IA returnees are thanked in a receiving line after the homecoming ceremonies.

Pax River Commanding Officer Capt. Glen Ives noted the IAs had spent 8-15 months away from their homes and families, ‘‘working in diverse areas, most of them out of their specialties and out of their rates.”

He continued, ‘‘All of the reports I’ve received have been so positive about the enthusiasm and professionalism of the way our Pax Pros do their jobs.”

Said Ives, ‘‘They have done tremendous work in the service of our country, our command, our shipmates and our families.”

In his remarks, Naval Air Systems Command Vice Commander Rear Adm. William Shannon said the IAs had ‘‘accepted the requirement of hard work. You have been the epitome of honor, courage and commitment.”

Shannon stated, ‘‘It’s hard training you went through. It’s unknown territory you walked into, and it’s especially hard to leave behind your family, friends and shipmates to deploy on your own.”

Referring to the Maritime Strategy recently signed by Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead, Shannon said, ‘‘Your actions through sandstorms in Iraq, in the rugged terrain of Afghanistan and the flat, desert plains of Kuwait bring that ideal of cooperation into sharp focus.”

Photos by Rick Thompson Children from Mechanicsville Elementary School lead the Pledge of Allegiance.

Shannon added, ‘‘The medical services, reconstruction and infrastructure building, and mentoring you did will leave a legacy that will persist as America continues to reach out in a spirit of trust and cooperation.”

Families sacrificed as well, Shannon said. ‘‘To you, the wives and husbands left behind, the children who endured months without a parent, and the friends who missed you terribly, to you we owe our deepest thanks and sincerest appreciation.”

The 22 individual augmentees and how they served are:

AM2(AW) Jason Anderson served at Camp Bucca, Iraq from February 2007 to January 2008 with NPDB-3 Bravo Company, Third Platoon as assistant quad section leader in Compound 14, Bravo Quad, and quad section leader, Compound 19, Bravo Quad in charge of five guards and in care of over 200 detainees.

ACC (AW⁄SW⁄FMF) Bradley Bennett served in Camp Al Taqaddum, Iraq, from July 2007 to February 2008 with Marine Air Control Squadron-2, Marine Air Group 28, 2nd Marine Air Wing (2MAW). He was responsible for providing expeditionary air traffic control services to members of the multi-national forces. He was also charged with ensuring the clearing of airspace in response to pre-planned and counter-fire operations within the Al Anbar province.

HN Gary Caber served with Expeditionary Medical Facility Kuwait as an oral maxillofacial surgical technician and provided service to more than 1,000 Army and Navy service members during his six-month deployment. He also served on the Chemical, Biological, Radiological⁄Nuclear, and Explosive committee for the Hospital and Troop Medical⁄ Dental Clinic.

Lt. Shawn Denihan served in Al Asad, Iraq from August 2007 to February 2008 with 2MAW as an aircraft battle damage assessor. He conducted over 50 damage assessments, which provided key damage information to operational commanders to improve theater threat awareness. The data additionally supports current and future acquisition efforts by providing threat validation data for engineering analysis of aircraft systems.

Lt. Cmdr. Shawn Disarufino served as requirements section chief for the U.S. European Command J4 Deployment and Distribution Operations Center (EDDOC) from April to October 2007. He was responsible for the flow of information within the J4 directorate with other EUCOM directorates and JCS. Disarufino managed five branch chiefs in the preparation and response to all taskers, requests, orders and staff packages into and out of EDDOC.

Cmdr. Rachel Fant served in Darulaman, Afghanistan from January to December 2007 with the 201st Regional Security Assistance Command-Central under Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix as the senior mentor of an embedded training team and camp commandant at Camp Dub. She mentored senior Afghan military members and her team improved the base facilities for the 2,500 Afghan National Army troops stationed there. Additionally, she led her team in coordinating with Task Force Phoenix to obtain funding for 20 construction and rehabilitation projects to build schools, wells and roads.

HN Anthony Garcia served with Expeditionary Medical Facility Kuwait on Troop Medical Clinic Camp Buehring from July 2007 to February 2008. He served in sick call and was trained in X-ray, lab and physical therapy and routinely worked in the emergency room for 24-hour duty shifts. Garcia triaged hundreds of patients in sick call, provided numerous procedures in the ER, was medical standby for many proceedings and unit training and assisted in supply for the TMC.

AT1(AW) John Grau served on Camp Victory, Iraq from February to December 2007 as a radar tech for the counter rocket artillery and mortar unit under Task Force Hurricane. Task Force Hurricane provided base defense capabilities to sense, warn against, and intercept indirect fire attacks. Grau ensured full mission capability on light counter mortar radars, Sentinel air defense radars, Rapid Aerostat Initial Deployment (RAIDS) cameras, Redline wireless networking equipment and the Wireless Audio Visual Emergency System (WAVES).

AT2(AW⁄NAC) Jennifer Griswold served in Baghdad, Iraq from June to December 2007 as RAIDS resident expert, Rapid Aerostat Initial Deployment resident expert and supervisor, smaller aims camera technician-Sentinel radar technician, and watch stander-light counter mortar radar installer and technician Redline installer and technician. She was directly responsible for increasing WAVES operations from 15 percent to 100 percent after becoming the primary maintainer.

