Marauders remember fallen 386th Airman

Senior Airman Antonio Tirado, 386th Expeditionary Communications Squadron, shares a memory of Senior Airman Michael J. Hinkle II with the rest of the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing during a memorial service March 19 at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia. The 386th AEW held a memorial service to remember the life of Airman Hinkle who died from a non-combat related incident March 16. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Patrice Clarke).

Marauders remember fallen 386th Airman

Maj. James Hewitt, 386th Expeditionary Communications Squadron commander, speaks to the rest of the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing during a memorial service March 19 at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia. The 386th AEW held a memorial to remember the life of Senior Airman Michael J. Hinkle II, 24, who died from a non-combat related incident March 16. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Patrice Clarke)

Marauders remember fallen 386th Airman

Senior Airman Samuel Bunting, 386th Expeditionary Communications Squadron, plays "Taps" during a memorial service March 19 at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia. The 386th Air Expeditionary Wing held a memorial service to remember the life of Senior Airman Michael J. Hinkle II, 24, who died from a non-combat related incident March 16. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Patrice Clarke)

Marauders remember fallen 386th Airman

Airman 1st Class Shanee Gamliel, 386th Expeditionary Communications Squadron, signs a memory book after a memorial service March 19 at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia. The 386th Air Expeditionary Wing held a memorial service to remember the life of Senior Airman Michael J. Hinkle II, 24, who died from a non-combat related incident March 16. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Patrice Clarke)

Marauders remember fallen 386th Airman

Members of the 386th Expeditionary Communications Squadron stand at attention while "Taps" play during a memorial service March 19, at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia. The 386th Air Expeditionary Wing held a memorial service to remember the life of Senior Airman Michael J. Hinkle II, 24, who died from a non-combat related incident March 16. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Patrice Clarke)

Marauders remember fallen 386th Airman

Published March 21, 2011
By Staff Sgt. Patrice Clarke
386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Amidst a standing room only gathering inside the Rock Chapel, the members of the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing paid their final respects to a fallen Marauder during a memorial service here March 19.

The 386th Expeditionary Communications Squadron, along with the rest of the 386th AEW, said goodbye to Senior Airman Michael J. Hinkle II, 24, who died March 16 due to a non-combat related incident here.

"Even though Mike's life was short, it was full of accomplishments and honor," said Maj. James Hewitt, 386th ECS commander. "Mike joined (the Air Force) and immediately headed off to become a cyber transport systems journeyman. There could not have been a better career field for Mike to join. Mike loved computers, networking and gaming. He loved being a COMM geek."

Major Hewitt said Airman Hinkle joining the cyber professionals was the perfect collision of a hobby and a career.

"Just to give you an idea most Airmen deploy with one laptop; Mike had two laptops," said Major Hewitt.

Airman Hinkle deployed to the 386th ECS from the 28th Communications Squadron at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., in November. He was remembered by his deployed family for his quick smile and positive attitude.

"Hinkle had an amazing smile," said Senior Airman Antonio Tirado, a radio frequency transmissions journeyman with the 386th ECS. "He just enjoyed himself. He didn't take things to seriously and he was just happy. It's that type of character that I enjoyed being around."

That easy going attitude and willingness to accept anything made him a valuable member of the 386th ECS.

"While here, Airman Hinkle made an impact from Day 1," said Major Hewitt. "We had a contractor leave our team at another location on very short notice. Mike volunteered to cover his duties until we could hire another contractor. The contractor had been there for nine years and had nearly 30 years of networking experience, but the unit didn't miss a beat with Mike there."

Airman Hinkle also filled in as a system administrator, client support technician, cable technician, and any other job that was needed, explained Major Hewitt.

"He did it with a smile on his face," he said. "Every time I saw him he had a smile on his face and he was happy to be here. In fact, he was so gung ho to be here that he requested permission from his home unit to stay for an additional six months. His accomplishments here have been numerous and far reaching."

During the memorial, Lt. Col. William Dickens, the 386th AEW chaplain, encouraged all to share the memories they have of Airman Hinkle with each other throughout the next few days.

"For every one memory that was shared today, I know the members of the communications squadron have 10 more," said Chaplain Dickens. "Share those memories with each other; enjoy those memories because they have been left behind by Senior Airman Hinkle as a precious gift for you."

Along those sentiments, Maj. Hewitt also encouraged his squadron to be good communicators and wingmen during this time.

"We must look out for each other," he said. "For it is each other that will get us through this challenging time. Ultimately, we have a mission to accomplish; that's why we are here. Michael would not, for a second, want us to fail. I believe Michael would want us to honor his legacy by pressing on and accomplishing the mission we were sent here to do. And we will because we're professionals. We are wingmen. We are leaders. We are warriors, and we will not fail."