Secretary Hagel calls, thanks Airman for service

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Cohen A. Young
  • 455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan --  A Bagram Airman received a phone call from U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel while at work July 4, 2014.

Independence Day is a major holiday in the U.S. and an important day in the country's history. For some it's just a day off, but for the one percent of Americans who wear the uniform, and the people supporting them, it represents a deep commitment and a patriotic sense of following after all those before them who served and protected the rights of freedom and American values.

For Senior Airman Ashley Watson, a sensor operator currently assigned to the 4th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron, Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, it will be remembered as the day while deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, that she received a phone call from her Secretary of Defense.

"It was a really exciting feeling to get a call from Secretary Hagel," said Watson, an Aiken, South Carolina native. "He was really nice on the phone; when you think of someone like that, you think you need to stand at attention, but once you do speak with him on the phone, he seemed really normal."

During Watson's call, Secretary Hagel thanked for her service and asked several questions about her job and family.

"He thanked me for my service and being away from my family and how much he appreciated the work we were doing over here," added Watson. "He asked me about the job we do here and if we did anything for the 4th of July here, and I told him about the cookout our squadron had."

Watson has been in the Air Force for two and half years and recently won the 2013 Henry E. "Red" Erwin Outstanding Career Enlisted Aviator of the Year Award along with several other awards.

"Secretary Hagel was reading my background and said, 'this list looks like a really long list of awards, we need people like this to make our military the best, to have the best leadership... I hope you re-enlist'," she said.

Watson is deployed from the 427th Reconnaissance Squadron, Beale Air Force Base, California, and during her time here she met the President of the United States during his May 25th visit.

"This deployment has been great," said Watson. "I flew a mission and once we landed I stood in line for four hours to meet the President and then I had the honor of being picked to speak with Secretary Hagel. I've really been lucky."