HILL AIR FORCE BASE — A group of airmen from Hill Air Force Base returned home last week after a six-month deployment in the Middle East.

Members of Hill’s 388th and 419th fighter wings returned from Al-Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates, a deployment that marked the first time the Air Force’s F-35A Lightning II jets performed a real-world combat mission.

Supporting the Combined Joint Task Force’s Operation Inherent Resolve mission, the group performed several missions, including close air support and “regional deterrence against aggressors,” according to a press release from Hill.

The squadron completed at least two combat strikes on enemy forces.

In September, F-35s and pilots from Hill were part of a group that dropped about 80,000 pounds of bombs on Qanus Island in Iraq — a spot that has been used as a hideout by the Islamic State.

In April, Hill F-35 pilots conducted an air strike at Wadi Ashai, Iraq, hitting a long-established ISIS tunnel network and weapons cache in a remote area of the Hamrin Mountains.

At the time, Air Force officials said the strike marked the jet’s first real-world combat strike.

“We showed that we deserved a seat at the table just like any other fighter,” said Lt. Col. Joshua Arki, 4th Fighter Squadron commander, in the release. “We demonstrated to our friends and enemies that the F-35A is ready for any of the missions we may be called upon. We can hold any conflict in any theater at bay.”

According to the 388th Fighter Wing’s Public Affairs office, the deployed group was made up of pilots from the active duty 4th Fighter Squadron and reserve 466th Fighter Squadron, as well as active duty and reserve airmen in the 4th and 466th Aircraft Maintenance Units.

Hill was selected as the Air Force’s preferred home for the F-35 in December 2013 after a four-year environmental review process. Since the initial delivery of two jets in late 2015, the base has been accepting one to two aircraft each month. Once the full fleet of 78 Lightning IIs is complete, expected sometime before the end of this year, the planes will be divided among three fighter squadrons.

Since their Utah arrival F-35As from Hill have previously deployed to Royal Air Force Lakenheath in April 2017, as well as Kadena Air Base, Japan in the fall of 2017. In February, a group of 12 F-35s and maintainers, intelligence officers, weapons crews and support personnel from Hill completed three-week combat exercise known as “Red Flag” — an exercise meant to replicate a battle against near-equal enemies during a large-scale conflict.

Pilots from Hill have also conducted numerous other training missions, including flying in and out of the Utah Test and Training Range in Utah’s west desert.