News-Argus/Greg Sousa

Airman 1st Class Brett Merrell spends a few minutes with his wife, Rachel, and 1-year-old son Merlin shortly before more than 30 members of the 4th Fighter Wing Security Forces Squadron deployed to Southwest Asia Wednesday afternoon to continue the war on terror. They were the first of more than 600 airmen who are expected to deploy across the globe from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base over the next few weeks. Most of the deployments are expected to last between four and six months.