After serving 75 percent of his life with the U.S. military, 72-year-old Garland Kirkland knows a thing or two about supporting the troops.
Now retired but still at work at Columbus Air Force Base, Chief Master Sgt. Kirkland supervised personnel in 1972 at an Air Force base in Da Nang, Vietnam, which was called “Rocket City” after enduring constant missile attacks.
“It was quite nerve-wracking,” recalled Kirkland, a Fayette County, Ala., native.
Kirkland enlisted at 17 in 1955 with the consent of his father, who was stationed at Fort Knox in Kentucky with the Army at the time.
“I wanted to serve this country because I liked the role of protecting the nation and its citizens, of protecting the freedom of the nation,” he said. “And I still see that today with our military defending our freedom.”
After finishing his tour of duty in 1973, Kirkland was stationed at CAFB, which has been his home ever since.
While he retired in 1979, Kirkland has continued working at the base as a civilian human resources staffing specialist.
In his 54 years of service, the Steens resident said he has seen many changes at the base and in the military, both in technology and weapons.
“I”ve seen a lot of changes in technology, starting out with the manual typewriter,” he said.
But one change he has not seen, he added, is the support of the community.
“It”s paramount to support our military because the freedom of the United States depends on our military,” he said.
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