Martinsburg, W.Va., Airman has clippers, will travel

Courtesy Photo | Senior Airmen Amberlynn Curtis, a member of the 167th Airlift Wing in Martinsburg, gives Army Maj. Tom Jessee, a pilot with Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Cav., a haircut in the field at Belle Chasse Naval Air Station near New Orleans. hkat  

09.19.2005

Courtesy Story

153rd Public Affairs Detachment

September 19, 2005
By Spc. Sherree Casper
153rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

BELLE CHASSE, La. -- Don't get in Senior Airman Amberlynn Curtis" line of sight if your hair is shaggy.

She has clippers and she knows how to use them.

The military plumber assigned to West Virginia National Guard's 167th Airlift Wing based in Martinsburg, W.Va., recently found herself wielding a pair of clippers, a razor and comb during her recent activation to New Orleans.

Any member of the military that has found him or herself deployed to a field environment knows conditions can be primitive. While male troops often find themselves using a Humvee mirror while shaving, finding someone to give them a haircut is different.

They often find themselves in a novice's hands.

Not so with Curtis.

She has been cutting hair since the age of 12.

"My mother taught me how to cut hair so I could cut her and my brothers" hair," the Hedgesville, W.Va., resident said.

The Salt Lake City, Utah, native has four older brothers as well as a younger brother and sister. So when she spotted a member of the 167th Airlift Wing sporty a shaggy haircut she reached for the clippers.

"Master Sgt. John Foltz was looking scraggily and we were making fun of him," said the Shepherd University late-term sophomore.

Adding: "I told him if he had a pair of scissors I could cut his hair for him."

Foltz, a communication and navigation supervisor with the 167th Airlift Wing, quickly accepted the offer.

"So I whipped out my scissors and said, "Here,"" recalled Foltz.

Word soon spread of Curtis" clipping abilities.

"One of the barbers at the Navy base exchange said they were begging for a barber," Curtis said.

Thousands of National Guard troops from across the country have been mobilized to Naval Air Station Belle Chasse to participate in the clean-up of Hurricane Katrina.

After receiving the blessing of her commander, Curtis found a new place of duty - cutting hair in the Navy barbershop on post.

But after working at the barbershop the first day, Curtis was upset.

She volunteered her services while the barbershop still charged troops for their haircuts.

After informing her commander of what had transpired, she told workers at the barbershop that she could not continue to cut hair when troops were having to pay.

Realizing the barbershop would lose Curtis" much-needed services, the woman in charge made a snap-decision. She said all haircuts would be free while she was working in the barbershop.

Hearing this, Curtis quickly traded her Air Force Battle Dress Uniform in for a smock and proceeded to cut hair.

She estimates she cut at least 60 heads of hair.

"I do haircuts at the base (in Martinsburg) each month," she said, referring to her weekend Guard drills.

Adding: "I still have people lining up every month."

And lining up they were at the naval air station near New Orleans.

Maj. Tom Jessee, an Army pilot who flys Chinooks, got wind of Curtis" haircutting ability and paid her a visit.

The Tecumseh, Okla., resident planted himself on a medal chair outside the tarped pavilion that Curtis called home for two weeks and got himself a quick haircut literally in the field.

An officer with Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Cav, based at Fort Hood, Texas, Jessee said he needed a haircut, but the Post Exchange barbershop was closed. During the day he is normally airborne or tasked with "command stuff" which prevented him from getting a haircut the traditional way.

"The fact that she is coming out after hours and doing this is great," said Jessee, as he sat for "a high-and-tight."

While technically Curtis can not be paid for her haircutting services while on active duty, many of her "clients" have tipped her.

And what does she do with the money?

She spends it on pizza for her fellow Soldiers and Airmen. With a smile, Curtis said the Domino's Pizza just off base has been getting a lot of business.

"I'm going to give her something too," Jessee said of her services. "She's not going to give it away for free."

hkat

• Date Taken: 09.19.2005
• Date Posted: 09.19.2005 13:03
• Story ID: 3055