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Deployed Air Force civilian preserves history

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Tia Schroeder
  • 386th Air Expeditionary Wing
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  When Tech. Sgt. Peter Law retired from the Air Force less than a year ago, he thought he'd worn his combat boots for the last time. 

Now Mr. Law is one of seven historians deployed in the area of responsibility and is once again wearing his tan camouflage uniform. 

"Putting the uniform on again felt like putting on an old glove; it felt natural," said Mr. Law. "The only exception is, is I don't need to salute anymore and people call me 'sir.'" 

In fiscal year 2007, the Air Force made the decision to turn military historian positions into civil service jobs. Military historians had the option of separating and applying for the civil service position or crosstraining and staying on active duty. 
    
The 386th Air Expeditionary Wing didn't have a wing historian position until Mr. Law deployed here. 

"I'm deployed here to preserve a complete and accurate record of what the Airmen do here, so that twenty years from now, when that second lieutenant is a wing commander and that one-striper is a chief, they can learn from what we did, the situations we encountered, and the solutions we came up with," said Mr. Law. 

Airmen in the future will be able to look back and get a real sense of the support that the 386th AEW gave to the rest of the AOR. 

"The warriors of this wing are doing amazing things through this region and that story deserves to be preserved," said Col. Robert Swisher, 386 AEW commander. "It's important that we ensure our contributions to freedom aren't forgotten." 

Preservation of historical documentation is vital to future leaders not only in getting the mission done but also being to learn from past situations. 

"Future leaders need to look back and see more than data collected, they need to know the rest of the story behind getting the mission done, if people are our most important weapon we need to tell their story," said Colonel Swisher. 

The history office serves as a vital role to the Air Force and its commanders. 

"The commanders of the base have been very supportive which has aided me in not only looking forward to the history of the wing, but also looking backwards into our history here," said Mr. Law. "The biggest obstacle I've encountered at the start of the deployment was getting my office organized and establishing contacts through out the
wing." 

Establishing contacts and having support from the base commanders is imperative when setting up a wing history office for the first time at a base. 

"I also feel privileged to be part of an elite group of deployed civilian historians.  Few have ever had the privilege of setting up a wing history office for the first time," said Mr. Law.