Nellis families find it tough to say goodbye

Thursday, March 6, 2003 | 9 a.m.

For Senior Airman Josh Beasley and his wife, Dreamer, there was a major difference in his departure today for an unknown destination: 4-month-old daughter Ally.

"The first time he was away, I was pregnant," Dreamer Beasley said as she rocked the sleeping baby in her arms, protecting her from the chilly night air.

Last time he came home in time for the birth of Ally. This time the Beasleys don't know when Josh will come home. The couple has been married a year.

Although Dreamer Beasley's father was in the Marines and she knows separations are a fact of military life, she said Josh will miss so many firsts in Ally's life, like her first word, her first step.

"He saw her roll over for the first time, four days ago," she said.

"I know he's doing something good," Dreamer Beasley said. "He's protecting me and my daughter."

Josh Beasley was one of about 80 members of the 757th Maintenance Squadron and the 58th and 66th Rescue Squadrons who left Nellis Air Force Base after midnight on two C-5 transport planes. They were bound for the Central Command in Southwest Asia, Capt. Kelly Cahalan said.

The noses of the big planes were opened Wednesday like the jaws of a shark as crews loaded Pave Hawk helicopters, medical supplies, even a couple ATVs painted in desert-colored camouflage.

Today's departure brings to more than 1,000 the number of Nellis personnel sent to fight the war on terrorism and for other military operations, Cahalan said.

Beasley boarded the first C-5 transport after crews loaded an HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter. The chopper was ready to fly on search and rescue missions during combat.

The second plane carried two Pave Hawks and the remainder of the deployed squadrons' rescuers, paramedics, parachutists, scuba divers and mountain climbers.

Departing airmen smoked and joked as pilot Kevin Haff, 35, videotaped them so that his parents in Canada would know what he does.

"I scooted across the border when I was 17 and left the maple syrup behind," he said.

Haff said he was ready for his eighth deployment. Before becoming a Pave Hawk pilot, he worked in military intelligence and in a medical laboratory. He's been in the pilot's seat for eight years for a total of 18 years in military service.

"Periodically being scared to death keeps me young," he said, then grinned.

"If it was my choice, I would not be going back (to the Middle East)," he added. "But if we can do some good this time, then I'm ready."

Airman Ismael Lopez, 27, stared up at the stars while holding daughter Kiziah, 2, before boarding the transport.

"I'm going to miss her," Lopez said. "This is my second trip, the first was to Afghanistan last year."

His departure was particularly bittersweet because today is his 28th birthday.

"Instead of being here with her, I'll be flying over international waters," he said.