17 SFS members return from deployment Published Oct. 23, 2008 By Airman 1st Class Candy Miller SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Seventeen members of the 82nd Security Forces Squadron returned this week from a six month deployment to Ali Base, Iraq. The 82nd SFS provided law enforcement and helped defend the base, even through direct fire of rockets. Airman 1st Class Josh Woods, a patrolman who received several awards for excellence during the deployment, said his adrenaline was pumping as he grabbed his gear to respond to the rockets that were being fired. He said they successfully carried out their job of providing "a safe and comfortable environment to all people over there." No one was killed or injured on base during their stay in Iraq. Staff Sergeant Farouk Cave felt strongly about the importance of the deployment as well. "We are all fighting the Global War on Terrorism," he said. "Security forces help ensure the mission is completed. We just play a part in the big picture." Although the deployment may have seemed long and lonely for some spouses, some showed their support to their husbands by sending cards and letters. "It's never easy and it's never ever going to be something you get used to," Amy Nienhaus, wife of a returning patrolman, said. "We don't have the family time I wish we had, but supporting them is probably the biggest thing family members can ever provide. If they didn't have support, they would be torn down as a person." She also said it's important for Airmen to deploy overseas because freedom in the United States depends on it. As a mother of two, Mrs. Nienhaus shares this duty to her children by showing them clips of Sept. 11 and telling them their dad is out "fighting the bad guys that did that." Sheppard welcomed the Airmen with a picnic to get reacquainted with family and friends.