SOUTHWEST ASIA –
Name: Lt. Col. Bernie "Jeep" Willi
Home Unit: Headquarters Air Combat Command Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) Requirements Directorate
What do you do? Personnel Recovery
What's a day in the life like ... while in the desert? Lot and lots of staff work plus trips to deployed units once in a while
What will you remember about your deployment 20 years from now? That the weather was HOT!!!
What's the most useful item you packed? Gym bag
When did you realize you "weren't in Kansas anymore;" aka your "Dorothy" moment? Standing on the flight line in Kabul watching the plane take off and land. Best "air show" I had ever seen!
What has been the highlight of your tour? Trip to Kabul
What's the best part of the deployment? Meeting and working with people outside of the CSAR tribe
The worst part? Missing out on the summer events in Va.
What do you do during down time? Work out
What is the first thing you will do when you return? Ride my mountain bike
What is the first thing you want to eat when you return? My wife's lasagna
What insight/experience will you take away from your deployment? CSAR has high visibility in the OIF and OEF theaters
What do you miss the most (not who)? My car
How is your job that you are doing now different from the job back stateside? Work MUCH closer to the warfighter here vs. ACC/A8
Have you tried the local cuisine? Yes, we were able to go downtown many times and we ate at a few Middle Eastern restaurants
What do you think about what you hear on the news from what is going on stateside? It was a good summer to not have to buy gasoline.
What will you buy with any extra money that you might be making from this deployment? Saving for a new car