It was the first weekend of Fletcher’s first week at his first assignment in Japan at Yokota Air Base. Fletcher said two Japanese couples observed his predicament and escorted him to the correct train, and then rode with him all the way to Yokota. When Fletcher tried to pay his newfound Japanese friends for their time and kindness, he recalled, they said they were just happy to speak English with someone and were happy to help. Fletcher said that’s when he decided Japan would be a good place to be stationed. "I've been in love with Japan ever since," he said. Fletcher is an air transportation specialist with the 353rd Special Operations Group based at Kadena Air Base, Japan. Now, he's deployed to Sendai Airport, where he oversees cargo-loading operations with a four-person crew. Fletcher and his team are supporting Operation Tomodachi, the relief effort that’s aiding the Japanese people following the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Fletcher was part of the initial team sent here to help the Japanese recover and reopen the airport. Since Fletcher and his crew arrived, he said, air transporters have unloaded millions of pounds of water, food, blankets and other relief supplies, in addition to all of the equipment they needed to keep their part of the operation going. "This is the kind of thing most of us joined the Air Force to do," Fletcher said. "I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing. We were told the Japanese people needed help, and well, they helped me the first week I lived here. Of course I want to do whatever I can to give back." Fletcher and his team live in the airport’s passenger terminal along with scores of airmen, soldiers and Marines also supporting the relief mission. The group has an electric generator to run the computers needed for air traffic control and cargo shipment manifests. There's little to no heat in the building, Fletcher said, so the days and nights are cold. "It's freezing in the terminal, but at least I have a roof over my head," he said. "We see it snowing outside and realize that we're the lucky ones. We've heard there are half-a-million people displaced, out of their homes and living in shelters. “So it's cold, but it could be a lot worse," he added. The Japanese people’s strength, kindness and generosity greatly impresses U.S. service members involved in Operation Tomodachi, Fletcher said. "One day, a Japanese man came all the way out here with a big bag of apples, just to thank us for what we were doing,” Fletcher recalled. “That was the first fresh fruit any of us had had in eight days. I swear that was the best apple I'd ever tasted. I ate everything down to the seeds." Fletcher said he and his crew are optimistic and focused on the task at hand. "Every time the back of a plane opens up and it's a pallet of water, I can say for a fact, 'Somebody needs that,'” Fletcher said. “So when we get supplies off a C-130 and onto a helicopter, we know this whole thing is for a good cause. "If I retired today, this would be the highlight of my career," he said. April 11, 2011: By Air Force Staff Sgt. J.G. Buzanowski- 374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

 

