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TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE One of the first things that Tech. Sgt. Christopher Queens family was going to have him do was to open the Christmas presents that have been waiting for him.

We even have a tree up, said Suzanne Queen, his wife. Then, later, we are going to my moms house where she is cooking Christmas dinner.

Maria Queen, their daughter, was carrying a sign that read Welcome home dad. Dont worry dad, I took care of mom. Now its your turn.

The plane carrying the contingent of about 35 airmen from the 821st Contingency Response Group of the 621st Contingency Response Wing landed just before 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at Travis amida drizzly rain.

When Tech. Sgt. Queen walked into the Global Mobility Deployment Center where the families were waiting, he expressed the common sentiment that all his returning peers had: Its just great to be home.

He also saidhe is not going to miss the dirt and dust that they lived in for the past three months while supporting the Iraqi campaign to retake Mosul.

They had handed off running the airfield atQayyarah West, located south of Mosul in Iraq, earlier this month to a contingent of the 123rd Airlift Wing of the Kentucky National Guard.

The Travis contingent originally expected to deploy for two months to reopen and run the airfield, but had their deployment extended to a third month, forcing them to miss Christmas with their families.

Qayyarah West Airfield had been captured in 2014 when fighters with the Islamic State groupswept across northern Iraq. Itwas recaptured in September by advancing Iraqi forces, but not before retreating Islamic State groupfighters had completely torn the place up.

They destroyed it so that the coalition could not use it again, said Col. Rhett Champagne, commander of the 821st Contingency Response Group, who deployed with theairmen.

Once the airfield was repaired by an engineering unit, the 621st Contingency Response Wing opened up operations Oct. 21 and kept things moving almost nonstop until Jan. 10, passing more than 1,423 tons of cargo through the airfield.

They did fantastic, Champagne said of the contingent. We reopened that airfield from nothing.

With the base serving as a major staging area for the ongoing assault on Mosul, coordinating airspace use between U.S. and Iraqi aircraft and helicopters, and coalition artillery was a major challenge, Champagne said.

Champagne saidthe 821st Contingency Response Group established airpower from the ground up at the airfield that included building command and control centers, configuringthe runway to serve fixed-wing aircraft and running operations in congested airspace.

Lt. Col. Blaine Bakers family was also waiting for him Wednesday with signs and hugs.

We are ready to have him home, said his wife, Jen Baker. We are just going to relax at home first, then go to Monterey.

This has been the seventh deployment for the Bakers. Jen Baker saidthey know what to expect, but that still does not make missing her husband any easier or welcoming him home any less sweet.

Reach Ian Thompson at 427-6976 or [emailprotected]. Follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ithompsondr.

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Members of the 821st Contingeincy Response Group return Wednesday to Travis Air Force Base after a three-month deployment in support of an operation targeting Islamic State. (Travis Air Force Base courtesy photo)

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