The 34th Fighter Squadron of Hill's 388th Fighter Wing returned home early Thursday from a three-month assignment in the Middle East.
The squadron of 18 F-16s was assigned to patrol the no-fly zone between Iraq and Kuwait/Saudi Arabia in Operation Southern Watch.About 200 members of the 421st Fighter Squadron left for Saudi Arabia Tuesday to replace the returning group.
Also in the Middle East from Hill are 150 members of the Air Force Reserve's 419th Fighter Wing, who left Hill Dec. 8 and 10. That group is working out of a Turkish-American air base in Incirlik, Turkey, and is patrolling Kurdish refugees in northern Iraq in Operation Provide Comfort.