Journalist Recalls Travels With Robin WilliamsBy Jim Garamone WASHINGTON, Aug. 12, 2014 – U.S. service members truly lost a friend with the death of Robin Williams yesterday.
Williams made multiple USO tours to Iraq, Afghanistan, the Persian Gulf, Bahrain, Kuwait and other bases in Southwest Asia to give soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and DoD civilians a little taste of home. It was my privilege to accompany him on many of those tours, and I can attest that he truly loved doing what he was doing and the people he was doing it for. There really was no difference between Robin on stage and Robin behind the scenes. On the first trip with Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, then-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the plane stopped at Shannon Airport, Ireland, to refuel. He got off the plane into the midst of about 150 National Guardsmen going home. Robin shook every hand, posed for every picture and ensured the Guardsmen knew he appreciated their sacrifices. That was Robin. |
Hagel Visits Camp Pendleton
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel arrives on Marine Corps Station Miramar, Calif., Aug. 12, 2014, after an international trip during which he met with his counterparts in Germany, India and Australia. U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Sean Hurt
Guardsmen Train to Fight Fires
Guardsmen receive a briefing before training to fight wildfires with California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection personnel on Camp Roberts, Calif., Aug. 7, 2014. The soldiers are assigned to the California Army National Guard's 340th Brigade Support Battalion and 224th Sustainment Brigade. The soldiers were preparing to mobilize as Task Force 340th to help put out wildfires around the state. California National Guard photo by U.S. Army Sgt. Ian M. Kummer
Paratroopers Train Over Water
Paratroopers wait for commands on board a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter before jumping into Big Lake, Alaska, Aug. 6, 2014. The paratroopers are assigned to the 25th Infantry Division's Company C, 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Alaska, and the helicopter crew is assigned to the Alaska National Guard's 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment. The training prepared the brigade's troopers for water landings and highlighted the unit's ability to perform airborne operations in challenging conditions and locations. National Guard photo by U.S. Army Sgt. Balinda O'Neal
U.S., Canadian Troops Train
Canadian Air Force Capt. Alan Lockerby, left, communicates with a CH-47 Chinook helicopter to coordinate a hasty evacuation while Canadian Army Sgt. Chad Walker holds a VS-17 marking panel during Operation Northern Strike 2014 near Rogers City, Mich., Aug. 6, 2014. Lockerby and Walker are tactical air controllers. The helicopter crew is assigned to the Illinois Army National Guard's 2nd Battalion, 238th General Support Aviation Battalion. The multinational training exercise is a combined arms event in Michigan. National Guard photo by U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Scott Thompson
U.S. Airmen Provide Eye Care
U.S. Air Force Maj. Michael Parsons, center, looks at a collection of prosthetic left eyeballs while an Afghan soldier listens to an interpreter at the Craig Joint Theater Hospital on Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Aug. 7, 2014. Parsons is an ophthalmologist assigned to the 455th Expeditionary Medical Group. The Afghan soldier suffered an eye trauma when shrapnel from an explosion hit him in the eye four months ago. U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Cohen A. Young
U.S., British Paratroopers Train
U.S. Army Lt. Col. Kenneth J. Burgess, center, discusses ongoing operations with British soldiers during joint field training on Fort Bragg, N.C., Aug. 6, 2014. Burgess commands the 82nd Airborne Division's 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team. The British soldiers are assigned to 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Hull
Battaglia Speaks to Guard Chiefs
Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Bryan B. Battaglia, senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, listens as a student asks a question during a course for Air National Guard chiefs at the Pentagon, Aug. 12, 2014. DoD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Daniel Hinton
U.S. Soldiers in Parwan Province
U.S. soldiers patrol along Highway 1 one in Afghanistan's Parwan province, Aug. 11, 2014. The soldiers, assigned to the 101st Airborne Division's 1st Battalion, 75th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, patrolled for 12 hours. U.S. Army photo by Cpl. George Huley
Troops Train for Water Landings
Army Staff Sgt. Alexander Jackson checks the surface wind speed during an airborne operation at Big Lake, Alaska, Aug. 6, 2014. Jackson is an infantryman assigned to the 25th Infantry Division's Company C, 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Alaska. The training prepared the brigade's troopers for water landings and highlighted the unit's ability to perform airborne operations in challenging conditions and locations. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Jeffrey Smith
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