Firefighter hopes for quiet day on Air Force birthday

  • Published
  • By Louis A. Arana-Barradas
  • Air Force Print News
SAN ANTONIO (AFPN) --  Senior Airman Jurle Gaver hopes there are no emergencies to keep him from his cake, ice cream and punch on the Air Force's 59th birthday.

The firefighter, like other Airmen around the world, will report to work to fight or support the ongoing war on terrorism.

This war -- like all the ones before -- is taking Airmen to dangerous, far-flung locations to do their jobs. Some of those jobs they had never done before. Others at stateside bases provide the people and support needed carry on that war.

Aiman Gaver is a fire protection journeyman with the 407th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron at Ali Base, Iraq. He deployed there from his home unit, the 145th Airlift Wing, which is located at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, N.C. As a first responder, he is a member of the base rescue air mobility squad.

"I'll be on standby, ready to go on firefighting missions on or off the base and perform rescue missions," the 3-year veteran said.

The Air Force may be a year older, but it is doing more today, with a smaller force, than it did even five years ago. Since becoming a separate service in 1947, the Air Force has increased its capabilities and its global reach now stretches into space.

Today, the Air Force and its sister services are busy achieving what Secretary of the Air Force Michael W. Wynne called spherical situational awareness. This allows the U.S. military to take "a comprehensive, spherical view -- at once vertical, horizontal, real time and predictive, penetrating and defended in the cyber realm."

But in a message to the force, Secretary Wynne and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley said the Air Force is the globe's dominant force in air, space and cyberspace because of its Airmen.

"Our knowledge-enabled Airmen have revolutionized the way our nation defends itself and its allies across the full spectrum of threats," they said.

Yet the threats of terror attacks on the nation are still a reality. That makes the Air Force's role even more important. That reality is not lost on the Airman from Huntersville, N.C.

"We are the leading aerospace power in the world," Sergeant Gaver said. "The Air Force provides air superiority here, and it gets everyone here and back home. It brings the food, supplies and people to this fight. The Air Force makes it happen for all the services."

As Airmen continue to do their duty today, there are even more changes taking place. And each day new technology and smart processes make doing Air Force business smarter and more efficient. It is hard to predict where the service will be in five years.

But that is clear to the Airman.

"The Air Force will continue to fight the war on terror and support freedom all over the world," Airman Gaver said.