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Coast Guard Cmdr. Diane W. Durham became the head of the Professional Maritime Studies Department here during the summer of 2010. She leads 17 military and civilian instructors and staff, and oversees the nautical science training of the more than 1,000 members of the academy’s corps of cadets.A few months earlier Durham had put her experience to the test as commander of the Coast Guard Cutter Forward. She and her crew were pressed into action in response to a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck less than 15 miles from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Jan. 12, 2010. The Forward was on deployment, Durham recalled, and recently had arrived in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, when the earthquake occurred. "The duty section and off-duty crew onboard were jolted by unusual movement of the ship and quickly gathered to respond to an onboard emergency,” she said. “We learned that it was an earthquake, and soon after, we learned of the devastation in Port-au-Prince. “The crew was recalled from various points around the base,” Durham continued, “and we were underway by 10 p.m. We made best speed through the night.” Durham’s cutter was the first U.S. vessel to arrive in Haiti for the earthquake response mission. During the response, Durham said her crew members conducted numerous missions, including search and rescue, air traffic control, port assessments, damage assessment overflights and medical evacuations. Durham and her crew were recognized for their exceptional work during the response effort. On July 4, 2010, Durham represented the Coast Guard at the White House and was commended by President Barack Obama for the Haiti relief efforts. “We salute the United States Coast Guard, including a Coast Guardsman who commanded the first U.S. vessel to arrive in Haiti after the earthquake, helping to pave the way for one of the most complex humanitarian efforts ever attempted, Cmdr. Diane Durham,” Obama said. At the height of the response in mid-January, the Coast Guard had up to eight cutters in Haiti’s ports, in the Caribbean and in Florida waters. Air assets included a HC-144A Ocean Sentry aircraft, five HC-130 Hercules aircraft, three MH-65 Dolphin helicopters and three MH-60 Jayhawk helicopters operating in Haiti with more than 800 Coast Guard members providing assistance on shore, afloat on the cutters and in the air. Durham said she emphasized an open and honest command climate built on trust and communication. “Being on a cutter requires people to embody the term shipmate," she said. “You live together, work together, struggle together and succeed together for long periods of time. You become a family.” This command climate directly impacted Durham’s crew. “Commander Durham is very dedicated to the overall mission of the Coast Guard. I have sought after her council for stressful situations on several occasions,” said Senior Chief Petty Officer Nicole Rose, the command chief on the Forward. “What makes a good leader is looking out after your people, dedication, motivation, compassion and the ability to expertly handle difficult situations. This is a talent too few have and many more need.” Durham has served more than nine years at sea during her 21-year career on the Coast Guard cutters Rush, Decisive, Resolute, Tampa and Forward. Durham said she now brings her knowledge and experience from the fleet into the classroom to train and teach cadets, officer candidates, prospective commanding officers and executive officers. “It’s important to have officers from the fleet as instructors because they know what is expected of junior officers in their first tours and what will help us achieve success when we enter the workforce,” said First Class Cadet Amanda Cousart, a marine and environmental science major at the academy. “Teaching cadets and other Coast Guard personnel is a way to make sure all of the information Commander Durham has learned is passed on so future officers can make the Coast Guard thrive.” First Class Cadet Dana Prefer echoed Cousart’s sentiments. “I think that Commander Durham is a wealth of knowledge because she has done almost everything you can do in the afloat community,” Prefer said. “When she told us about her past jobs, I was very impressed that she held that many command positions and highly-sought-after billets. I believe that due to her diverse career path,” Prefer added, “she is able to get through to her students effectively, and I see her as a very good model of what a leader should be.” April 7, 2011: By Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Timothy Tamargo- U.S. Coast Guard Academy Public Affairs

 

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When she enlisted in the Air Force 33 years ago, Burney said, she knew she was going to get an education. She earned two associate degrees, a bachelor's degree with honors and two master's degrees before she retired. Cynthia would also gain a husband, Garrick Burney. They've been married 27 years and both retired as Air Force chief master sergeants. Garrick retired three years ago after 30 years of service. The story of the two retired chiefs began in the 1970s before they met. They had separate goals and came from different backgrounds. But fate and the Air Force brought them together. While Cynthia came from a military family, Garrick did not. Cynthia's father was in the Army at Fort Bragg, N.C., and Garrick's only military tie was living close to a military base in Indiana. Coming from a family of 11 siblings, four of Cynthia's five brothers joined the Army. Her goal, she said, was to travel and get an education. She knew the military was one way to achieve that goal. When she was in the 11th grade, an Air Force recruiter visited her school and talked about the opportunity to go to college and travel the world. Right there, Cynthia said, she knew the recruiter was talking directly to her, and she was going to join the Air Force, despite being in Army ROTC at the time. Garrick also had a large family, and his parents couldn’t afford college for him. Driven to get a skill that would last him a lifetime, he often worked with summer hires cutting grass for a civil engineering unit and planned to join the Air Force. When the time came for Garrick to join the service, a job opening happened to come up in the civil engineering department. Unlike Cynthia, Garrick said he wasn’t enticed by any recruiter or his parents to join the Air Force. He was simply attracted to the Air Force by the image of "sharp airmen" who visited his town decked out in their uniforms. After two years of service as a pavement maintenance specialist, the Air Force sent Garrick to Travis Air Force Base, Calif., where he met Cynthia, then a jet engine mechanic sergeant. The pair married two years later. "We've both always been goal-oriented," Cynthia said. "That is one of the things that really kept us together as a couple." As an Army brat, Cynthia already knew about discipline. She was used to following rules, she said, so she didn't have any problems after joining the Air Force. Later, she decided to become a counselor. "I knew I wanted to be a counselor when my fellow coworkers and friends would always come and talk with me about different issues or problems," she said. "I knew I could make better use of my life's gifts as a counselor,” she said, “and Garrick encouraged and supported me.” She described her husband as a mentor in teaching her about the Air Force. Garrick said he also learned from his wife. "Together, we were able to meld our careers and bounce things off each other about life," Garrick said. "We never really got to the point where I was telling her what to do, and she wasn't telling me what to do," he added. Cynthia now is assigned to the 65th Force Support Squadron as the community readiness consultant for the Airman and Family Readiness Center. Though a lot has changed since the Burneys joined the Air Force and met each other, they said one thing hasn’t changed -- the Air Force always needs good mentors. As a former enlisted member, military spouse and mother of three, Cynthia said, she has vast experience as a counselor, and enjoys continuing her commitment to serve. April 6, 2011: By Air Force Staff Sgt. Olufemi Owolabi- 65th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

