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Resiliency mainstay of Air Force families
Posted 5/24/2011 Updated 5/24/2011
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Commentary by Lt. Col. David Ruth
35th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron commander
5/24/2011 - MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan -- In trying to develop an idea for this commentary, several ideas came to mind. At first, I was going to write a "60 Minutes" Andy Rooney style paper about the use of words that corporate Air Force likes to throw at us every year. Synergy was the buzz word during our Total Quality Management hay day of the 1990s. Ethos seemed to be the new fad in the early to mid first decade of the 21st century. Today, I see the word resilience being thrown about and ushered in as a mainstay in Air Force vocabulary.
Earlier in May, however, I witnessed something that humbled me deeply, specifically the events of early morning May 13. I had the privilege of witnessing the return of one of the 35th Fighter Wing's combat aviation units from a seven-month-plus deployment. Deployments come and go every year, but the reason this was such a humbling experience was watching the families of the deployers.
Let me start with the time line. Afternoon of May 12, all is well because we have a bead on one known event, or so we thought. The main body of the deployment was to arrive at 12:10 a.m. It seemed pretty straight forward as we knew they took off from their place of origin on time. Hundreds of anxious family members braved the wind and rain to find their way to Hangar 949 in the dark, many with strollers and babies who would be meeting their fathers for the first time. The Installation Deployment Readiness Center folks did an exceptional job and had bleachers set up with some snacks and beverages ready for the families. As the arrival time approached and passed, the news came that the weather was questionable for their arrival at Misawa, and the mighty Boeing 747 instead diverted to Chitose airport in northern Japan.
What humbled and inspired me was the reaction of the families to the news of their loved ones' delayed return. The emotion that swept over the crowd was one of cool and collected calmness. Deep down, I am sure everyone was frustrated and upset at being so close and suddenly getting forced back into the world of the unknown on when their loved one would finally arrive. The one word that could describe it is resiliency.
Webster defines resiliency as the "ability to recover rapidly from change or misfortune." That was what I observed that night - resiliency. A few short hours later, families once again crowded into Hangar 949. Thankfully, the pilot of the 747 didn't delay for long at Chitose, and the deployers were back in the air headed our way. With some slight weather improvements, the pilot made one high-speed pass to get some situational awareness of the airfield, then circled back around and planted the 747 safely on the runway. Although they were four hours late, the main body arrived here safe and sound to the families they love and cherish.
As I thought about it over the weekend, one poem continued to pop in my mind. I have heard it a couple of times at retirement ceremonies, as I am sure some of you have as well. As I looked at the families waiting, the poem came back to me. I would like to share that poem as a thank you to all of the spouses and kids that have loved ones away from them. It is a little dated and not quite politically correct in reference to "wife" versus "spouse" and "she" versus "he," but the thought is the same
When God Created the Military Wife
By Erma Bombeck
When the Lord was creating a military wife, He ran into His sixth day of overtime. An angel appeared and said, "You're having a lot of trouble with this one. What's wrong with the standard model?"
The Lord replied, "Have you seen the specs on this order? It has to be completely independent but must always be sponsored to get on a military installation. It must have the qualities of both mother and father during deployments, be a perfect host to 4 or 40, handle emergencies without an instruction manual, cope with flu and moves all around the world, have a kiss that cures anything from a child's bruised knee to a husband's weary day, have the patience of a saint when waiting for its mate to come home and, have six pairs of hands."
The angel shook her head slowly and said, "Six pairs of hands? No way." The Lord answered, "Don't worry; we will make other military wives to help. Besides, it's not the hands that are causing the problem, it's the heart. It must swell with pride, sustain the ache of numerous separations while remaining true, beat soundly even when it feels too tired to do so, be large enough to say 'I understand' when it doesn't, and say 'I love you', regardless."
"Lord," said the angel, gently touching His sleeve. "Go to bed. You can finish it tomorrow." "I can't," said the Lord. "I'm so close to creating something quite unique. Already it can heal itself when sick, on a moment's notice it will willingly embrace and feed total strangers who have been stranded during a PCS move and it can wave goodbye to its husband understanding why he had to leave."
The angel circled the model of the military wife very slowly. "It's too soft," she sighed. "But tough," the Lord said excitedly. "You cannot imagine what this being can do or endure." "Can it think?" asked the angel. "Can it think?! It can convert 1400 to 2 p.m.," replied the Lord.
Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek. "There's a leak," she said. "I told you that you were trying to put too much into this model." "It's not a leak," said the Lord. "It's a tear." "What's it for?" asked the angel. "It's for joy, sadness, pain, loneliness and pride." "You're a genius," said the angel.
Looking at her somberly, the Lord replied, "I didn't put it there." |
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