Who's calling?

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jarrod R. Chavana
  • U.S. Air Forces Central Public Affairs
CAMP TAJI, Iraq (AFNS) --  Not many people can say they received a phone call from the president of the United States on Christmas Eve.

Tech. Sgt. Donald Pedro, an 821st Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron fuels advisor, was honored to receive a phone call from his commander in chief, Barack Obama, to wish him a merry Christmas and thank him for his service.

White House officials called several times during the week to make sure the phone lines were in working order.  When Sergeant Pedro answered the phone the first time, he could barely believe what he heard.

"When the White House operator told me that I would be talking to the president, my response was, 'The president of what?'" Sergeant Pedro said. "The female on the other end paused and said, 'Of the United States, as in our president.'"

Sergeant Pedro, who is deployed from Pope Air Force Base, N.C, was nominated for this honor by his commander as a result of his leadership and contributions to the mission.

"There is no higher honor, in my opinion, than to have the most important man in the free world take the time out of his schedule to call an E-6 in the middle of Iraq," said Sergeant Pedro, who hails from Pawtucket, R.I. "It says a lot about his character and it meant the world to me and to my family back home.

"It is amazing to know that as busy as he must be, our president has taken the time to do something like this," he said. "It's hard being deployed during the holidays, but this opportunity has definitely raised my Christmas spirit."