It was there he discovered helicopters, and he was hooked. As a career helicopter maintainer, Bergman’s passion for special operations swelled. He and four fellow Citizen Airmen established the 71st Special Operations Squadron at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. Over the years Bergman deployed to Honduras, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, several locations in Europe, El Salvador, Venezuela, Canada and many other places around the world. He served a total of 33 years before retiring on Oct. 21, 2007. He now volunteers, speaking at local schools on patriotism, citizenship, constitution and the Bill of Rights.