 

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Exactly 20 years later, on Feb. 23, 2011, Air Force Maj. Roy Bentley landed in Kuwait with the 17th Airlift Squadron en route to his deployment with the 817th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron -- this time as a C-17 pilot supporting operations Enduring Freedom and New Dawn."The 2nd Cavalry was the spearhead for the 7th Corps movement into Iraq" during Desert Storm, Bentley said. "We were the lead unit for the right hook. The cavalry is the eyes and ears of the corps." Bentley remained on active duty with the Army until July 1992, when he then joined the Army National Guard and used his GI Bill benefits to go to college. In 1998, he was accepted into the Air Force's Officer Training School, and he began pilot training in 1999. Today, Bentley is a C-17 instructor pilot assigned to the 17th Airlift Squadron here. He is deployed to Manas Air Base, Kyrgyzstan, one of three locations where the squadron is based during this deployment rotation. The air mobility mission has played a key role in operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom and New Dawn. While deployed, the squadron is providing airlift for troops and passengers, military equipment, cargo and aeromedical airlift. It also conducts missions involving the airland or airdrop of troops, equipment and supplies to warfighters in austere locations. As someone who has been on both sides of the coin, Bentley said, he knows how important the air mobility mission is and what it can mean to the warfighter on the ground. "At the end of the ground war in 1991, the supply line was stretched, and we were without our normal rations for three weeks," he said. "We did have Chef Boyardee Beefaroni as a meal supplement to our normal meals ready to eat. When the MREs ran out, it was Beefaroni for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I haven't eaten it since." While the mission is certainly different this time around for Bentley, he has a true appreciation for the service members who are on the ground. "I can relate to the men and women I am dropping off and picking up in theater," he said. "I understand that all the supplies we deliver are sorely needed by the people on the ground. I take great pride in moving the troops around theater, taking the time to talk with them and encouraging them during their deployment." Looking back on his deployment during the Gulf War, Bentley said his time in a tank was much different from time in a C-17. "Life in a tank was better than life on the ground," he said. "We had a place to eat, sleep and stay protected. There wasn't too much to worry about in a tank, except another tank.” So how is time spent in a C-17 different? "Life on the C-17 is nice. We have a working toilet onboard, and at every stop you can find a place to shower," he said. "Not taking a shower for six months is not an experience I want to repeat. I always tell the guys that I have had my Air Force appreciation tour. No matter how bad you think you have it, there is always someone out there who has it worse." During this current deployment, Bentley is the Detachment 2 commander for the squadron at Manas and has been flying with two of the squadron's newest pilots. "Being able to pass on my know-how and developing the skills of those younger airmen has been rewarding," Bentley said. Just as it was by chance that Bentley landed in Kuwait 20 years to the day of the start of the ground war in Operation Desert Storm, he's also leaving in the same fashion. "I was redeployed to Germany in May 1991, and I'm slated to return to Charleston in May 2011," he said. Bentley’s fellow airmen at Manas couldn't let this milestone pass without a few good-natured jabs. "I was the young guy during the first Gulf War," he said. "The young guys [here] keep reminding me that I am the old man this time around." April 1, 2011: By Trisha Gallaway- Joint Base Charleston

 

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