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JB MDL Airman helps create lasting impression downrange

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Rob Hazelett
  • 455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan --  Three Airmen painted their interpretation of unity, respect, trust, strength and the will to protect, on a wall Aug. 30, 2013, at Camp Cunningham leaving a visual legacy for those who follow in their footsteps.

By the time the painting was done, the Airmen had spent more than 25 hours of their spare time through a span of more than three days completing the mural.

Senior Airman Brittney Snyder, 455th Air Expeditionary Wing personnel support, said the painting depicted the strength shared between the U.S. and Afghanistan.

"We are showing the unity of two cultures coming together," said Snyder, deployed from Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., and a three-year Air Force veteran hailing from Ocean Springs, Miss. "Although we are from different countries, we are building relationships to protect the innocent."

Airman 1st Class Eli Hixson, 455th Expeditionary Aerial Port Squadron air transportation passenger service agent, assisted during the painting and said painting the walls stood for something and it meant a lot to the Airmen.

"This mural was intended to signify growing efforts to help the Afghan military and government obtain the necessary fundamentals to begin their process in bringing not only their own country together, but to bringing the U.S. and Afghanistan nations together," said Hixson, deployed from the 305th Aerial Port Squadron at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., and is a native of Laramie, Wyo. "It is also a symbol of what our fallen Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors and Marines have sacrificed and fought for in hopes that with our efforts, another nation can learn and become one with itself."

Senior Airman Alyona Blizard, 455th Expeditionary Communications Squadron communications focal point technician, who is deployed from Joint Base Langley-Eustis AFB, Va., and a native of Beckley, W.Va., also assisted painting the mural.