Rainier Wing citizen airmen recently volunteered multiple helping hands to the local "Helping Hand House" charity organization.

Reserve airmen from the 446th Airlift Wing gave back to the community Oct. 16 by delivering over 300 articles of basic necessity items to the Helping Hand House, an organization that provides families with a temporary home until they can get back on their feet. Donations ranged from personal toiletries to household cleaning amenities.

"Our supplies were so low when I was contacted by Aundrea(Gonzales)," said Laurie Jackson, Helping Hand House community engagement director. "She told me she knew a group of citizen airmen that wanted to volunteer in some way."  

Citizen airmen of the 446th AW are encouraged to engage with the local community.

"Our entire wing is full of people seeking to give back to the community, said Senior Master Sgt. Aundrea Gonzales, 446th Operations Support Squadron Wing Operations Center superintendent. We've got some really great role models in this unit helping others."

One volunteer had personal experience with getting help from the Airman and Family Readiness Center here, which is one reason they give back to the community.

"Volunteering and charity has come full circle for me," said Tech. Sgt. Zachary Palomo, 446th OSS Aviation Resource manager. "I was a senior airman when my grandfather passed away and I couldn't afford a plane ticket to attend the funeral. I turned to the Airman and Family Readiness Center who referred me to a zero-interest loan program, and because of the program I was afforded the opportunity to be there with my family when they needed me."

Palomo said he felt privileged to give back to a charity because he had felt similar support when he needed it.

"Being a part of the Reserves is like being part of a big family," said Palomo. "We take care of one another. There's no doubt they'd be there for me if I needed help."

With winter around the corner, donations help support families during the holiday season.

"It makes me happy to think that someone's going to be even just a little more comfortable because of what we're doing," said Senior Airman Jonathan Jones, 446th OSS Aviation Resource manager. "I think it's a pretty great thing to do. Especially this time of year. I couldn't imagine being displaced during the holiday season, which is why I feel fortunate to help."

The Helping Hand House has 16 homes in the Pierce County area they support. Each person who receives the program's services is provided with everything they need to have a comfortable and safe place to live.

"Volunteering is a big part of our unit culture. I like that we get the chance to give back to our local community," said Jones. "We've raised over $1,100 from a bake sale, supported multiple 5K fun runs and it's fun!"

It was clear that Jackson is dedicated to Helping Hand House on the day of the donations delivery.

"When I started volunteering here, I finally found my passion," said Jackson. "I knew that this is what I was put on this earth to do."

Volunteers have helped Helping Hand House to become a nationally-recognized leader in addressing issues related to family homelessness and homeless prevention. The charity organization also helps families with children under the age of 18, who have been displaced and are in need of a temporary home.

Some may fear change, but it can encourage the impossible. In a career field typically dominated by males, these six women are breaking the mold and rising to the challenge.

McChord Field's Capt. Katherine Harmon and 1st Lt. Erin Howell from the 5th Expeditionary Air Mobility Squadron, Capt. Christine Harvey, Capt. Grace Miller and 1st Lt. Solveig Listerud from the 386th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, and Capt. Shelly Martin from the 386th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron, are contributing to the fight through their leadership and making sure maintenance crews are equipped and ready to provide reliable aircraft to support the nation's warfighters.

"This job is the best! Getting to work with such a hard-working group of people is incredible, what the maintainers get done every day is inspiring," said Howell, 5 EAMS officer in charge. "I'm challenged in new ways all the time, but I've grown stronger and learned more about leading people and the mission than I ever expected!"

Between the three squadrons, they oversee the maintenance for the C-5 Galaxy, C-17 Globemaster III, C-130 Hercules, C-130J Super Hercules, EC-130H Compass Call, MQ-1 Predator, and MQ-9 Reaper. These officers are leaning forward to ensure that the maintainers have the resources to get the aircraft operational and back into the fight.

"I provide management and oversight to ensure each section is adequately resourced to efficiently execute the mission," said Listerud, 386 EMXS aircraft maintenance unit officer in charge. "Ultimately I make sure we have the people, parts, and training to put the planes in the air safely and efficiently."

They are a picture of the Total Force concept, an integration of active Air Force, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard forces. They bring their different experiences and backgrounds to add to the mission's capabilities while taking care of their most important asset, the people.

Approached for mentorship and coaching, it is fun and exciting to hear what our airman are thinking and where they want to go; and the hope of helping and making them proud to be a part of the Air Force said Harvey, 386 EAMXS assistant maintenance operations officer.  

Harmon, Howell, Harvey, Miller, Martin and Listerud are leaving their marks and aiding to the fight to deliver decisive airpower around the globe without fail.

SOUTHWEST ASIA - The imposing C-17 Globemaster III moved through the darkness during a longer trip than is typical at the Rock, the busiest aerial port in the area of responsibility. The flight was headed to Afghanistan - another example of the steady and enduring requirements of Operation Freedom Sentinel.

"The main priority of this mission was the transport of deployers - civilians and military alike," said pilot 1st Lt. Scott Szalejko. "In this specific mission, most of the passengers were deploying to a base there, or returning to a well-deserved rest and recovery. Flying, in general, may seem monotonous to most people, but flying anywhere there is an increased threat requires the crew to ensure all the extra precautions are taken, from both the pilot and loadmaster sides."

Freedom Sentinel airlift missions are much longer flights than those to Iraq. Flight time spans about three-and-a-half hours. And crews may make up to four or five stops in that country while they shuttle cargo and passengers, said Maj. Virgil Steele, commander of the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, Det. 1.

"A C-17 can hold eighteen pallets of cargo," Steele said. "We handle intratheater airlift missions and, more specifically, theater direct delivery."

Scores of passengers sat in the Globemaster's cavernous cargo bay Sept. 30 - along with about 31 tons of cargo. The 816 EAS flies the C-17 missions from the Rock from such stateside locations as Travis AFB, California, Joint Base Lewis-McChord,  Joint Base Dix-McGuire-Lakehurst and Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina, and made stops at multiple locations in Afghanistan. Despite its size, the C-17 can land on airstrips as short as 3,500 feet. That kind of reliability also required prompt and precise work on the part of the aircrew.

"If we don't perform our duties correctly and in a timely manner, those deployers, potentially, won't reach their destination on time, which could mean their respective units could be undermanned until they arrived," Szalejko said. "When the main priority of the mission is the transport of passengers, the objective of the crew is to quickly and safely get those people to where they are needed."

Steele said the crews respond to varying demands from locations throughout the theater.

"There's an ebb and flow with the user requirements," he said.

Those "user requirements" include taskings from the Army and from the Tanker Airlift Control Center located at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. While more cargo and passengers are being moved in and out of Iraq, the missions to Afghanistan still involve as much urgency. Steele illustrated that the mission demand is still steady from Afghanistan, noting that's roughly a third of the 816th's missions support Freedom Sentinel.