New York Air National Guard

SATHER AIR BASE, Iraq -- Col. Fred Cheney (left) the 447th Air Expeditionary Group commander, passes the 447th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron's guide on to New York Air National Guardsman Lt. Col. Carey Merritt, the 447 ECES commander, during a change of command ceremony held on May 10. Merritt is deployed from the 174th Mission Support Group, New York Air National Guard, where he commands the 174th's Civil Engineering Squadron. Sather Air Base, located alongside Baghdad International Airport is named after Staff Sgt. SCott Sather, the first Airman to die during Operation Iraqi Freedom.