This is CREM 2 News at 6.
At the White House, the American flag flies at half-staff as the nation mourns the loss
of 19 lives in a bombing at a U.S. Air Force base in Saudi Arabia.
Good evening, everyone.
I'm Nadine Woodward.
And I'm Charles Rowe.
Tonight, CREM 2 team coverage of the truck bomb in Saudi Arabia.
That powerful blast left a 30-foot crater as it ripped through base housing.
The destroyed building bears an eerie resemblance to the bombed-out federal building in Oklahoma
City.
In addition to the 19 killed, 270 people are hurting, 80 seriously.
Tonight, no one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
But the Saudi government is offering a reward of more than $2.5 million for information
leading to the arrest of those responsible.
The attack hits close to home.
Airmen from three Northwest bases are stationed in Duran, including airmen from Mountain Home
Air Force Base near Boise.
Twenty-seven members of the 366th Composite Wing were at the base when that truck bomb
went off.
No word yet on any casualties for them.
As we first reported last night, 22 people from McCord Air Force Base near Tacoma are
stationed there, too.
Today, family and friends receive the good news that everybody from McCord has been accounted
for.
We'll have reaction from McCord.
But first, the latest on the 11 Fairchild personnel assigned to that Duran base, CREM
2's Dan Garrity kicks off our team coverage.
What is life at Fairchild?
Charles, for an excruciatingly long period of time, no one knew if that flag was flying
at half-staff in memory of a victim from Fairchild.
What they did know was 11 of their own were in Dachron on temporary duty.
But there was a big sigh of relief this morning when officials were finally able to confirm
all 11 of those people survived the blast.
Two of them received minor injuries in the explosion, but they're expected to recover
nicely.
Now, that sense of relief is turning into a sense of resolve, because when you're in
the Air Force, the mission must go on.
People in the Air Force stand ready to go where we're ordered to go.
Vice Commander Wally Dill, second in command at Fairchild, spent a sleepless night Tuesday
wondering if any of his people were among the 19 dead in this terrorist attack.
Slowly, as word trickled in, the news got better and better.
I'll tell you what, going through the night last night, as the words came in, you know,
we got four, then we got six, and then even this morning we're still waiting for confirmation
on the final two.
We do have two personnel that suffered minor injuries.
They're undergoing treatment at this time for minor cuts and bruises.
And it could have been me in there.
19-year Air Force veteran Wayne Gustason watched the news reports of Dachron with a sinking
feeling in his stomach.
To him, the scenery was all too familiar.
I kind of had a little flashback, because I'd been in that area about two years ago.
It just brings back some memories.
And, like I said, you know, we could have, I could have been there.
And while he feels lucky he wasn't there, he'd go back tomorrow if the order came down.
We're here to lay our life down for the country.
I've always understood that.
Even though you get scared sometimes, that's the understanding.
To give up to leave Saudi Arabia would be to surrender to terrorists.
And it seems nobody here is willing to do that.
Once again, good news from Fairchild Air Force Base, all 11 people here on temporary duty
to Dachron survived the attack.
Two people were injured in that explosion, but they just received minor cuts and bruises.
They are expected to recover.
Gerald Sniddy?
Good news indeed.
Thanks a lot, Deb.
Well, 22 airmen from McCord Air Force Base in Tacoma know firsthand the terror of this
attack.
They were there when it happened.
It has been an emotional day for their families, who now know they are safe.
Mark Hubbard has reaction from McCord.
The cargo planes roar overhead, a reminder that operations don't pause when lives are
lost.
But there are subtle reminders that the military is suffering.
There are many emotions on this base.
22 families have loved ones in Saudi Arabia.
The first emotion is relief.
There is, but at the same time, you know, it's a very small service and we feel for
all the service members who are affected by anything that happens to the military.
And many members of the military family happen to be here right now.
Teams from all over the country are participating in an air rodeo.
Competitions from loading cargo in record time to making perfect maintenance checks
are underway.
The Saudi Arabian bombing is on the back of many minds here, but in the military, you
must keep your focus.
It affects you, but not professionally.
I mean, you still do your job.
You don't stop moving airplanes because of that.
Everything presses on and, you know, the rodeo competition continues on and, you know, our
job just continues to flow, you know.
So that really hasn't factored into our day-to-day operations.
Again, that was Mark Hubbard reporting from Tacoma.
One soldier from Fort Lewis is also serving in Saudi Arabia.
Back here in the inner Northwest, 23-year-old Chad Burgad is still missing tonight.
He was doomed ground after jumping off a cruise boat into Lake Coeur d'Alene last weekend.
The Burgad family is...