I’m writing this letter from Kyrgyzstan, a country on China’s western border. I am in the United States Air Force, currently deployed. I grew up in Oak Harbor, but as everyone in my family got older we all seemed to move away from the Island, except for my sister, Sara Nash, her husband Terry and their newly born son Matthew.

Mainly, I just wanted to say hello to them and thank them for the support they give me. I grew up in Oak Harbor, spent 17 years growing up in Navy base housing. My father served in the Navy for over 20 years and spent most of those years in Oak Harbor. I graduated from Oak Harbor High School in 2003. I joined the military in 2006. I deployed out of the base; I’m stationed at in Germany.

For the 6 months that I will spend in this country, I will be working at the Military Passenger Airport, doing everything from processing soldiers for further travel into the war zone, checking all travel documents, ID cards and passports verifying they are current, and making sure the passengers and their baggage get to the correct aircraft. The base I work on serves as the primary air mobility hub for transporting troops, coalition personnel and their cargo to Afghanistan.

Good luck Sara and Terry with your new son, and a thank you to you and all my other friends in Oak Harbor for your support and caring about me while I’m on this deployment. I’ll see you all soon enough.

Senior Airman

Brian L. McQueen

Kyrgyzstan