I am a MSGT in the Air Force Reserves and have over 20 years of service to my country. Due to the BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure) actions my squadron at Luke Air Force Base AZ (944th Maintenance Squadron - an F16 Fighter Unit ) was shut down. If we wished to continue serving we were required to find a new place to serve on our own. One of the few squadrons that welcomed us was Carswell JRB in Fort Worth, Texas.
Several of us who live in Phoenix are now having to fly over every month at our own expense on Southwest Airlines into Dallas Love Field. The cost to us is almost as much as we are paid for our weekend of duty.
Because we are an all volunteer force it is our choice to continue our service, and we do so with pride. We are simply looking to try and get a break on the flights over and back each month. Several of us travel together
so we can share car rentals and such expenses.
I am, and some of my comrades who travel with me, are Iraq War veterans (2005) and have served in many other real world contingencies and continue to fight the war on terrorism.
We are not looking for a free ride by any means, but simply a way of lessening the financial hardship on ourselves and families.
We try to get the cheapest fare we can but usually not even the Internet fare
is available. We get the discount fare which totals $321 round trip. That is pretty stiff for us.
Most of us will continue our service for many years and have no plans to move as we have our civilian jobs and families in the Phoenix area.
Help, please!
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