Warrior Call honors Holloman's heroes

  • Published
  • By Airman Sondra M. Wieseler
  • 49th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  On June 20, Team Holloman gathered at the Enlisted Club here in appreciation of heroes who recently returned from the area of operation and watched as three Airmen received the bronze star for this quarter's Warrior Call.

Chief Master Sgt. David Creech, 49th Maintenance Group, and Master Sgt. Jeffery Brzezinksi and Senior Master Sgt. Billy Davis, both from the 49th Logistic Readiness Squadron, were presented the bronze star for leadership, devotion to duty and exceptionally meritorious service in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

After receiving what was his second bronze star, Sergeant Davis spoke about his recent deployments to hostile environments and what he learned from them.

During his deployments, he served as a Platoon leader for more than 50 Airmen operating as convoy security teams and personally led more than 160 combat logistics patrols. His units came under direct and indirect enemy fire many times.

"We were literally learning under fire," said Sergeant Davis. "The Air Force had never done a mission like this before and we all had the same concern; how do we keep our folks motivated to keep going out day after day and doing this mission when we know the bad guys are out there?"

After having seen two improvised explosive devices go off before their eyes, he found it odd when weeks went by without any incident and realized that at that point, complacency could be their biggest downfall.

"For me, the leader, I had to really ramp up the way I kept my guys ready," said Sergeant Davis. "My point to everybody here is that complacency kills. The bad guys are out there and they want to do us in, don't help them out."

Tech. Sgt. Harrison, 49th Security Forces Squadron, also spoke at the Warrior Call about his experiences at Camp Bucca, Iraq.

Sergeant Harrison led a team of 30 Air Force and Iraqi Force confinement officers for eight months at Camp Bucca. The prisoners there ranged from al-Qaeda cell members, Saddam Hussein's former Army members, various Iraqi insurgent militia members and government officials from Saddam's regime. He was in charge of overseeing the daily operations of one prison compound, which housed about 900 detainees.

Sergeant Harrison explained the setting of Camp Bucca in detail and drew a picture of what it was like to be there.

"Each one (of the insurgents is) looking for just one opportunity to kill you so they can free their brother, father, son, cousins or even their best friend," explained Sergeant Harrison. "Now imagine that you have 20,000 of their closest friends sleeping, eating, waiting, and plotting their next attempt to kill you. Try to imagine the intensity of hate in the air that we had to deal with on a day to day basis."

He told a story that occurred midway into his deployment. A mortar attack hit close to his living area and directly hit a compound where detainees lived, killing more than 20 detainees.

"I remember being awakened by the ground trembling and eventually the alarmed sounded," said Sergeant Harrison. "I headed to work where the detainees were located and upon arrival it was complete chaos."

After experiencing deployment to such a hostile environment, Sergeant Harrison made a list of 15 virtues that he titled "Ways to perfect my leadership," and he shared what he felt are the most important three; lead by example, choose your words carefully, and be a Sheppard.

"A Sheppard always protects his sheep using his rod for direction," he said. "As a combat leader sometimes you need to use your rod to maintain good order and discipline."

Although times were hard for Sergeant Harrison, he claimed to have learned a lot from this deployment.

"It's helped me become a better combat leader down range, a better home station non-commissioned officer and ultimately a better Airman," he said.

Both speakers of the event received a standing ovation by Team Holloman members, who filled every seat of the ballroom and then some.

Warrior Call is held every quarter as a way to boost warrior ethos in Airmen and for some, it did just that.

"It made me proud to be in the Air force when I heard these stories," said Airman 1st Class Kenneth Matthews, 49th Communication Squadron, who attended the event. "They're interesting to hear and it really makes people remember why they wear the uniform everyday."