Photo By Senior Master Sgt. Paula Macomber | Nevada Air National Guard C-130 returns from deployment for a mid-deployment swap out....... read more read more
The 152nd Airlift Wing’s largest deployment cycle in recent history hit close to home for many families.
Since October, more than 250 members of the 152nd Airlift Wing, "High Rollers," deployed on two separate deployment models.
More than half deployed as an Air Expeditionary Force. Under this model, aircrew and maintainers assigned to the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing, a tactical airlift hub in Kuwait, executed re-supply missions for combat service support to land component forces throughout the Persian Gulf region.
Additionally, others deployed individually for their Reserve Component Period, or RCP, a prescheduled deployment timeframe for certain Air Force specialty positions.
The deployment affected many families — and this is often when furnaces break, roofs blow off and the family pet dies.
Within fourteen days, Master Sgt. Timothy Schweppe, the first sergeant for the 152nd Maintenance Squadron, left for his deployment, his roof began to leak and about a week before his return, his hot water heater died.
His wife, Sara Schweppe, took care of the damage.
“I rely on Tim a lot,” she said, “This deployment showed me that I can do it by myself. It wasn’t fun but I could do it. It was my time to step up to the plate… I navigated the daily chores by myself. I found tremendous strength and comfort from my friends, family, the 152nd Key Volunteers (program), and my colleagues. Instead of taking the little things Tim did for granted, I value him even more. This deployment gave us time to plan for our future – our next set of goals. I call Tim’s deployment a huge learning experience on gratitude and appreciation.”
Master Sgt. Christopher Pope, a sheet metal technician in the 152nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, deployed for the second time in his career. His wife, Senior Master Sgt. Lea Pope, the 152nd Airlift Wing’s education and training manager, found this deployment easier than the first.
“Each deployment changes so much depending on the location and job that’s being done,” Lea said. “I felt like this one was easier for me. I understand what to expect, and I worked very closely (in the past) with the people he deployed with, so it’s great knowing the team he had with him. That makes it so much easier.”
“I feel like I have it easier than a spouse that is not in the military,” she said. “I feel like I better understand what is going on and why. I’m also full-time on the base and if I need help from anyone, it’s easy to reach out to anyone on base for anything that comes up. I feel pretty lucky that I have a partner who truly understands what I do and that I understand what he does. I think it sets us up to better support each other’s careers.”
The deployment affected many families, including the Nevada Air National Guard family, said Senior Master Sgt. Tom Hansen, aircraft maintenance production supervisor.
“This deployment was not like any of my other many deployments, as this was the first for the majority of our folks,” Hansen said. “For the rest of us we had to set the bar by demonstrating what it meant to be a High Roller. Despite many of the challenges our young Airmen were faced with in their new environment, to include troubleshooting some of the most difficult aircraft maintenance issues I have ever seen in my career, I believe all of us gained a little more knowledge and we all walked away with something new to contribute to the success of the Nevada Air National Guard.”
Hansen’s wife, Elise Hansen, had her share to deal with while he was gone.
“Tom left for deployment, and within the first week one of our pups died,” she said. “That was rough, not only for me, but for him, too. My car broke down, the stove decided to break and I had to do all the snow plowing. This was the first deployment where we owned our own home, so handling those responsibilities was different.”
As Elise was handling business back in Reno, Tom focused on the work he and his team were doing.
“The one thing that stood out the most to me, is the heart of the High Rollers grew closer together as a team,” he said. “While deployed, the ability for maintenance and operations to work together is what made us successful. Every single one of us had taken on a new responsibility or challenge and we all came home learning from this experience.”
“You don’t realize truly how important having a solid support system at home is until you deploy,” he said. “I am very thankful for my tough girl at home.”
| Date Taken: | 05.02.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 05.02.2019 15:23 |
| Story ID: | 320454 |
| Location: | RENO, NV, US |
| Web Views: | 147 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, High Roller families withstand historic deployment cycle, by SMSgt Paula Macomber, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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