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Commentary Search

  • Vehicle Operator shares deployment experiences

    My career field has changed a lot over the years, and my colleagues and I have had several deployment experiences. I wanted to share those stories and what they mean to me.In 2007 I deployed to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. I was attached to the United States Army's 424th Medium Truck Detachment. Our

  • Chaplain's thoughts on 'perception'

    When I was wing chaplain at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea, I went with the security forces commander one evening to visit a seriously injured Airman in the intensive care unit at a large hospital in the city of Suwon.Neither one of us were familiar with the hospital, so we wandered around using

  • Support for those affected by disaster

    Being deployed comes with its own set of unique challenges and stressors. We learn how to adjust and cope with these stressors by employing a variety of coping skills that are in our scope of control. Typically, these coping behaviors are effective in reducing our anxieties and help us become

  • Grief: A normal reaction to loss

    We all have stories of tragic events in our lives, or tragic events from deployments. Throughout our days we will deal with grief. Unfortunately it is inevitable. The grief we feel is something we all share in.Grief is the emotional suffering a person feels when someone or something they love is

  • Liberandos - Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow

    Our present-day 376th Air Expeditionary Wing's roots date from the activation of the 376th Bombardment Group (Heavy) during World War II, known as the "Liberandos." The 376th Heavy Bombardment Group flew the B-24 Liberator bomber, not the more famous B-17 Flying Fortresses or the dynamic B-29 Super

  • How do you wear your Airmanship?

    It was late and I was trying to focus on studying my professional development guide when the "Airmanship Defined" section caused me to sit up straight, pay attention and take notice. I can't remember the last time I heard the term "Airmanship."The PDG defines Airmanship as "the mindset, evident in

  • Honoring our fallen…

    I was the only one on the bus, besides the driver, at 4:40 a.m. He asked if there was anyone else coming. I said I didn't think so; "these events occur so early that folks don't get to participate." After about five to ten minutes, we proceeded to the foreign object damage checkout, to make sure we

  • Survival tip for deployed moms on Mother's Day

    I told myself to be strong. I told myself that tears won't change the fact that I was leaving my son for six months. Moments later, my husband pulled up to the airport for the final goodbye, but the Hoover dam couldn't hold back my tears or drown out the sound of my sobs. My head told me to get it

  • Small aircraft, big perspective -- the scale of Afghan Air Force progress

    Across Afghanistan, a 16 nation team is working to help the country re-grow its Air Force, first established in 1924. I was able to be part of that team for a year, traveling the country and partnering with Afghan Airmen to develop the institutions, practices and expertise needed to support Afghan