Surgical Team Makes a Difference

Lt. Col. Arnold Stocker, a certified registered nurse anesthetist with the 920th Aeromedical Staging Squadron at Patrick Air Force Base, Fla., comforts a young patient prior to administering general anesthesia so a doctor could remove a cyst on his chest. Colonel Stocker was a member of a five-person forward surgical team assigned to Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines. The team spent four months on the southern Filipino island of Jolo operating a fully equipped trauma center, providing emergency care, basic medical care and educational services to hundreds of local citizens and U.S. troops. It is the only treatment center of its kind on the island and is staffed on a rotational basis. During Colonel Stocker's deployment, all five of the team members were from the Air Force. In addition to Colonel Stocker, the team comprised a general surgeon, two physician assistants specially trained in orthopedics and emergency medicine, and one operating room technician.

Reserve Snapshot

Kid Rock and the Twisted Brown Trucker Band rock the hangar at Lakenheath Air Base, United Kingdom, in early December during Tour for the Troops 2009, presented by the Air Force Reserve. Formerly known as Operation Season's Greetings, Tour for the Troops delivers world-class entertainment to deployed U.S. service members in the Middle East as well as service members and their families in Europe. In addition to Lakenheath, this year's tour made stops at Incirlik AB, Turkey, Ramstein AB, Germany, and several locations throughout the Southwest Asia area of operations. Joining Kid Rock were comedian Carolos Mencia, singer Jessie James and the Band of the Air Force Reserve. (Bo Joyner)

Reserve Snapshot

Senior Master Sgt. Eric Peel and Staff Sgt. Marshall Oswalt coat a KC-135 Stratotanker with deicing spray during a recent 931st Air Refueling Group KC-135 flight from McConnell Air Force Base, Kan. Both sergeants are Reservists assigned to the 931st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. (Courtesy photo)

In Memory of Tech. Sgt. Anthony Campbell

Tech. Sgt. Anthony C. "Tony" Campbell, 35, of Florence, Ky., died Dec. 15, 2009, in Afghanistan from wounds suffered from the detonation of an improvised explosive device. An Air Force Reserve explosive ordnance disposal technician assigned to the 932nd Civil Engineer Squadron, Scott Air Force Base, Ill., Sergeant Campbell was deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom at the time of his death. As a civilian, Sergeant Campbell was a police officer with the Cincinnati Police Department. He is survived by his wife, Emily; a son, Ryker; a daughter, Jordan; a step-son, Devin Ruberg; his parents, David and Francis Gonzales and Anthony Campbell Sr.; a brother, Nathan Gonzales; a sister, Mattia Craig; and a grandmother, Mildred Witt. He was buried at the Kentucky Veterans Cemetery in Williamstown. Sergeant Campbell's efforts, as well as those of his teammates, "were -- and are -- invaluable to the thousands of Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen who continue to serve in harm's way, and I dare say we will never know how many lives he and his comrades have saved as a result of their courageous and selfless efforts over the past years," said Col. William H. Edwards Jr., 932nd Airlift Wing commander at Scott AFB.

Following in His Son's Footsteps: Father feels need to deploy following son's death in Iraq

"Paquito" Martinez sent this self-portrait to his father shortly before he deployed from Korea to Iraq.

Jump for the Cause: Skydivers set world record, support breast cancer awareness

Air Force Reserve Maj. Jennifer Wrynn waits to board the plane during the Jump for the Cause 2009 event. Major Wrynn was one of the 181 women to set a new world record in an all-female formation to raise money and awareness for breast cancer research. (Master Sgt. Linda E. Welz)