Completing a 36,000-mile, round-the-world trip, two Hawaii Air National Guard tanker jets touched down at Hickam Air Force Base yesterday after whirlwind service in the Middle East.

“;I can say that in one day we flew as many missions there as we did here in a month,”; said Lt. Col. Kurt Lajala, who commanded one of the KC-135 Stratotankers that landed at Hickam, bringing crews home after a six-week deployment. “;The missions also were a lot longer—anywhere from six to 10 hours, compared to the three-hour missions we are accustomed to flying here.”;

The tankers, part of the 203rd Air Refueling Squadron, arrived after an 11-hour flight from Thailand. Two more are expected later this week, along with another 130 members of the squadron and maintenance crews from the 154th Wing.

In the Persian Gulf the four tankers were assigned to the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing at Al Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar, one of the largest units in the region, supporting operations in Afghanistan since 2001 and Iraq since 2003.

Lajala, whose job in civilian life is in the cockpit of a United Airlines jet, said the flight culminated a journey that started six weeks ago when the crew left Oahu and flew nonstop to a Florida base and then to Qatar.

Much of what the unit did is classified, said Lajala, but it involved refueling coalition jet fighters and reconnaissance and cargo aircraft participating in missions over and into Iraq and Afghanistan. He said he had completed a 10-hour mission on the very morning his crew was set to return home.

“;This was my first time in the desert,”; remarked Tech Sgt. Chris Danielson, a crew chief with 18 years of service. “;It was just a lot of work.”;

Lajala, who has spent the past 26 years flying for the Air Force and Hawaii Air National Guard, called the deployment “;a tribute to the professionalism and dedication of my fellow guardsmen,”; who were able “;to fold into the largest air operations and do it seamlessly.”;

The end of the deployment comes as units of the Hawaii Air Guard face major changes. By the end of this year, the Guard will have three of its units affiliated with the active Air Force.

Next month the 199th Fighter Squadron will receive two of the newest and most expensive jet fighters, the $140 million F-22 Raptor. The squadron eventually will have 20 Raptors, sharing its stealth jets with the Air Force's 531st Fighter Squadron.

During the same month, the Hawaii Air Guard will activate another composite unit composed of KC-135 jet tankers and air crews from its 203rd Squadron and the active Air Force's 96th Air Refueling Squadron.

By the end of the year, the 203rd and the 96th squadrons will receive four more jet tankers, bringing its inventory to 13. All of the tankers will belong to the Hawaii Air Guard.

The third composite unit was activated four years ago and has eight C-17 Globemaster cargo jets owned by the Air Force but flown and maintained by crews from both the Hawaii Air Guard's 204th Airlift Squadron and the Air Force's 535th Airlift Squadron.