Cmdr. Joseph B. Hornbuckle III served in Kandahar, Afghanistan from July 2007 to February 2008 as the aviation chief and deputy for air and aviation assigned to the NATO International Security Assistance Force Regional Command-South Headquarters. He led a diverse, multi-national team responsible for tasking a force of 56 helicopters from three nations: the U.K. Joint Helicopter Force (Afghan-istan), the Dutch Aviation Task Force, and the U.S. Task Force Corsair. His team consisted of service members from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, Australia, and Nepal. In total, Hornbuckle contributed to the aviation planning and execution of 29 major combat operations during his tour.

Cmdr. Kyle Karstens served in Iraq from March 2007 to January 2008 with Joint CREW Composite Squadron 1 embedded in the Army's 3rd Infantry Division as electronic warfare officer-in-charge. He was responsible for counter radio-controlled improvised explosive device electronic warfare equipment, coordinating tactics, training and logistics in support of combat operations. He was also responsible for airborne electronic attack to defeat radio-controlled IEDs and disrupt enemy command and control networks.

AM2(AW) Christopher Lawrence served with Joint Task Force Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from March to November 2007 as a prison guard block non-commissioned officer, observing more than 50 detainees on a daily basis and maintaining control over the cell blocks.

AM2 David Lewis served in Kandahar, Afghanistan from July 2007 to January 2008 at the U.S. National Command Element Tactical Operations Center as a mid-shift radio-telephone operator. He was responsible for communications and tracking and plotting of all Task Force Anzio-supported units. He provided oversight of more than 300 battlefield events and 4,500 U.S. personnel in Regional Commands West and South.

SK2(AW⁄SW) Claudia Millity served on Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan from June 2007 to January 2008 as the executive assistant to the task force commander and command sergeant major. She was responsible for tracking and updating 17 critical work sites to ensure the completion of assigned tasks. She also provided security support by monitoring and screening over 400 truck badges and 250 visitors daily.

AW1(AW) Chad Morrison served in Iraq from May 2007 to February 2008 as the battalion electronic warfare officer-Iraq attached to Joint CREW Composite Squadron 1 embedded in the Army's 3rd Infantry, 1-64 Armored Regiment. He was responsible for counter radio controlled improvised explosive device electronic warfare equipment, coordinating tactics, training and logistics in support of combat operations. He was then reassigned to JCCS-1 Headquarters to spearhead the newly developed Mobile Training Team.

AWC Ed O’Shea is a member of Fleet Composite Squadron (VC) 6, and was deployed to Mosul, Iraq from July 2007 to February 2008in support of a request for forces to fly the Shadow 200 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle in support of task force operations. O’Shea was the senior enlisted leader of his platoon and led them on more than 600 missions and more than 3,300 flight hours.

GM3 Marshane Pitts served in Kabul, Afghanistan from August 2007 to January 2008 with Joint CREW Composite Squadron 1, supporting the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division as the armory petty officer. He was responsible for logistics support on weekly convoys while delivering medical supplies, food, ammunition, repairing crew-served weapons and provided inter-theater support for special operations.

AT1 Erick Post served in Iraq from June to December 2007 with Counter Rocket, Artillery, and Mortar Unit 2 in support of base defense operations on Victory Base Complex as the mount captain for one of six phalanx C-RAM gun mounts. He was responsible for the counter rocket, artillery and mortarmobile unit, operational training, and tactical coordination with other C-RAM segments within his unit.

AM1 Jimmy Roberts served at Camp Bucca Theater Internment Facility in Iraq from February 2007 to January 2008 as compound section leader and sergeant of the guard. He led 35 guards in their mission to detain more than 1,000 Iraqi insurgents. He led the largest strategic movement of detainees in Camp Bucca history, relocating more than 2,000 Iraqi insurgents into new confinement areas.

AW2 Thomas Rogers served on Camp Victory, Iraq from July to December 2007 with Task Force Hurricane, a subordinate unit of Multi-National Division-Baghdad, 1st Cavalry Division. Task Force Hurricane provided base defense capabilities to sense, warn against, and intercept indirect fire attacks. Rogers was a RAIDS camera operator and coordinated with Army assets in the protection and safety of the forward operating base. While there, he contributed to the development of system employment and configuration.

AWC Robert Simpson served in Iraq from May 2007 to February 2008 with Joint CREW Composite Squadron 1 supporting the 1st Battalion⁄3rd Marines and then the 3rd Battalion⁄23rd Marines as the battalion electronic warfare officer. He was responsible for the counter radio controlled improvised explosive device electronic warfare equipment, coordinating tactics, training and logistics in support of combat operations.

Lt. Jon Sunderland served in Iraq from October 2007 to March 2008 as the brigade electronic warfare officer assigned to Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Arabian Peninsula (CJSOTF-AP). He planned and coordinated electronic attack in support of kinetic special operations. Sunderland also coordinated with civilian field service representatives during the upgrade of 535 CREW units in use by CJSOTF-AP at 47 different locations.