14th EFS moving closer to coming home Published April 3, 2007 By Lt. Col. Charles Toplikar 14th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq -- -- We went to daylight savings time in Iraq, moving us one hour ahead of you. Please keep this in mind in your communications. The Misawa maintenance team has conducted five combat re-enlistment ceremonies on the flightline since arriving here in January. I can think of nothing more honorable than to volunteer one's service in time of war! Senior Master Sgt. David Myette, 332nd Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, is on the warpath for birds! So far he has more than 30 confirmed kills with his trusty pellet rifle. We greatly appreciate his steely-eyed lethality, since birds and F-16s cannot share the same sky without harm to both. There have been many aircraft bird strikes here since the migratory season began last month. Fortunately, the Fightin' Samurai have avoided them so far. We have big plans for a "down day" soon that will give us a chance to relax for a little while, and refocus for the downhill side of our Air Expeditionary Force. Fortunately, our flag ship is out of phase so we will take some squadron photos. We will then present some awards and join our maintenance team for a big barbeque and entertainment. That's it for this week.