Air Force reservist humbled by neighbors' show of gratitude
Father of three home after spending six months in Iraq
By Kyle Jorrey kjorrey@theacorn.com

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers RELIEVED- Simi Valley resident Wayne Combs, a civil engineer with the 146 Tactical Airlift Wing out of Point Mugu, poses with his wife of 19 years, Amy, in front of one of many banners that greeted him when he returned home on May 21.

Stepping off the plane in Shannon, Ireland, for a short layover after six months of backbreaking work erecting American military structures in the Iraqi desert, Air National Guardsman and Simi Valley resident Wayne Combs spotted a sight for sore eyes: an Irish pub.

Only problem- the hundreds of other U.S. military personnel on his flight, many of whom had also been without any alcoholic beverages for an extended period of time- spotted it as well.

"Two hundredplus thirsty soldiers all swarming this one pub- it was quite a sight- I thought no way am I going to be served a beer," said Combs, an Air Force reservist with the 146 Tactical Airlift Wing stationed out of Ventura County Naval Base-Point Mugu. "But finally when it thinned out I was able to get through and get one . . . It was the tastiest beer I've ever had."

But the sweetest part of Combs' 31-hour return trip home awaited the father of three in Simi Valley, where the residents of Sparta Court held a block party in his honor on Saturday, May 19, complete with an appearance by the Patriot Guard Riders, a national organization of motorcycle enthusiasts who attend funerals and honor returning veterans.

House after house on Sparta was decorated with American flags and banners; the scent of sizzling beef, ribs and chicken filled the air. Neighbors who Combs said that he hadn't met in his 20 years in Simi came out to show their gratitude to the 47year-old and his family, offering countless handshakes and hugs.

"I highly recommend it," Combs joked. "It's worth it going over there to come back to this sort of fanfare."

The party was mostly the work of Combs' loving wife, Amy, and their three children: Jessica, 19; Ashley, 18; and Dakota, 15.

"People who didn't even know us or know him came to the party just to say thank you," Amy said. "I don't think my son (Dakota) has stopped smiling for a week."

Combs, who was an active member of the United States Air Force for five years coming out of high school, has been a member of the Air National Guard for more than 20 years. In 2005, he was called up for active duty to help strengthen the country's defenses at the U.S.-Mexican border- and that's where he was last September when the orders came in for him and four other members of the 146 Tactical Airlift Wing to go to Iraq.

"We all got called up to active duty to support and integrate with the 557 Expeditionary Red Horse Squadron, which is a combat construction crew," Combs said. "They go out and build forward operating bases and provide infrastructure to existing bases."

Though he was well aware that the news would not be wellreceived by his family, Combs admitted he was excited for the chance to serve his country in a war zone.

"I joined the civil engineering crew because they had the best chance of going to Iraq," said Combs, who said he missed out on the chance to take part in the Persian Gulf War in 1991. "If I was a single man, I would have been like 'Oh, yeah.'"

Combs broke the news of his new orders to his family at the end of a weekend trip they had taken on Labor Day weekend 2006 to see him in San Diego.

"We were at the pier when he told us," Amy said. "The feeling I had was kind of like disbelief. . . . It really didn't hit us until he was actually over there."

After a month of advanced infantry training at Fort McCoy, Wisc., Combs and his four friends from Point Mugu joined up with a much larger force on a Nov. 16 flight bound for Camp Buehring, Kuwait. His first day in Iraq was Nov. 27, he and Amy's 19th wedding anniversary.

For most of his six-month stay, Combs was based out of Camp Spiker, an Army base 150 miles north of Baghdad that used to be a training facility for Saddam Hussein's Royal Air Force.

He and his fellow engineers worked 12-plus-hour days, often seven days a week, building structures into the endless Iraqi sand. But with the war going on all around him, Combs said inspiration wasn't difficult to come by.

"Everyday you're seeing helicopters leaving on missions and coming back, seeing all manner of guys going out on convoys loaded for broke and coming back all shot up," Combs said. "I'm over there building things for these guys so they won't have to sleep in a hole in the ground, so we didn't mind working long days. It's like, 'Hey, let's get it done.'"

Combs, whose civilian job is as a Level 3 Non-Destructive Test Engineer for Pratt-Whitney in Canoga Park, now has at least one year before he can be called up to active duty again. He said he was humbled by the welcomeback ceremony put on by his family, friends and neighbors.

"Me? A hero? I don't think so," Combs said. "I was just there doing my job. The men and women kicking down doors, going from house to to house fighting the enemy, those folks are the heroes."