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380AEW Article

Airman's brushes paint wing spirit

  • Published
  • By Senior Master Sgt. Eric Peterson
  • 380th Air Expeditionary Wing
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  This is the second in a series of three stories featuring artwork displayed on base at the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing in Southwest Asia. In this installment, Senior Master Sgt. Eric Peterson interviewed the 380th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron Airman responsible for updating the Air Force identity displayed on the walls of the Community Activities Center pavilion, a popular gathering point for the wing's personnel to meet during their off-duty hours.

Air Force Senior Airman Bernabe "Berney" Negron had some special tools sent to him to use during his deployment to the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing. Along with his uniforms, physical training gear and mobility equipment, he works with some very special paint brushes.

The camel-hair brushes were a gift to him from his father, an artist in Puerto Rico who created hand-painted banners for corporate advertising.

Negron said he had noticed the decorations in the pavilion area were lacking in spirit and energy and decided to create a design that would provide a more uplifting mood for the Airmen that spend time in the area.

"It looked like a place without feelings," said Negron. "FSS is a squadron that is the heart of the base. Since we are the heart of the base we need to maintain the spirit. So that's why I came up with the idea to add color."

The entire stage area was painted black. He then painted the Air Force emblem and the AFCENT and 380th AEW shields in full color on plywood cutouts and mounted them to the walls. This created a three-dimensional effect for the back of the stage.

In addition to painting the Air Force emblem and shields, Negron created a unique logo for the CAC outdoor arena. The logo features a camel holding an overflowing bottle of water, which is appropriate for a gathering spot Airmen affectionately call "the Thirsty Camel."

"I feel proud and I feel blessed that I can make some changes at this base in people's lives," said Negron. "Sometimes when you see things in black and white you need to add a couple colors in order to build that spirit, and that's what I'm doing over here. I'm trying to make a legacy, because the Soldiers and Airmen are leaving their comfort zone back home. That is their sacrifice for freedom and justice. Those people deserve more than that. They deserve a good place-and that's why I made the thirsty camel."

Like many artists, Negron has found a way to put himself into his work. The name tape on the camel's shirt reads "Berney."
Negron said he inherited his creative ability from his father and is happy that he is able to share this artistic talent with the wing.

This isn't the first large-scale project he's been involved with for a military base. At his home station of Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida, he designed and applied a rendition of the Air Force emblem to the center of a football field in preparation for a game played between the Air Force and Army teams.

He was later invited to take part in a tandem parachute jump into the center of the stadium with the United States Army Golden Knights Parachute Team and tried to take photographs of his creation from the air.

"By the time that I was landing it started raining so bad that the logo got erased," said Negron, laughing.

Negron sees the pavilion artwork display as something that can be continually improved upon. He hopes that future rotations of Airmen continue to maintain and update the identity of the pavilion area.

"Right now I'm thinking about the next rotation," said Negron. "I'm doing my mission, but at the same time I'm preparing this environment for the next rotation so that they can continue with that spirit and that legacy," he said. "It's like a work in progress, you keep adding to it. We need to maintain our base because this represents us."