Airman with Llano ties posted to Iraq
LLANO — An Air Force senior airman with family ties to Llano has been deployed to Iraq to serve in support of Operation New Dawn, the military said.
William L. Koerner is a part of the new operation, the formerly named Operation Iraqi Freedom. The transition signifies a formal end to U.S. military combat operations in Iraq, the Air Force said.
He is the son of Dorman and Donna Koerner of Llano and Janice L. Mcdaries of Florissant, Colo.
Koerner, an emergency manager with two years of military service, is normally assigned to the 149th Fighter Wing, Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio.
His son, Joshua L. Koerner, lives at Moody AFB, Valdosta, Ga.
The senior airman received an associate’s degree in 2001 from Denver Technical College, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Operation New Dawn shifts the U.S. emphasis from predominantly military to predominately civilian as U.S. officials assist Iraqis in accordance with the Strategic Framework Agreement.
The three primary missions of U.S. forces include advising, assisting and training the Iraqi Security Forces; conducting partnered counterterrorism operations; and providing support to provincial reconstruction teams and civilian partners as they help build Iraq’s civil capacity.