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  • Tech. Sgt. Wendy Beauchaine, 446th Mission Support Squadron, stretches before her afternoon run in Puyallup, Wash. Sergeant Beauchaine runs an average of 25 to 30 miles per week and ran the Seattle half-marathon Nov. 25. (U.S. Air Force photo/Capt. Jennifer Gerhardt)

    For the love of running

    At an hour when lampposts cast shadows over deserted streets, coffee pots start percolating, and people begin rubbing sleep from their eyes, Tech. Sgt. Wendy Beauchaine from the 446th Mission Support Squadron is out sweating, the stillness of sleep a distant notion. Nearly every morning of the week, around 5, come rain, snow, or howling winds, she
  • Master Sgt. Terry Acton (left), a Reservist with the 728th Airlift Squadron, McChord Air Force Base, Wash., and Bret Frye, a Starbucks manufacturing manager, unload the last of a shipment of Starbucks coffee to be delivered to troops overseas. Together, the two have given to servicemembers what they estimate to be at least 10,000 pounds of Starbucks coffee, plus an untold amount of accessories, over the last four years. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Nick Przybyciel)

    Giving GIs their joe: The beans on how two high school buddies are energizing troop moral

    It's an old saying that an army marches on its stomach. However, there's also a common assumption that even the most satiated soldiers have a few gripes about the quality of their grub. But a lot has changed from the John Wayne days of war fighting (think images of green meat and chemically preserved gruel-in-a-can, ala "Sands of Iwo Jima"). While
  • SOUTHWEST ASIA - Air Force Reservist Chief Master Sgt. Gordon Swarthout (right) leads his unit on a training run while deployed to Iraq. Assigned to the Air Force Reserve's 86th Aerial Port at McChord Air Force Base, Wash., the Chief deployed to Iraq for four months, gaining a greater appreciation for the contributions of Reservists to the Air Force mission.

    The Baghdad bullet train

    Welcome to the bullet train. Those were the words of Chief Master Sgt. Gordon Swarthout to arriving members of the 447th Air Expeditionary Wing, Sather AB, Iraq, where he served for four months as the group superintendent. "Imagine you're standing in your neighborhood. A bullet train comes through at 120 mph, and you just reach out and grab hold.
  • FORT LEWIS, Wash. - Staff Sgt. Robert Marshall receives chemotherapy treatment at Madigan Army Hospital near Tacoma, Wash. Sergeant Marshall is in remission from non-Hodgkins lymphoma and back on the job as an Air force reservist with the 446th Maintenance Squadron at McChord Air Force Base, Wash. Courtesy photo/Debra Marshall

    Attitude, support helps Reserve Airman beat cancer

    Finally drifting off to sleep after several restless nights, Deb Marshall was jolted into consciousness with a horrific epiphany. She turned to her half-awake husband, Lt. Col. William Marshall, and vocalized the thought responsible for robbing her of yet another night's sleep. "What about his kids?" Her husband mumbled something along the lines
  • MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash., - Senior Master Sgt. Lance Gustafson sits beside his wife, Denice, who holds 8-month-old Ana at the orphanage in Kazakhstan. Sergeant Gustafson is a Air Force Reserve loadmaster at the 446th Operations Group here. (Courtesy photo provided by Senior Master Sgt. Lance Gustafson)

    Loadmaster's family adopts, Kazakhstan child given second chance

    With millions of children around the world homeless, malnourished and without a family, one Reserve family at McChord is doing its part to bring happiness to their home and give a child another chance by internationally adopting. "We have always wanted a large family and adoption was an option for us," said Senior Master Sgt. Lance Gustafson, 446th
  • McCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash., - Staff Sgt. Grace Qiu, 36th Aerial Port Squadron, tries to sqeeze this nine story high temple at MoGaoKu China. (Courtesy photo)

