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Controller cousins maintaining family tradition

  • Published
  • By Louis A. Arana-Barradas
  • Air Force Print News
LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) --  Jennifer Manibusan and her cousin Catherine Balolong have smiles big enough to light up a room.

And the two senior airmen have had plenty to smile about since joining the Air Force in December 2002, mostly because they've had the good fortune to have served together since the day they joined. That has helped them adapt to Air Force life.

Today, both are air traffic controllers with the 47th Operations Support Squadron at this busy pilot-training base near Del Rio, a town on the Texas-Mexico border. Squadron mates call the inseparable duo "the cousins."

The two have always been close. They grew up in towns just a few miles apart on San Francisco Bay. They joined the service after Airman Balolong graduated from high school in San Leandro, Calif. In basic training they were in the same flight, stood in formation and had beds next to each other. In technical school they were in the same class and were roommates.

Airman Manibusan -- from Alameda, Calif., and the older of the two at 22 -- said having her cousin at her side helped her cope with the uncertainties of her first months in the Air Force.

"Having her there was like a blessing," she said. An extrovert and self-professed daddy's girl and crybaby, she often needed her 21-year old cousin. "I was so homesick, I cried every night."

Airman Balolong, who is more stoic, said she isn't a crybaby -- though she admits she's a daddy's girl, too. She missed her family but knew one of the two had to be strong. So she consoled her cousin during her late-night sobbing sessions.

"Why do you have to cry? It's not going to get you back home," she would tell her.

With each other there for support, they made it through basic training. Airman Balolong was first to get orders for duty at Laughlin. When Airman Manibusan got orders there, too, she cried, this time because she had no idea where it was.

"But we were happy we were going together," she said.

When they arrived at Laughlin, they roomed together. Today, each has her own room, though they are just a few doors away from each other. They still spend a lot of time together going to dinner or local clubs, into Mexico to shop or just hanging out and watching movies in one of their rooms.

"The facilities are great here," Airman Manibusan said.

After the initial shock of arriving at Laughlin, Airman Balolong said the "city girls" adapted. They soon meshed into the Air Force way of life and their jobs, which both said is important at the training base.

Now, after almost four years in uniform, they laugh about the things that worried them while they were going through training. Today they talk about how much their lives have changed since then. For example, when they first arrived, they'd go home every three months. Now that pace has slowed considerably.

"We found things to do around here," Airman Manibusan said. "This place isn't so bad."

The two have important jobs and responsibilities they both like, though the pace can be a bit hectic. The base has one of the Air Force's busiest airfields, with aircraft taking off from three runways all day long. The Airmen and their co-workers spend their shifts keeping aircraft separated in the congested airspace above the base.

They work different shifts, but both like the sometimes-frantic pace. Though both Airmen are fully rated air traffic controllers, Airman Balolong said, "You still learn something every day."

Doing something new was one reason they joined the Air Force.

"I joined to learn a new skill, to travel and get an education," Airman Manibusan said.

And though she hasn't been able to do much traveling, Airman Manibusan gets to put her skills to use each day. That gives her a feeling of personal accomplishment and makes her feel good about what she does. That's because she knows the decisions she makes could impact someone's life.

That reality -- responsibility -- gives Airman Manibusan a rush. She also trains others to become air traffic controllers. It's not an easy task. And it's something most people her age don't get a chance to do. She said it takes a lot of coordination, attention to detail and patience. But when she helps a new controller receive his or her full rating, it makes the hard work worthwhile, she said.

"You feel good knowing you've made a positive impact on that person's life," she said.

Airman Balolong joined partly because she always wanted to join the military, and because her brother -- whom she has always looked up to -- had joined earlier. So when her cousin decided to join the Air Force, she wanted to join with her. Her parents gave her permission because she was only 17 years old. She doesn't regret making that decision.

"It's getting me somewhere," she said. "I'm learning something that actually makes a difference. That makes me appreciate things in life more."

Both Airmen like their life and the contributions they're making. They like what they've accomplished -- even getting promoted to senior airman, below the zone, the same day. Yet neither can say whether they will remain in the service past their six-year service commitments.

But for guidance on that issue, they do have someone else to ask. Because when the cousins joined the service, they were continuing a family tradition that dates back decades. Both their grandfathers served in the military, one in the Navy and the other in the Marine Corps. Today, they have an uncle who is a chief master sergeant and five cousins serving in the Air Force. So there are a lot of avenues for getting advice.

Airman Manibusan said there's a good chance she will reenlist for another term. And if she does, she's considering making the Air Force a career. Helping her decide are the people she works with. Many are retired Airmen and they fill her head with stories of far away lands, new places to see and challenging work. Travel and getting an overseas assignment appeals to her.

"I want to experience some of that," she said.

Her cousin has different thoughts about that. If she stays, she'd like to move to a base closer to her home, although in the same breath she said she wouldn't mind doing an overseas tour. She would like to get her college degree. But she still has time to think about it.

"But if I were to stay in the Air Force, then air traffic is not what I'd like to do for the rest of my career," Airman Balolong said. "I would cross-train and learn a different job and work toward getting a degree."

In the meantime, the cousins contend with the roles they'll play in the war on terrorism. They know they'll have to deploy to support the war effort. And they are both scared at the prospects of having to serve in Iraq or Afghanistan.

But both are ready for that eventuality. Luckily for them, they're due for deployment at the same time. So there's a chance they could serve together.

"When I signed up, I knew deploying was part of serving our country, to go out there and do what you have to do," Airman Manibusan said.

About that possibility, Airman Balolong said, "I'm ready to go."

The Airmen know one day they'll have to go their separate ways. But they also know they are just a plane ride from their home and each other. So for now, they count themselves lucky to be together and to have family to turn to in time of need.

"So when things get hard, she's there for me," Airman Balolong said, pointing to her cousin -- who had a big smile on her face.