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Deployed Airman attends brother's promotion from afar

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Terri Barriere
  • 2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La --  An Airman at the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing used communication technology to ensure distance did not  keep her from attending a family member's promotion ceremony

For Capt. Capri Baptiste, the comptroller for the 380th AEW, her older brother's promotion ceremony could not be missed.

When Gunn, of the 2nd Bomb Wing legal office, found out he was being promoted to technical sergeant, he knew he wanted to make it a family affair. The only problem was his entire family could not physically be present.

"My parents were here for the pin-on and also my wife and daughter; but my sister was unable to make it because she is currently deployed. So, we decided to [video teleconference] her in so she wouldn't have to miss it," he said.

While Baptiste, who is deployed here from Shaw AFB, S.C., said it was awesome to be able to see her family and be a part of the ceremony from afar, she was still sad not to be there.

"It's bittersweet that I am not there in person," she said. "I am so happy he is being promoted, but I am sad that it is not at a time when I can just fly in and be at the ceremony with everyone."

Though the siblings each have separate lives now, complete with their own military careers and families, they consider theirs a close relationship and make it a point to use any form of communication available to reconnect at least once a week -- yet another reason having his sister present was so important to Gunn.

He said he had the idea to do the video teleconference as a way to keep his sister involved despite her deployment; and the logistics came easy to him due to his experience with VTCs for work.

"She refuses to be excluded," he joked. "She feels like she should be a part of everything the family does ... she hates to be left out of something, so this was the only logical thing to do and I knew she would appreciate it."

All joking aside, Gunn was appreciative of not only having the technology, but his family putting forth so much effort to take part in the occasion -- an opportunity he understands is few and far between in the military.

"This is a very special day for me; it's not every day you get promoted in the Air Force," he said. "My Staff Judge Advocate, Lt. Col. Daniel Higgins, brought up a very good point to me which is if you serve 30 years in the enlisted force only eight of those days will ever be promotion days. With that in mind, that makes this day and every other one even more special, and I'm happy my family was here to be a part of it."

Though the moment was Gunn's to relish, even from afar his sister was able to appreciate the magnitude of the ceremony.

"I am so proud of my big brother right now, and I know he will do great things with this next stripe," the Columbus, Ga. native said. "I'm sure he will be able to handle the additional responsibilities that come with gaining a new stripe. I just love him and I am so proud of him."