    Reservist follows The Silk Road

    The Grand Canyon, Washington D.C., Niagara Falls, Route 66 - these are just a few of the most sought after destinations and routes many Americans aspire to visit in their lifetime. For others, their long-awaited destination may take them 6,000 miles and many time zones away. Following one of her long awaited goals, Staff Sgt. Grace Qiu from the
  • MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE - A souvenir photo shows the route Master Sgt. Darran Baggs took on his climb to the summit of Mount Rainer. Sergeant Baggs is a Reservist with the 446th Maintenance Squadron here. (Photo courtesy of Sergeant Baggs)

    Climbing mountains, real or perceived, tests Reservist's toughness, willpower

    Flying a flag above the clouds usually involves an American flag onboard an Air Force transport, like the C-17. On July 29, a 446th Maintenance Squadron Reservist traveled on foot to a summit above the clouds to fly his squadron's flag. After 13 hours of grueling effort, Master Sgt. Darran Baggs, a fuel systems mechanic, conquered Mount Rainier's
  • McChord Air Force Base, Wash., - Senior Airman Lyn Yin, 728th Airlift Squadron, here, is currently activated in support of ongoing C-17 operations. (U.S. Air Force photo by Sandra Pishner)

    Fleeing Cambodia shapes Airman's spirit

    Participating in humanitarian relief efforts can be emotional for anyone involved, but few Airmen can relate to the torrent of feelings Senior Airman Lyn Yin, 728th Airlift Squadron, experienced when she went on a mission to Thailand. For Airman Yin, the trip provided more than just the opportunity to help tsunami victims -- it gave her the chance

  • Colors and noise replace blandness, quiet of Iraq

    The grass is greener on the other side of the fence. That is, if the fence is one that divides Washington state from Balad, Iraq. Colors, particularly the color green, are the most striking elements overwhelming Airmen returning from Iraq. After serving in Iraq since January, 71 Reservists from the 446th Aeromedical Transportation Staging Squadron
  • MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash., - When not teaching at Franklin-Pierce High School in Tacoma, Stan Harris spends his free time in the Air Force Reserve with the 446th Aerospace Medicine Squadron as a substance abuse counselor.

    Resevist named coach of the year

    Stan Harris, a master sergeant with the 446th Aerospace Medicine Squadron here, has been named All Area Coach of the Year by the Tacoma News Tribune. A high-school gym teacher and basketball coach in Tacoma, Harris’ boys basketball team at Franklin-Pierce High School went undefeated this year in the Seamount League. The team posted the best
  • McChord Air Force Base, Wash. -- Lt. Col. Jim Wilerson, 313th Airlift Squadron, sets up his rocket in the Black Rock Desert, Nev. The rocket reached a speed of about Mach 1.5 in approximately four seconds. (Photo Courtesy of Tsolo T. Tsolo)

    Setting new heights

    Three, two, one, blast-off! Some people never get enough of what they love, like Lt. Col. Jim Wilkerson, who can never get enough altitude. The 313th Airlift Squadron pilot and Boeing pilot instructor also aims high in his hobby. His hobby is model rocketry and he set a new altitude record of more than six and a half miles Sept. 17. Colonel
  • Capt. Barry Van Sickle, 446th Aeromedical Evaucation Squardon, secures stanchions on a C-17. Stanchions are used to support patient litters on aeromedical flights

    Saving Lives in the sky: AES Reservists get the job done stateside, overseas

    Moving wounded American servicemembers from combat environments to hospitals in Germany and the United States is not an easy task, but one the 446th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron here has been doing since 2001. Air Mobility Command officials report, as of July 8, 2005, the aeromedical evacuation system has flown more than 27,681 patients out of
  • Kristi Porter on location for the Pinehurst, N.C., Olympic District Race. Open water swimming is one of the three legs in a triathlon.

    It's all about fitness, fun

    Completing a 26-mile marathon, as opposed to just succeeding at the 1.5 mile Air Force fitness evaluation run, can be a lofty goal for some people. But not for Kristi Porter, a 1st lieutenant with the 446th Logistics Readiness Flight. For her, competing marathons, such as the Seattle Marathon on Nov. 27, is just a way to maintain her present
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