” said Maj. Cory “Trap” Bower, who hugged and kissed his girlfriend, Capt. Rochelle Brown, an Air Force nurse also stationed at Langley.

Brown had champagne on ice and homemade chocolate chip cookies waiting for him in her car.

The pilots deployed Feb. 14 to an undisclosed base in southwest Asia. Their mission was to shoot down Iraqi aircraft -- something F-15s did in the 1991 Persian Gulf War but didn’t do this time because no Iraqi planes took off.

Langley pilots had been heading overseas to enforce a “no-fly” zone over Iraq since 1991, something Bower said won’t be necessary anymore.

“It’s not going to be such a drain on our resources, such a drain on our time, drain away from our family. It’s going to be a wonderful opportunity for Iraqis, but it’s also going to be a great opportunity for us,” said Bower, of Worland, Wyo.

Nearly 400 other service members, including maintenance and support people for the squadron and others from Langley, are expected to return Saturday. More than 1,000 people from the Langley-based 1st Fighter Wing deployed during the war effort.