Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Jon Cupp | Spc. Lisa Sulenes, a food service specialist, and her two sons, Spc. Franklin Sulenes,...... read more read more
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BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan – Twenty-five years ago, if you had told Spc. Lisa Sulenes, a food service specialist for the Independence, Kan.-based 1011th Quartermaster Company, attached to the 1103rd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, that her future would include working in a combat zone with two sons and a nephew, she might have scoffed at the idea.
As an Air Force wife in the late 1980s, Sulenes was just starting a family and concentrating on her teaching career, thousands of miles away from Afghanistan, years away from her current deployment and without any thoughts of joining the military.
Never in a million years, she said, would she have ever thought that she would be serving in her first deployment at the age of 44, spending her days sorting equipment and supplies at the Bagram Air Field Retrosort Yard for return to the U.S. military inventory as troops prepare to redeploy from Afghanistan.
“Wow, I never thought I would ever be here but it’s a great experience,” said Sulenes, who hails from Erie, Kan. “As sorters, we assist with sending good equipment back to where it belongs—the hands of the Soldiers, making sure the troops have what they need along with recycling other pieces of equipment that don’t go back to the force.”
“It’s great to know that we are saving taxpayers money every day by ensuring useable equipment does make it back home or wherever it’s needed,” she added. “Unlike other soldiers, I also have the added bonus of having my family here with me.”
Although normally working on different shifts than her sons and nephew, Erie, Kan. natives Spc. Franklin Sulenes, an automated logistics specialist; Pvt. Joseph Sulenes, a unit supply specialist and Spc. Keith Yarnell, a heating and air conditioning repair specialist, all with the 1011th QM Company, Lisa said it is comforting to have her family with her.
“I get the best of both worlds having my 1011th family and my kids here which makes the deployment much easier,” she said. “Watching my sons as soldiers and grown young men is a prideful thing and I’m very fortunate getting to see them do their jobs.”
“A deployment can be tough on anyone, and fortunately my husband who is back home understands as he was prior Air Force,” she added. “It’s easier for him to deal with as we try to make sure we email him and Skype as often as possible to get face time.”
Lisa’s sons Joseph and Franklin said they’re fortunate to have their family to lean on during their first deployment.
“I don’t get the chance to work with my family too often, but the good thing to know is they’re around when I need them,” said 24-year-old Franklin. “It can make the deployment a little easier, knowing I can eat lunch with my mom, but it also makes me think about the people back home and I worry for fellow Soldiers who don’t have the same opportunity as I do or don’t get to spend the holidays with their families.”
“I get to see my family at shift change and it helps out not to miss home so much,” said 22-year-old Joseph. “It’s a lot easier to have someone to talk to who knows when you’re upset or having a bad day. She’s calm, relaxed, I respect her and I would do anything she asks of me, and the good thing is, she never tries to pull rank on me.”
Lisa said that although she enjoys working with her children, she looks forward to getting back home to see her other children—her students. As a Reserve Soldier, Lisa works as an elementary school teacher in her civilian life at a K-12 school in St. Paul, Kan., specializing in sixth grade social studies and ancient civilizations. In addition to this, she assists with teaching computers to seventh and eighth grade students and helps with some of the sports programs at the school.
“I wear lots of hats,” she said, smiling. “My students are excited that Mrs. Sulenes is deployed and I’ve been taking lots of pictures. I’ll be able to take back a lot of things that will be awesome to use in my classroom—things on geography, climate and what it feels like to be in this environment.”
Despite having the luxury of family members with them this deployment, the Sulenes family said there are a few other things that they miss back home.
“We share in the fact that we’re missing getting to see my newborn baby,” said Joseph. “But we’re looking forward to a heartwarming reunion when we get back.”
“There are plenty of things that you miss which you take for granted when you’re back home,” said Lisa. “I’m a cook and I miss getting to eat out or cook in my own kitchen, but the sacrifices we make here, serving our country are well-worth the rewards in the long run.”
| Date Taken: | 12.28.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 01.10.2014 08:46 |
| Story ID: | 119003 |
| Location: | BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AF |
| Hometown: | ERIE, KS, US |
| Hometown: | FAYETTEVILLE, NC, US |
| Hometown: | FORT LIBERTY, NC, US |
| Hometown: | INDEPENDENCE, KS, US |
| Web Views: | 478 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Family affair: Mom, sons sort equipment at retrosort yard in Afghanistan, by SFC Jon Cupp, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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