Red Horse reservists prepare for Panama Published May 7, 2010 By Maj. Shannon Mann 916th Public Affairs Office SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. -- Comparing western North Carolina to Central America may be a long stretch, but for reservists of the 567th Red Horse Squadron the training here is invaluable for a deployment there. One hundred and seventeen Airmen reported for duty to the 145th Training Site in New London, N.C. in late April. That's more than half the authorized manning of the squadron. Airmen honed their skills in 25 specialized career fields to include services, security forces, logistics, vehicle maintenance and all the engineering skills required by a rapid deployable squadron. In May, the squadron begins deploying members to Panama where they will set up a bare base camp. The training in New London offered similiar situations to what they might encounter while deployed, while at the same time providing some invaluable training and morale boosting events. "The training we receive in New London is critical in the effort to keep our personnel in numerous career fields up to speed and fully deployable," said Senior Airman Emily Bruckner, 567th operations manager. The deployment begins in May for Red Horse members and wraps up in September with several reservists deploying and re-deploying to build a soccer field for permanent party that will occupy the base.