A little know fact is that Nevatim houses an American Air Force training facility for U.S. Air Force fighters. The 165th’s mission involves three significant projects during their 17-day mission to Israel. The first is the construction of aircraft shades for visiting American fighters. The second is the construction of a munitions maintenance facility, while the third is the improvement of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems; electrical systems; fire detection systems; and sheetrock and painting inside the American living quarters.

As the sun beats down on the arid Israeli airfield, American Air Force Capt. Jake Salmond led his team in constructing the K-Span facility, one of many that are being built in the upcoming years as these INCA teams, named after the first group of North Carolina engineers who joined with the Israelis to create the Israeli-North Carolina Agreement, rotate in and out of the Israeli air base. Using an Automatic Building Machine, sheet metal is formed and reformed to create the roofing that is attached to a concrete foundation. The cost for a facility to protect American fighters is inexpensive but the results are priceless for the airmen who have to fix and fly the fighters, said Salmond.

American Air Force Lt. Col. Todd Freesemann, the mission commander said "This is a great opportunity for our "Prime Beef" team to deploy to a foreign country and to work with the local air base officials. The Israeli personnel have been a pleasure to work with, and more importantly, we have learned about their way of doing things."

Freesemann’s comments were echoed by Meir Gur, the base liaison for the INCA teams. "It makes a difference for the visiting units," Gur explained. "We wouldn’t have the facilities for the American without the INCA project."

The fighter units deployed to Israel for training are allowed to carry live ammunition on their aircraft thus providing a real world training environment, a rarity in training exercises hosted in the United States. American Air Force Maj. Frank Orellana, who serves as the operations commander for this deployment, goes through the schedule of daily events, completion time tables and progress reports every day to plan for the next day’s activities. Through these meetings, Orellana can guide this group of 53 Guardsmen to the projects that need the most attention.

As the sun sets on Nevatim Air Base, the munitions maintenance facility team worked several projects simultaneously. The 4,600 square foot elongated brick and concrete building has a team dedicated to placing and leveling a soffit for the yet, not in place, roof. Another small team of Airmen, led by Chief Master Sgt. Richard Dallow, put their arms and backs into cranking down nuts and bolts to fasten the ceiling beams into place.

For many of the Airmen, like Staff Sgt. Kelsey Besse, a civil engineerin assistant, it is their first deployment with the squadron.

A former active duty Airman, Besse is a student at Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Ga. She liked the shorter durations for the deployments allowing her to be a student and still serve her country. "I had the unique experience to do a lot of projects here in Israel including working on the sunshades and working with the local Israelis painting their dorms."

For Airman 1st Class Karonda Ivery, a first year power projection specialist with the 165th, this was her first deployment and her experiences were exciting. "I never thought I would be over here in Israel helping to renovate dorms in which our troops will sleep in."