Tucsonan Set for Fourth Tour of Duty
Monday, 29 March 2010 22:42
In just over a month, Staff Sgt. Weston Sadler will embark on his fourth tour of duty with the U.S. Air Force. Sadler, a Salt Lake City native stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, will head to Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait to serve his country from afar for the fourth consecutive year.
Sadler has served three of the past four springs at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, and has witnessed first-hand the violence and destruction that war can cause. He was on-base for the 2007 suicide attack aimed at Dick Cheney that killed 23 people inside the base’s security gates, and again in 2009 when a car bomb exploded just outside the base.
“It was obviously scary,” said Sadler. “We had to put on our flak jackets and run and take shelter each time. It was mind-blowing."
Fortunately, many of the attacks caused only structural damage to buildings and runways as opposed to bodily injuries to soldiers. The 25-year-old said that attacks on American bases are nothing new in the Middle East, and that most go unpublicized by the media.
“It happens more often than you know,” he said. “It happens every time a VIP goes. They say they are targeting them, but really they’re just hitting the base like always.”
Still, Sadler would hope to see as little of that as possible at his new destination.
“I’m hoping for better luck in Kuwait.”
But in a country halfway across the world, anything from setting up housing to day-by-day operations to just getting there is sometimes a task in itself.
Sadler said the trip can take anywhere from two to four days.
“I can’t give specific details, but it’s a long trip,” he said. “That’s when I try to get some sleep, because I know it might be a long time before I get another good night’s rest.”
The living quarters are not anything remarkable, but Sadler said that they are “doable.”
“Really, all you need is a place to sleep and a TV,” he said. “We have that and internet access, which half of us couldn’t live without.”
Sadler doesn’t have a say in his work schedule, but never complains about the hours.
“It depends on the day, but anywhere from 4 a.m. to 12 p.m. we are on 12-hour shifts while we’re there,” said Sadler.
A new homeowner, is a little distraught to leave everything behind again, but understands that is a consequence of the job.
“I just bought a house on the South side so I’m a little upset to have to leave so soon, but I knew what I was getting myself into when I signed up for it," says Sadler.
“But like anybody else in my profession, I’m really proud to serve my country and I’m happy to know that what I’m doing is making a difference.”
View Flight Path to Kuwait in a larger map
Written by Mateo Lorenzo Alvarez
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