944th FW fire chief reflects on Iraq deployment Published Oct. 12, 2010 By Tech. Sgt. Susan Stout 944th Fighter Wing Public Affairs LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. -- The 944th Civil Engineer Squadron fire chief returned in August from a four-month deployment to Kirkuk Regional Air Base, Iraq. A fire chief with Rural/Metro fire department Pima County in his civilian job, Chief Master Sgt. Tom Brandhuber said his job while deployed was much like his job at home. He responded to medical and fire emergencies and kept firefighters trained and ready. Chief Brandhuber worked with Iraqi fire fighters teaching them some of the modern techniques used in the United States, which were new to the Iraqis. "The Iraqis were eager to learn and willing to try new things," he said. Chief Brandhuber said he worked with several Iraqi firefighters who worked off base and taught them the "incident command system," a formalized way of managing and coordinating incident response. While he was deployed, the United States military marked a historic milestone as it transitioned from Operation Iraqi Freedom to Operation New Dawn. This transition signified a formal end to U.S. military combat operations and reaffirmed the U.S. military's commitment to the Iraqi Security Forces and the government and people of Iraq. "The Iraqi people, the limited people I came in contact with, want freedom and want what's best for their kids going forward," Chief Brandhuber said. "They're not much different than most of us over here." Although Chief Brandhuber didn't have a lot of civilian interaction with the Iraqis, he said those who he did meet were glad to see the Americans. "Being deployed makes you not take for granted what you have," he said. "We have it pretty good over here." Although Chief Brandhuber has returned home, he said he still thinks about those men and women who are still serving overseas. "I hope people don't forget that there are still 50,000 troops over there and a lot of them are spending a lot longer than four months there."