PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Members of a Coast Guard unit returned from Kuwait Saturday, following a year deployment.
Vice Adm. Robert Parker, the commander of Coast Guard Atlantic Area, greeted nine reserve members of the Coast Guard Redeployment Assistance and Inspection Detachment at the Norfolk International Airport.
“I am very proud of the accomplishments and sacrifices of these Coast Guardsmen returning from deployment overseas,” said Parker. “RAID members provide specialized and unique capabilities in support of the combatant commander—they are a shining example of the Coast Guard’s significant value as a strategic national asset.”
RAID members are assigned to various camps and forward operating bases in Kuwait and Afghanistan and previously operated in Iraq. Since the RAID team’s inception in 2003, the mission has been to assist Army Surface Deployment and Distribution Command units assigned to U.S. Central Command with redeployment of containerized Department of Defense cargo and hazardous materials. The detachment members assist Army SDDC units by conducting hazardous material inspections and aiding the redeployment of DOD containers, equipment and personnel.
“This has been the most fulfilling mission that these nine Coast Guard reserve personnel have participated in,” said Chief Warrant Officer Michael P. Cleary, a reserve RAID member. “All members are proud that they assisted more than 50,000 military personnel departing from Iraq and assisted in the redeployment of military personnel from Afghanistan.”
A replacement reserve RAID is scheduled to deploy to Kuwait Saturday.
