McGUIRE AIR FORCE BASE, N.J. — Gung ho and ready to fight, American forces packed up for a war on terrorism that marched into high gear at bases all over the country.
Troops dressed in desert fatigues waved and gave thumbs-up signs to reporters Thursday as they boarded planes at McGuire Air Force Base. They weren't going to find out their destination until they were airborne, but that didn't faze them.
"They're standing tall and ready to rock," said Col. Kip Self, a commander with the U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command at McGuire. "Morale is sky-high."
Air Force bases in at least seven states have been called up for "Operation Infinite Justice," the deployment set in motion after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the East Coast.
The Air Force has been ordered to dispatch more than 100 fighter jets, B-1 and B-52 bombers and tankers to the Persian Gulf. The Pentagon also said 5,131 members of the Air Force National Guard and Air Force Reserve have been ordered to active duty.
About 130 members of Utah's 109th Air Control Squadron and 70 security police in the 151st Security Forces were activated, said Lt. Col. Craig V. Morgan, Utah National Guard spokesman.
The call-up is in addition to deployment orders received by a unit of the 388th Fighter Squadron, F-16 jets stationed at Hill Air Force Base. The base has three flying squadrons and a number of others in support services. Base officials refused to divulge numbers deployed or their destinations.
Morgan was interviewed by telephone Friday at the Utah Air Guard base east of the Salt Lake International Airport, where he was seeing off members of the 151 Air Refueling Wing. The 10 members of that group are on a long-planned, routine assignment to Turkey. They will help monitor the northern no-fly zone over Iraq in a rotation that should last two weeks.
Units activated as part of the call-up, however, can be in federal service for up to two years. But Guard officers believe that the actual mobilization probably will be for less time.
"The 109th was activated yesterday," Morgan said. "They're assembling today, and they'll be processed tomorrow for their mobilization."
Officers have not announced when they will actually leave Salt Lake City. The commander of the unit is Lt. Col. Ken Gammon.
At Camp LeJeune, N.C., more than 2,000 Marines shipped out for a long-planned tour of the Mediterranean that could turn into a mission against terrorists.
"If Marines are called upon in the Mediterranean, we would be the first to go," said Col. Andrew Frick, commander of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit. "We are the point on the spear."
The Marines said goodbye to loved ones, then loaded bulging duffel bags, helmets and rifles onto buses and helicopters for a trip to the docks.
Air refueling tankers took off from Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane, Wash., and deployment orders went to North Dakota's two air bases, Minot and Grand Forks. Fighter jets and 100 members of the Air National Guard were called up at Buckley Air Force Base outside Denver.
At Fort Bragg, N.C., thousands of soldiers were back on a training schedule that was interrupted by the terrorist attacks. The noise of machine guns, grenade explosions and helicopter rockets was music to the ears of Pfc. Joshua Staugler.
"It's a rush," said Staugler, 22, of Celina, Ohio, during a live-fire exercise. "Your adrenaline is up. You just have to trust all the guys you're with."
Contributing: Joe Bauman, Deseret News