Echoes of U.S. civil rights revolution heard in Afghanistan

Published Feb. 20, 2012
By Staff Sgt. Nadine Y. Barclay
438th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Most historians date the beginning of the modern civil rights movement in the United States to the day when an unknown seamstress in Montgomery, Ala., refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger.

This brave woman, Rosa Parks, was arrested and fined for violating a city ordinance, but her act of defiance began a movement that ended legal segregation in America and made her an inspiration to freedom-loving people everywhere.

In the war-stricken valleys of Kabul Province, the echoes of Park's stand against discrimination reverberate through time. A Randolph Air Force Base, Texas Airman, who is African American, is playing a vital role in helping enhance the country's ability to move forward.

Air Force Maj. Anthony Graham, an advisor with the 438th Air Expeditionary Advisory Wing is dedicated to furthering the evolution in Afghanistan both professionally and culturally.

"The Afghans that I work with are excited to have a U.S. advisor and are eager to learn from me," said Graham. "They are asking questions and taking the initiative to do things on their own."

Graham deployed in June 2011 and is the only Afghan Command Control Center advisor assigned here. He said his job is to oversee and advise the Afghans that control all 83 of the aircraft flown by the Afghan air force in Afghanistan.

Graham also volunteers his off-duty time to live with and help mentor Afghan pilot candidates at Kabul International Airport's Thunder Lab, which includes some of the first females to be trained as pilots in Afghanistan.

"This job is the most rewarding job that I have done in my 12 years of service. You can actually see the results of all the hard work you have put in," said the 40-year-old Palm Bay, Fla., native.

Since the Air Force was the first U.S. service to end segregation, publishing regulations June 1, 1949 to end all-white or all-black units and fully integrate African American service members, Graham, along with others, have benefited from the change. He can empathize with extra struggles some students face at the Lab.

"As an African American I can relate to some of the struggles that the women at Thunder Lab go through on a daily basis," said Graham. "I joined the Air Force because I wanted not just a job, but a profession; I wanted to make a difference.

"I definitely feel that I have done that by encouraging not only the ACCC Afghans, but also the women to stay focused and push for their goals."

Graham has seen the first four women leave Afghanistan for the U.S. to start their pilot training.

"I believe the things that we have overcome as a society sometimes makes us more intoned to the evolving situation of others," said Graham. "My father taught me to always do my best and never be satisfied with anything less."

The U.S. Air Force Weapons School graduate has found a balance between his love of flying and his personal beliefs of excellence.

History was forever changed with a single act of defiance by one brave woman. Today's Airmen are on the front lines ready to help lead others who seek a better life as well.