Returning Home: Outside the comfort zone

  • Published
  • By Airman Brandon May
  • 47th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  This story, is part of a series highlighting Laughlin's deployers.

"I will work in any way the Air Force needs me too," said Senior Airman Jacob Daniel, when describing why he volunteered for a deployment two and a half weeks before he would have to leave.

April 13, 2014 is when Daniels boarded the plane set to go to Al-Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates to escort contract employees.

Daniels, a Squadron Aviation Resource Manager with the 86th Flying Training Squadron, deployed with the goal of protecting the base from any insider threats; but he did much more than that in his six months there.

Daniels was the assistant site lead of an $8.5 million Air Force and Army dormitory project. He won the bi-monthly volunteer award for the squadron, the bi-monthly Honor Guard member of the wing and the Air Force Achievement Medal.

It wasn't about winning awards though, one of the biggest challenges Daniels faced was the extreme heat.

"Everyone was right about the heat, it was 127 degrees with 83 percent humidity at 8:03 a.m. one day," said Daniels.

"But the overall greatest challenge I faced was adapting, not only my new surroundings, but to the people I was around," said Daniels.

Daniels took more away from the deployment than the awards he earned.

He took away an exponentially greater appreciation for what we do here at Laughlin; it's one thing to see the pilots being created here, but another to be there and see it being used said Daniels.

"The deployment also made me realize how grateful I am for everything I have here, even something as simple as having cell phone service right now," Daniels said.

Even with the challenges, new people and new surrounding Daniels said he would go back to serve in a heartbeat if the Air Force asks.