McChord Air Force Base limits bird strikes through a combination of nature, timing and technology.

The base, home to a wing of C-17 Globemaster cargo jets, must deal with Canada geese, gulls, sparrows, larks and pigeons near its flight line. But it hasn’t had an aircraft significantly damaged from a bird strike in recent memory, said Lt. Col. Jon Olekszyk, the operations officer for the 62nd Operations Support Squadron.

That’s in part because ground crews crunch online and real-time data on migratory patterns of birds and schedules takeoffs and landings away from times when large flocks are in the area; dawn and dusk during autumn is a particularly heavy time for bird migration. And the base employs a falconer, who trains a large bird to fly near the flight line to help clear the skies

“Just the presence of a falcon soaring in the area deters most of the birds from flying around here,” said Master Sgt. Brian Poje, the Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard program manager.

The base first used a falconer in 1998, and bird strikes are down 65 percent since the program’s implementation, Poje said.

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For Marines at far-flung bases in the western Iraqi desert, the appearance of the 295th Quartermaster Company – and the promise of hot showers and fresh laundry they brought – must have been as welcome as a care package from home.

“They loved seeing us when we got to the bases,” said Spc. Ericka Dobbs, a 22-year-old Longview native. “It really made their day.”

After 15 months running laundry and shower facilities in Iraq, about 100 members of the company returned home Friday. Hundreds of screaming family members welcomed them at a ceremony at Wilson Sports and Fitness Center on North Fort Lewis.

The company, part of the 593rd Sustainment Brigade, was based at Al Asad Airbase but shuttled to six bases throughout Anbar province in western Iraq to support two Marine air wings.

The units hauled laundry facilities on a 40-foot trailer. Another trailer contained a 12-head shower facility. The unit washed about 10,000 bags of laundry each month, said Staff Sgt. Ronald Wyatt, the rear detachment commander.

“It can be kind of a thankless job,” said Capt. Mike Burns, the 80th Ordnance Battalion operations officer. “But fresh laundry and a good shower can be a big morale boost.”

Families at the homecoming ceremony watched the soldiers land at McChord Air Force Base and prepare for their return to Fort Lewis. Some sat in anxious silence, while others traded stories about their loved ones.

Dobbs’ mother, Judy Schultz, showed those sitting around her in the bleachers a photo from the Grocery Outlet in Longview, which welcomed home Dobbs on its signboard.

“She’s our hero,” Schultz said. “It was unbearable at times. It was difficult. I was anxious. I was always worrying. But at the same time, I was so proud.”

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