A Very Happy Landing for Local National Guard Crew

After spending five days flying home from the Middle East, Maj. David Bakos couldn’t resist a little flourish Thursday as he steered a C-130 transport plane on its final approach to Channel Islands Air National Guard Station near Oxnard.

At 1:30 p.m., with more than 70 friends, family members and other Guard personnel standing at the tarmac’s edge, Bakos flew low above the crowd, banked and dipped the wing of the plane.

“That was kind of a salute to everyone, a way to say, ‘We’re back. Mission accomplished,’ ” said the 38-year-old pilot, who was returning home with 15 others after completing their tour of duty about 36 miles south of the Iraq border, in Kuwait. Eleven other members returned Monday on commercial aircraft.

Since operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom began in Iraq and Afghanistan, the 146th Airlift Wing has sent about 1,100 people and five cargo planes to the Middle East. Maj. Brian Kelly said 72 people from the wing, mostly flight nurses and security personnel, remained in the region.

The transport planes, named for the cities of Camarillo, Fillmore, Oxnard, Port Hueneme and Thousand Oaks, have returned to the Guard station until the next deployment, which could come as early as December.

Bakos, a 1983 graduate of Westlake High School, said the journey home began Saturday and included stops in Romania, Ireland, Newfoundland and Minnesota.

As the last of the operations and maintenance crew taxied out of Kuwait, he said, “There was a collective scream. There’s some stress that builds up. To know you’re leaving for good, it gives you a great feeling.”

Operating in an area where planes regularly come under fire kept the crew alert and focused, he said.

Bakos, who has been with the 146th for 18 years, has seen action before, including stints during the invasion of Panama and during the Gulf War. In October he was sent to the Middle East, where he dropped off Marines, jeeps and supplies in Baghdad and other areas while working 14- to 16-hour days. He went again three weeks ago, to replace another pilot who needed to return home early.

“I gave up the good life for this,” joked Bakos, on leave from American Airlines, where his regular commercial route takes him from Los Angeles International Airport to four Hawaiian islands. “Trust me, you won’t mistake downtown Honolulu for Baghdad.”

Along with family members from Westlake Village and Thousand Oaks -- Bakos’ parents, an aunt, uncle, cousin and niece -- was his girlfriend, Susan Taylor.

“I’m overjoyed,” said his mother, Susan Hamilton, before snapping another photo. “But I want them all home safe, not just my son.”

Kaci Pennington, 23, drove down from Fresno to pick up her fiance, Capt. Christopher Lutz, 32, and brought him a colorful bouquet.

“An outstanding surprise. Usually it’s the other way around,” Lutz said of the flowers while hugging his future wife, who flies Blackhawk helicopters for the Army National Guard.

“Most people can’t believe it,” Lutz said of having two pilots in the family. “It’s easy going home and talk shop.”

The couple plan to marry Aug. 15 in Avila Beach, but won’t have long to honeymoon. Pennington has orders to ship out Sept. 11 for a one-year deployment to Iraq.