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CAMP KONOTOP, Poland - The U.S. military has a rich history
beginning with the Continental Army and extending to present day
operations around the world, but for Senior Airman Steven Adkins,
his own military history can be found in his backpack.
Given
to him by his grandfather, Don Adkins, who served 22 years in the
U.S. Air Force, a Kentucky state flag embodies his family's military
heritage.
“After I got home from basic training and tech
school, and before I went to my first base, my grandpa pulls a
plastic baggy out of the closet with a manila envelope inside,” said
Adkins. “Inside the envelope is the Kentucky state flag with a
ledger documenting all the places he took it his last six years of
the 22 years he spent in the Air Force.”
After taking it out
and showing it to him, his grandfather gave it to him and told him
to keep the tradition going.
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Senior Airman Steven Adkins, a broadcast journalist assigned to
American Forces Network, Spangdahlem, Air Base, Germany, proudly
displays his state flag given to him by his grandfather Don Adkins
June 7, 2015, during an assignment for Saber Strike 15 in the
Drawsko Pomorskie Training Area in Poland. Saber Strike is a
long-standing U.S. Army Europe-led cooperative training exercise.
This year's exercise objectives facilitate cooperation amongst the
U.S., Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland to improve joint
operational capability in a range of missions as well as preparing
the participating nations and units to support multinational
contingency operations. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Brandon Anderson,
13th Public Affairs Detachment)
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“I was just kind of blown away,” said Adkins. “I was like
this flag is this old and has been to this many places
across the world.”
Adkins, who's just starting his
U.S. Air Force journey, plans on making it a career,
following in his grandfather's footsteps.
Working at
Drawsko Pomorskie Training Area, Poland in support of Saber
Strike 15, a long-standing U.S. Army Europe-led
multinational training exercise, Adkins will add Poland to
the ledger, continuing his grandfather's nation-hopping
tradition.
This year's exercise occurs across
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland to improve joint
operational capability in a range of missions as well as
preparing the participating nations and units to support
multinational contingency operations.
Adkins said he
waited until after graduating college with a degree in
broadcasting to join the Air Force as a journalist, but, due
to the influence his grandfather had on him, the Air Force
was the only service he considered.
“I had always had
serving in the military in the back of my mind, but decided
to go to college first,” said Adkins. “When I graduated, I
seriously couldn't afford to use a broadcasting degree in
the civilian sector, so I looked into the services, but the
Air Force was the only branch I was interested in going into
because of him.”
The ties that bind the younger and
senior Adkins run much deeper than just a piece of
well-traveled cloth. The flag reminds him of the quality
time he and his grandfather have spent together.
“I
wasn't able to spend a lot of time with him growing up, but
I think I have better memories of him after receiving the
flag,” said Adkins. “It signifies that I'm in the service
that he spent 22 years in, so now anytime I go back home
he's got somebody to talk shop with.”
Adkins said
this gives him a special bond with his grandfather, because
this is something his grandfather hasn't been able to do
since the 70s.
“I go home and we're talking all
things Air Force, and it's an extra dynamic to our
relationship that has really brought us closer together,”
said Adkins.
The flag is something that will continue
to travel with service members of the Adkins family and will
be a centerpiece of a room Adkins plans on having in his
house.
“This flag kind of sparked a collection for
me,” said Adkins. “This flag brought on the idea of having a
wall covered with flags of everywhere I've been, so any new
country I go to I make sure to get one of that country's
flag.”
Adkins said eventually he would like to have a
wall dedicated to the U.S., the U.S. Air Force and every
country he's been to with his home state's flag in the
center of it all.
By U.S. Army Sgt. Brandon Anderson
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2015
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