COMMANDER’S CORNER: TECHNICAL PROWESS - PAGE 2 Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado
Thursday, May 3, 2018
Vol. 62 No. 18
Looking toward the future By Tech. Sgt. Joshua Arends 21st Space Wing Public Affairs
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. — “I believe your past does not define you. It’s how you overcome that does.” This philosophy is what Senior Airman Sara Welch believes and now lives by, she said as she told her life story at the Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, Storytellers event, March 30, 2018. Welch grew up in a house with two older brothers, one older sister, one baby brother and her mother. Her parents were not married. She remembers infrequently seeing her father, who spent most of his time supporting the family as a truck driver. When her father was home, he would often leave for days after having a fight with her mother. Welch’s mother suffered from scoliosis and developed a substance abuse problem that combined pain pills with alcohol. “Before this all happened, she was a fairly good mother,” said Welch. “But the substance abuse turned her into a monster.” Welch said her mother went into fits of rage and would beat her and her siblings. Because she and her brother, Darrel, the middle child, were the youngest of five children, they received the brunt of their mother’s abuse, while her two eldest siblings, Tara and James, received preferential treatment. Her youngest brother, Daniel, a baby at the time, rarely had his diapers changed by his mother and suffered from neglect. Welch and Darrel tried to run away from home, but her mother sent her older siblings to find them. Punishment ranged from an open or closed fist, a flexible rod or leather belt, to being locked in a dark closet for up to 10 hours. Welch says she still suffers to this day from fear of the dark and enclosed spaces.
(Courtesy photos)
(Top) PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. — Staff Sgt. Blake Welch and Senior Airman Sara Welch met at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and have been married for three and a half years. Blake is an electrician for the 21st Civil Engineer Squadron, and Sara is a dental laboratory technician for the 21st Dental Squadron at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. (Left) PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. — Senior Airman Sara Welch pictured with her siblings in 2001, left to right: Darrell (9), Tara (12), James (15), Sara (8), and Daniel (6). When this photo was taken, the sisters and brothers were living in separate foster homes and were scheduled to see each other every two months.
See Future page 7
Search and recovery: 21 SW Airmen train to handle real-world disasters By Senior Airman Dennis Hoffman 21st Space Wing Public Affairs
(U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Dennis Hoffman)
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. — Airmen assigned to the 21st Force Support Squadron bag and tag items found during a search and recovery exercise at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., April 24, 2018. Every item found was individually documented, marked, bagged and tagged.
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. — The 21st Force Support Squadron partnered with the 21st Civil Engineer Squadron, the 21st Disaster and Mental Health team and the 21st Public Affairs office for a search and recovery exercise at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, April 24, 2018. As part of the National Incident Management System, a search and recovery operation comes after all response actions have been completed, said Walt Heathcoat, 21st Force Support Squadron readiness and mortuary plans chief. “For this particular scenario, we had a bus full of military personnel entering the north gate when the bus was approached by a vehicle-borne, improvised explosive device which then detonated next to the bus,” said Heathcoat. “There were several simulated
victims of the incident and the rescue portion recovered all of the living and larger remains, such as whole simulated bodies. The search and recovery team out here is now recovering the scattered simulated remains and personal effects from the blast area.” The training exercise consisted of a specialized team of 21 FSS Airmen from Peterson AFB. Aligned in a row and outfitted with personal protective equipment under an ominous cloudy morning sky; the team searched the training area for simulated remains and personal belongings while battling the cold high winds. Working as a team, they each began by taking single steps forward and performing thorough spot checks on their immediate surroundings. Heathcoat said the training was modeled after real-world scenarios, incorporating the harsh realities of real-world disasters, to include identifying and handling simulated remains. The search halted anytime See Recovery page 5
INSIDE News Briefs Classifieds Crossword
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Protecting space communications
Groundwater cleanup
AF week in photos
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