Hurry up and wait. The phrase often typifies life in the military, much to the exasperation of those who serve.
But not on Friday at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, when a 12-hour delay in leaving for Afghanistan gave scores of military families time for one more night together.
About 150 members of D-M's 354th Fighter Squadron and 355th Maintenance Group were due to finish their goodbyes with loved ones by 6 p.m.
Instead, word came at the last minute that the warbound airmen wouldn't have to report for deployment until 11 p.m. Friday. A few hours later, the report time was changed again, this time until 6 a.m. today.
"It's nice we get a few extra hours to hang out," said Tech. Sgt. Doug Jones, 32, cradling 5-week-old daughter Ainsley on one knee and 5-year-old Cayley Ann on the other, with wife Camie, nearby.
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The Joneses were one of several D-M families who showed up at the base before they learned of the change.
Jones' boss, Master Sgt. Keric Craig, was in the midst of telling his son Kameron, 3, to be good for Mama when he heard about the delay.
"Let's go for dinner!" Craig enthused, ushering wife Andrea and their boy back into the family car.
D-M spokeswoman 1st Lt. Mary Pekas said she wasn't sure what caused the holdup. "But weather would be a good guess," she added, as lightning crackled in the distance.
After a few hours of predeployment processing, the airmen were expected to board a chartered commercial airliner and leave D-M sometime around 10 a.m. today.
They are part of a larger group of about 300 D-M personnel embarking on a six-month tour in Afghanistan.
Many due to leave this morning work in aircraft maintenance and other key roles supporting the deployment of A-10 attack jets from D-M. A squadron of jets and pilots left Tucson for Afghanistan on Thursday.
A group of Girl Scouts from Troop 114 came to the base Friday afternoon to hand out free Girl Scout cookies to departing troops. But because of the delay, they had to leave without accomplishing their mission.
Among the scouts was Madison Benson, 10, whose father Maj. Lance Benson, is serving overseas with a different D-M unit, the 43rd Electronic Combat Squadron.
"This is pretty typical actually," Madison's mother, Kelley Benson, said of Friday's change of schedule.
"It's just something you have to get used to in the military."
On StarNet: For more photos of the deployment go to azstarnet.com/slideshows.
DID YOU KNOW
Davis-Monthan personnel who were due to leave this morning are supporting a deployment of A-10 aircraft and pilots from the Tucson base. The A-10 Thunderbolt II, nicknamed the "Warthog," is prized for its ability to loiter —fly low and slow — over enemy terrain, allowing a pilot to hit ground targets that faster, higher jets might miss.
Tucson is home to the nation's main training school for A-10 pilots.
