Military mission doesn’t stop for the holidays

by Air Force Staff Sgt. Blake Mize
JBER Public Affairs

12/23/2013 - JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska  -- For many military members, the holidays are a welcomed opportunity to spend time with family and friends. Whether they choose to be with their immediate family or travel to wherever they call home, it's a nice way to decompress; make up for some of the time they spend away during the year and let the stress that accompanies military life to melt away, if only for a short time.

This is not the case, however, for all service members. The military mission never fully ceases and many troops are required to fulfill that mission no matter what the calendar reads. And some, even if they are at their home duty station and permitted time off during the holidays, are not able to be with their families.

"It isn't always easy when we are apart on the holidays, but my family has accepted the fact that it is a part of my career," said Air Force Master Sgt. Eric Williams, 673d Logistics Readiness Squadron. "They support me in all that I do with the Air Force. We are disappointed when we have to be apart, but we know that we will still be able to celebrate the holidays together when I get home - it may just be a few hours later than everyone else on the block."

For those with a different family dynamic, working during the holidays presents broader challenges.

"I am a single parent of a nine-year-old girl and she will be at a friend's home Christmas Eve and day," said Air Force Master Sgt. Phillip Williams, 673d Air Base Wing Command Post senior emergency actions controller. "Without them, another close friend and sitters, I would not make it. Those friends are a blessing to me. My daughter doesn't like it and I can't blame her, but she knows I work shifts and there's nothing I can do about it. I tell her it will get better, but it's the nature of our career field and we all know it."

Although it's not possible to prevent every family from being separated for the holidays, many service members without families make an effort to shoulder the load during this time to make sure as many families can be together as possible.

"Because I'm single, I try to volunteer to prevent folks with spouses and kids from going," said Air Force Capt. Ian Crawford, 517th Airlift Squadron C-17 pilot, who is part of a crew going on a resupply mission over Christmas and New Year's. "With that being said, I don't get the opportunity to go back home for the holidays or stay here and enjoy some down days in the local area. We all understand that it's part of the job and being gone during the holidays is always a possibility."

Working during holidays is nothing new for military members and for many, it's old hat.

"Over the course of my career, I have probably worked on 15 major holidays," Williams said. "The flying mission in the Air Force doesn't stop for a holiday. If that plane requires fuel, I have to be here to accomplish that mission of getting fuel on the plane and getting the plane back up in the air."

And even though it may not be the most desirable scenario, most military members realize it comes with the territory.

"Working on the holidays is just part of the business, and I have never had a problem doing it," said Air Force Capt. Jared Hieb, 517th AS C-17 pilot who is the aircraft commander for the resupply mission. "The bottom line is that the job has to get done."