How we serve Published Sept. 5, 2013 By Lt. Col. Jason P. Arnold 548th Operations Support Squadron BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- There is more we can do to protect the American way of life than shouldering a weapon and deploying to fight our nation's wars. We can also pick up a hammer and help foster a better standard of living - a better way of life - for members of our local community. In doing so, we build bridges to the cities we live in and the people we serve...and reap tangible personal benefits. I was recently privileged to join several Airmen from the 548th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group as they participated in a Marysville Habitat for Humanity effort creating quality housing for a local family in need. Our small group was merely the latest in a string of more than 90 Beale Airmen volunteers and we contributed just a fraction of the total hours required to build this project. To the mother and daughter whose future home we were building, however, we were making all the difference in the world. In the abstract, this family and millions more across the country understand the sacrifices Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors and Marines make for them every day. They know we are highly trained volunteers performing complex tasks, often under a cloak of secrecy, and that we are sometimes called to make the ultimate sacrifice. That knowledge, however, is non-specific and generalized. Though they honor and respect our profession, many Americans have no interaction with particular servicemen and women. By participating in a neighborhood watch, a building restoration or a canned food drive we forge bonds at a personal level. We become real people making tangible contributions, instead of just a sound bite to a recruiting commercial. Those bonds generate goodwill toward Airmen and Beale Air Force Base and ultimately help parents support and encourage their children to follow our example and join the all-volunteer force. The personal benefit each of us gleans from community service is most easily observed on an awards package or performance report; there are, however, other rewards. A quick internet search uncovers any number of articles explaining the psychological and health benefits of service. My layman's foray into this area found several sources that linked active community service to reduced stress and depression, greater personal satisfaction and self-actualization, as well as some indications that volunteers may even live longer. I can't speak to the scientific method behind the studies, but I have certainly experienced that "feel good" feeling after a day of volunteering. Regardless of the alleged health benefits, we certainly develop in other ways. When we participate in a volunteer event which is outside our professional skill set it exposes us to new experiences. We enrich our understanding of how communities function. We develop our ability to communicate and to listen in new environments and expand or adapt our problem solving skills to meet new challenges. Above all, we create social capital: community networks, civic trust and cooperation. Like the rest of America, I am grateful every day for the legions of young men and women who volunteer to protect democracy and freedom around the world. As Airmen, we owe it to ourselves and our communities to be visible, approachable and individually involved in projects that improve our neighborhoods and, in doing so, improve ourselves.