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Airman aided by wingmen, AFAS

  • Published
  • By Mike Wallace
  • 88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
In July 2005, Senior Airman Jessica Boprey, a laboratory technician in the 88th Diagnostics and Therapeutics Squadron, received help from the Air Force Assistance Fund’s Air Force Aid Society. She had to take emergency leave because both her mother and grandfather were hospitalized at the same time in her hometown of Oklahoma City.

“I was very upset and not really all there,” said Airman Boprey. “My mom and grandfather were in extremely serious condition, and I didn’t even know how long I needed.

“I called my first sergeant who called who arranged to get me on the first flight home the following morning. He took care of everything. I was very upset at the time, and he did my thinking for me.

“My first sergeant and the lab superintendent came to my house and helped me get packed. My supervisor, Staff Sgt. Victor Sierra, worked to get me whatever time I needed. I came in that night and Victor Bailey met me with an airline ticket and money for expenses. He got the ticket for almost half-price.

“If it hadn’t been for Victor Bailey, I would have tried to drive out there.”

Airman Boprey stayed in Oklahoma for two weeks before returning here. During that time, her mother was released from the hospital. Later, her grandfather also recovered.

Mr. Bailey and other technicians at the family support center can release funds through the AFAS, one of the AFAF charities. Founded in 1942, the AFAS provides emergency assistance, educational grants and community programs.

The AFAF also contributes to the Air Force Villages Foundation, which funds a living facility for widows of officers near Brooks AFB, Texas: the Liberty Home for assisted living and the Freedom Home for Alzheimer’s victims. It contributes also to the Air Force Enlisted Village, near Eglin AFB, Fla., and the LeMay Foundation that provides financial grants enabling Air Force widows and widowers to stay in their own homes.