A broadcast operations detachment has transferred command of American Forces Network to a group of U.S. airmen in a ceremony at the U.S. Embassy in the International Zone of Baghdad.
The 356th Broadcast Operations Detachment from Fort Meade, Md., transferred command on July 2, according to the Defense Department.
Members of the 356th arrived in Kuwait July 12, 2006, and spent the year operating the American Forces Network station in Baghdad. It included U.S. Army Reserve soldiers from California, Utah, Texas, Maine, Illinois, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio and Washington, said U.S. Army Maj. Gary W. Sheftick, commander of the 356th.
Officials said that in the course of the year, members of the 356th went on more than 100 missions outside the International Zone. They broadcast more than 3,500 hours of live radio and filmed 250 episodes of Freedom Journal Iraq.
“The U.S. airmen taking charge of AFN will be partnered with a detachment of U.S. sailors,” the Defense Department reported. “The new operators of AFN Iraq hail from stations in Japan, Italy, Virginia, Germany, England, Turkey and Hawaii, said U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Leniel R. Garner, station manager for AFN Iraq.”
