Bagram airmen boost village morale

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Russell Wicke
  • 455th Expeditionary Operations Group Public Affairs
BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (AFPN) --  It is austere here. The rules are strict, the environment is harsh, and the enemy is near. Everyday is a workday. Alcoholic beverages and civilian clothes are prohibited. People cannot go anywhere unarmed. They eat and sleep with their weapons.

Maintaining high morale in an environment like this is a challenge. Bagram Air Base is primarily an Army installation with thousands of soldiers and about 600 airmen. Among those airmen are two who take responsibility for the comfort, recreation and morale of the rest of the airmen here.

Tech. Sgt. Mike Boyter and Staff Sgt. Chris Block, from the 455th Expeditionary Support Squadron, have been successful in improving morale for the airmen here, according to Lt. Col. John Doherty, 455th ESS commander.

Doherty said these two airmen, who are deployed from Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, have gone beyond what is expected from the average services troop.

“For the two of them, they have (a) pretty robust program,” he said. “They have a recreational event going on every day of the week.”

Whether it is bingo, karaoke, sports or weekly cookouts, Doherty said Boyter and Block are behind it all.

“Between just the two of them they are on 24-hour operations,” Doherty said. “They have a genuine concern for the well-being of the people here.”

Morale and welfare is not the limit of their program, however.

“We handle the lodging operation for two different villages and maintain a fitness center,” Boyter said. “Plus, we run a linen exchange program through contractors.”

On top of all this, these two airmen have reached outside the Air Force to improve the circumstances here.

“Since we’ve been here, we have made a good relationship with the Army’s services people,” Boyter said. “We work together on a lot of things now to make it more of a joint environment.”

“Before these guys were here, we were secluded from the Army and their activities,” Doherty said. “Because of their efforts, the Air Force participates in much of the Army’s morale events, too.”

Doherty said he believes it is not just their accomplishments that make them stand out, but also their approach to the challenge.

“The attitudes of these guys are phenomenal; especially for such a thankless job,” he said. “They have pride in what they do. They’re full of energy, enthusiasm and great ideas.”

Nevertheless, Boyter and Block do not believe the job is thankless.

“We matter here and it’s obvious,” Block said. “In services back home, the fruit of our labor isn’t as visible.”

“Here we have opportunities to do bigger projects than what we would do back home,” Boyter added. “I think we’ve taken the morale up a few notches. That is rewarding to me.”

Their commander said he is sure they have taken the morale up more than “a few notches.”

“Despite our limited funding and struggle for new equipment, these guys have stretched our resources to the max and have come back with amazing results,” Doherty said. “Most people here have a job, these two have a calling.”