Home Sweet Home
BY SEAN GIZA - CNA summer intern
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| Contributed photo
Work: Zac Sedlmayr, right, of Afton secures a 375-gallon external fuel tank to the underside of an F-16. Sedlmayr recently returned home after spending six months in Iraq. |
“It’s nice. It’s good to see some green grass and fresh air,” said F-16 Fighting Falcon Crew Chief Zac Sedlmayr Tuesday on returning home from Iraq after his first tour of duty.
Sedlmayr, 21, of Afton, is a member of the 132nd Fighter Wing of the Air National Guard. He was deployed to Iraq Jan. 11 and returned home June 18.
He said there was some confusion upon his arrival because he lost his orders in Qatar.
“It was actually kind of funny,” Sedlmayr said. “The other guys were good about helping me out.”
Sedlmayr was stationed about 40 miles north of Baghdad at a logistical support area at Camp Anaconda in Balad, Iraq.
Job Duties
Sedlmayr performed pre- and post-flight maintenance on F-16 Falcons and also served as a mechanic.
He worked a shift from midnight to noon almost every day during his tour.
“Every once in a while we would have a Wednesday off,” he said.
Sedlmayr said there were always jets in the air as long as the weather permitted.
The F-16s he worked on performed anything from convoys to reconnaissance to alert missions, which is when ground troops call in for immediate assistance.
Daily Life
Aside from his 12-hour job shift, Sedlmayr said there was a lot to do during his free time, even though nobody on base was allowed to leave.
“The base had a recreation center with an XBOX and a movie theatre to go to,” he said.
Sedlmayr added he was allowed two, 15-minute phone calls per week, usually placed to family, and he could also connect to the Internet while at work.
“It was easy to keep in touch with people back home,” he said.
Sedlmayr said many people got his e-mail address from his parents and the messages he received were greatly appreciated.
“It was nice to know people were still thinking about me,” he said.
Life Changing
Sedlmayr also volunteered himself at the base hospital — a job duty he said was a “life changing experience.”
His duty at the hospital was to help unload victims.
“We unloaded everything from injured kids, to the enemy,” he said.
Sedlmayr said one of the toughest days was when he helped children who were attacked by a suicide bomber while they were in school.
“It really makes you appreciate what we have here (at home),” Sedlmayr said.
Conditions
Sedlmayr noted the weather wasn’t what he expected when he arrived.
He said about a week before his unit arrived it had snowed, and the temperature was “only” reaching 80 degrees during the day. However, there was freezing rain and extreme cold during the night.
“It was confusing,” he said. “ I thought we were supposed to be in a desert.”
Sedlmayr said toward the end of his tour the temperature was averaging 113 degrees and was 120 degrees the day he left.
He said the support from back home and camaraderie of his unit helped the time go by fairly fast.
“The Guard is like a second family,” he said. “If something happened, someone is there willing to help out.”
Sedlmayr will be deployed to Iraq for his second tour in late 2009.
“I’m no war hero,” Sedlmayr said. “I’m just doing my job.”
