Air National Guard affords Airman first taste of Europe

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Daniel Gagnon
  • 134th Air Refueling Wing
One of the exciting benefits of being a member of the Air National Guard is having the opportunity to travel the world.

19-year-old Airman 1st Class David Morgan, a 134th Commander Support Staff member, recently traveled to Mildenhall, England for annual training.

Originally from Chattanooga, Tennessee, the young Airman was excited to travel overseas for the first time. With only two years in the Tennessee Air National Guard, he was surprised to receive a temporary duty assignment to a foreign location.

“While getting to go out and explore England, London has been my most favorite place here so far,” said Airman 1st Class Morgan. “I like the architecture and the history that goes with it, the parliament building especially.”

Morgan was promoted to Airman 1st Class while on TDY. This is a unique opportunity for any Airman, and particularly special for someone on his first trip abroad.

“I joined the military to serve my country and I want to fly, this is a very good opportunity for that,” said Morgan.

The 100th Air Refueling Wing held a simulated terrorist attack response exercise on base during the visit by the Tennessee Guard members. Morgan voluntarily assisted by portraying a victim with a broken leg, requiring immediate medical attention from the active duty members. He played an important part in the mock attack, keeping it as real as possible for the players to ensure they had the opportunity to learn valuable skills for use in case of any future threats.

“Our mission here was to help CSS and learn what personnel would do at an active-duty base, such as training on how to organize things, internet roaming, editing different documents, learning what the active-duty [Airman] does and how they take care of the commander,” said Morgan.

Morgan soaked up the experience and took the knowledge he acquired back to his home station McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base, Tennessee.

“It has been a very positive experience in the guard, I really love everybody at our base and the location,” said Morgan. “It’s great to be a part of it, I don’t take it for granted.”