Free Republic

10/6/2005 - ALI BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- It was 5 p.m. on Oct. 2 and the 407th Personnel Support for Contingency Operations section here was winding down the day shift. The cable dawgs of the 407th Expeditionary Communications Squadron were doing the same. But things changed rapidly 10 minutes later when 1st Lt. Adam Pudenz walked into to the communication squadron compound. The PERSCO team chief could not contact them by phone or e-mail because the PERSCO building had no telephone or computer network service. “We knew what that meant right away,” said Tech. Sgt. Carl Beaty, the 407th ECS...

ALI BASE, Iraq, Aug. 24, 2005 — When Army Spc. Jacob Boomsaad fell in love with a fellow soldier while serving in Iraq, he feared he would have to delay the wedding until almost six months after returning from their deployment to marry in a Catholic church. That is until the specialist with the 2nd Battalion, 142nd Infantry Regiment from the Texas Army National Guard met Air Force Chaplain (Capt.) Chad Zielinski from the 407th Air Expeditionary Group. Zielinski is the only U.S. military Catholic chaplain for servicemembers stationed in southeastern Iraq, and he serves the needs of airmen and...

8/18/2005 - ALI BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- An Airman here recently gained the distinction of being addressed as both a staff sergeant and a lieutenant. Staff Sgt. Gregg Magi, a 407th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron firefighter, was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in the Fire Department City of New York via telephone during an Aug. 16 ceremony in New York. “It feels good to be promoted,” said Sergeant Magi, who is deployed from the New York Air National Guard’s 105th Airlift Wing. “I’ve always wanted to be involved in public service.” During the ceremony, he and two of his...

ALI BASE, Iraq, Aug. 12, 2005 — Airman 1st Class Catherine Dilena did not know what to think when her first sergeant dropped by her office and told her to stand by to meet with him in a few minutes. Nervously, the 407th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron client support administrator here waited for him to return, mentally running through a checklist of reasons why he would want to speak with her. A few minutes later, instead of chatting with her first sergeant, she received a counseling session of sorts from an unexpected visitor — her mom. “It was surreal to...