An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

CMSAF makes holiday calls to deployed Airmen, their families

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Travis Edwards
  • 376th Air Expeditionary Wing
TRANSIT CENTER AT MANAS, Kyrgyzstan --  When he received the phone call, he said he wasn't sure if it was real or if it was someone from his home station playing a prank.

Senior Airman Bryan Knehr, 376th Air Expeditionary Wing command post controller along with Senior Airman Ryan Hanlon, 376th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron airfield manager, both received calls from the 17th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, James A. Cody.

Cody started his calls here during the early hours of Christmas Eve, his mission: to thank a couple Airmen for their deployed service during the holiday season.

Cody started with Hanlon, who is in charge of maintaining 24/7 airfield coverage and ensuring the launch and recovery of all Air Force aircraft landing here.

"It was really cool to have the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force calling me to thank me for my service," said Hanlon who is deployed from Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. "It definitely wasn't expected."

After Cody finished, his next call was to Hanlon's father in San Francisco, Calif.

"He said he was going to tell them that I was doing fine and was safe on my deployment," said Hanlon a native of Santa Rosa, Calif.

Cody followed up 18 hours later with a phone call to the command post Airman, Knehr. His supervisor said the call was well deserved.

"He is an amazing person and phenomenal command post controller," said Master Sgt. Melissa Galyean, 376th AEW command post superintendent. "He constantly strives to do excellent work and goes out of his way to make things better for us, we're lucky to have him as part of the team."

Knehr was surprised and humbled at the idea the highest ranking Air Force enlisted person knew about him and his wife Alisha.

"This was definitely the highlight of my career," said Knehr, who is deployed from McConnell Air Force Base, Kan., and a native of North Haverhill, N.H. "When he said my wife's name, I knew it was real - I'll be telling this story to my friends for the rest of my life and when I become a supervisor, I'll be telling my Airmen too.

"What an amazing experience," he added.