Now showing: Jan. 19 edition of AFTV News

  • Published
SAN ANTONIO (AFPN) --  The last of four special editions of Air Force Television News focuses on Air Force people and some of the outstanding contributions they have made to the service’s mission and to their communities during 2003.

In the first segment, Staff Sgt. Joe Wallace discovers what life is like for an airman who cares for her family while her husband is deployed to Southwest Asia. Staff Sgt. Bronwyn Tardo is given exclusive access to a couple who faced domestic violence while stationed at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, to show how an Air Force program helped. Tech. Sgt. Pachari Lutke profiles an airman from Iraq who had to flee his country and is now a translator at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

In Part 2, Tech. Sgt. Rusty Barfield shows how the Hawaiian school system evolved from one of the worst in the nation to one of the best, thanks to servicemembers. Staff Sgt. Leigh Bellinger tells the story of an Air Force reservist who finds aluminum cans along his postal routes and uses the money from recycling the cans to help a local, inner-city school. Sergeant Tardo visits Malmstrom AFB, Mont., for the story about dozens of dogs and cats who can thank a caring airman for getting a second chance at life.

In the final segment, Tech. Sgt. Bill Scherer and Sergeant Wallace showcase an Air National Guard senior airman who, with no regard to her own safety, single-handedly prevented a neighbor from possibly being killed by a mugger; then helped police find and capture the man. Sergeant Lutke talks with the widow of a pararscueman about her decision to make the Air Force a career as a legacy to her late husband.

This edition of AFTVN was produced and anchored by Staff Sgt. April Lawrence.

Air Force Television News is a biweekly production of Air Force News Service. It is distributed on videotape to more than 3,000 military and civilian outlets worldwide, and is seen on more than 700 cable TV outlets nationwide. It is also available on the Internet at www.af.mil, and can be regularly on The Pentagon Channel. The program is closed captioned. Viewers can comment on the program by sending an e-mail to aftvnews@afnews.af.mil.