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Volunteers — truly great Americans

  • Published
  • By Col. Randall Harvey
  • 305th Maintenance Group commander
MCGUIRE AIR FORCE BASE --  I have been stationed at McGuire three times during my 28 years of service to this great country of ours. I have run across a myriad of Great Americans since my entry to the Air Force, but there is one I met a few years back who stands out, Lt. Col. (retired) Robert Hansen. This amazing man retired from active duty in 1977 after serving our great Air Force for almost 30 years. 

I first remember meeting him over drinks on Friday evenings at the club in the 1999 time frame while I was the 305th Logistics Group deputy commander. You could always catch him at a table sitting with a group of retirees and their spouses. Over the course of time, my quiet respect for Colonel Hansen grew and grew, especially when I learned he was the director of the Retiree Activities Program for McGuire. 

A few months back I finally asked him about himself: 

What did you do while on active duty?
"Most of my time on active duty was in the operations area," he said. "I spent 25 years in airlift (Military Airlift Transportation Service and Military Airlift Command) flying in the Pacific, Atlantic and stateside. The last 15 years I was in the safety career field." 

After retirement, what did you do?
"I flew part-time as a certified flight instructor with the McGuire Aero Club, then started volunteering in 1979. I became director of the McGuire Activities Program in June 1989." 

Do you get paid?
"No, I do not get paid." 

Why do you do it?
"I volunteer because I want to stay involved in Air Force activities, and the Volunteer Program provides that type of involvement," he replied. "It keeps me busy and up to date on the latest retiree issues and also the active-duty Air Force. We are kind of an Air Force family. I have two sons and a daughter-in-law who are retired from the Air Force, two of them as colonels and one as a lieutenant colonel. My daughter lives in the area and has worked as a civilian at the Aerial Port for over 32 years." 

I meet great Americans on a daily basis, most of whom are serving on active duty, as reservists or as civil servants. There is also another group of great Americans serving daily who do not wear BDUs, flight suits or blues -- the amazing bunch of folks who do so for no monetary compensation. Go get a prescription refilled -- the lady or gentleman who takes care of you is most likely a volunteer who desires nothing more than what Colonel Hansen described above -- a desire to serve and stay busy. 

I look at myself against the measure of people like Colonel Hansen and the rest of the volunteers (retired from active duty, spouses of those who have served, spouses of those who serve today, as well as all other volunteers), and I am in awe. Although I think of myself as a patriot, I also find myself in wonderful appreciation of the patriot volunteers who serve our community.