Do the Airforce usually go to Afghanistan?

I have a nephew in the airforce, stationed in Vandenberg AFB. His leave was cut short last week so he didn't get to come home.
He will know soon when he will be deployed. He has stated that he will probably go to Afghanistan.
Could anybody tell me why the Airforce would be going there?
Seems kind of fishy that his leave would be cut short.
Thanks in advance.
I hope this was the right place to put this thread, if not you can move it.

Well, if he's not going to Afghanistan, he might mean he will be deployed to a base nearby in support. Not knowing his particular AFSC, I can only guess wildly. Besides, how do you think the troops get in and out of the theater? They would cancel his leave for manning purposes. It's done all the time.

reply to post by notsosweet


Depends entirely on his job. Obviously, ground crew, maintenance, and the computer jobs will need to be over there for support roles. His leave being cut shortsucks, but it might not be anything ominous. They rotate groups in and out on certain schedules and sometimes those schedules get out of alignment.

My son is currently in training. He just got out of basic in August and is at Keesler. Following that he will go to Wichita Falls (forget the base name) for his last leg of training, so he has another 6 months or so before he will get deployed. Who knows where he will be going by then.

Yes. The Air Force is always there. Absolutely nothing out of the ordinary.
Airforce is there because they have jets stationed there. Also AF SF (security forces) do deployments there. Air Force has many many jobs that are not even related to jets - and therefore, they get deployed there for many reasons other than jets. Air Force works with Army - just like Navy and Marines work together.

[edit on September 22nd 2009 by greeneyedleo]

reply to post by rogerstigers


You are thinking of Sheppard AFB.

reply to post by rogerstigers

that he will go to Wichita Falls (forget the base name)

That would be Shepherd AFB. Armpit of Texas.

I don't know if the Air Force usually go to Afghanistan. This is, after all, a new theater of war for us, as in full, open front operations. I'm just gonna take a wild a$$ guess and say, yeah, the air force generally operates in wars that the U.S. embarks upon. Otherwise, what good are they?

Why would the US Air Force NOT fly there? Who do you think does, US Airways? It's kinda the job of the Air Force to fly there. Think about it.

reply to post by greeneyedleo


Hi. Without giving too much information away, I just want to add, yeah. I was stationed in a small detachment, with no aircraft involved at all, however, there we were: U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force. Go figure.

reply to post by notsosweet
I'm a USAF veteran myself, F-16 crew chief. For starters what is his AFSC, or "job" if you will? And I want to point out the Air Force has a MUCH larger mission than just flying planes.

Originally posted by notsosweet
I have a nephew in the airforce, stationed in Vandenberg AFB. His leave was cut short last week so he didn't get to come home.
He will know soon when he will be deployed. He has stated that he will probably go to Afghanistan.
Could anybody tell me why the Airforce would be going there?

The main reason why...Bagram AIR FORCE BASE, outside Kabul. Along with various specialized Air Force units, Security Police, SPECOPS folks, individual augmentee's, etc, today's Air Force and Navy have joined the Army and Marines on the ground in the thick of it.

I am in the Air Force, and YES, we have been there since the War on Terror began in 2001. I would say that its a 60/40 in terms of us deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan. Definitely not a big deal, and you really have nothing to worry about.

reply to post by PokeyJoe

Thanks for that Pokey... he's in the security forces. I appreciate the information.

As far as it being fishy I wouldn't worry...we go there constantly to support and to fly

good luck to him

-Kyo