During retired Air Force Master Sgt. Russ
Short’s 33 years on active duty, he was
stationed on bases from Japan to Texas.
None, though, left the kind of impression on
him that the 911th Airlift Wing in Moon
Township did.
“I never met anyone here I didn’t like,”
he says. “Great commanders, great sergeants;
just a great bunch of people.”
Short could be biased. His daughter, Gina
Shaffer, serves as a master sergeant on the
base. She just completed her 15th year in
August, after enlisting right out of high
school. Short’s other daughter, Candace,
also served in the military. She left
recently though after she became pregnant.
Short’s son, Chad, served as well, including
in Kuwait. Had he not tragically lost his
life in a car accident, this year would have
marked his 20th in the military.
As the Short family does every year, they
came out to the base for its annual Family
Day Picnic August 2. During the annual
event, military personnel stationed at the
911th bring their families out for a day of
food, games, a race, music and socializing,
on what would otherwise be a workday. For
the Shorts, it’s a down day they get to
spend with what Russ calls their “extended
family.”
Senior Master Sgt. John Lee, a reservist
at the base, says that the day is a morale
booster, and for military members creates a
rare occasion when families and military
personnel get to intermingle. He says it’s
also a way to thank and welcome home those
returning from deployment. Lee points out
that it’s not just service members who
sacrifice during deployment. Families back
home sacrifice as well. That’s what prompted
him to start a nonprofit named Heroes
Supporting Heroes a couple of years ago,
with the mission of helping family members
of deployed service members with everything
from leaky roofs to car repairs.
Though a reservist base, about one-half
to one-quarter of personnel at the 911th are
usually on deployment at any one time, he
says.
This year, amid a shrinking defense
budget, the Air Force approached Lee about
finding alternative funding for the family
day event.
“They knew I was connected to the
community and that I could probably help,”
he says.
In June, Lee also became the commander of
VFW Post 7714 in Imperial. At almost the
same time, he was named junior vice
commander of Pennsylvania VFW District 29,
which covers Allegheny County. Via a grant
through the VFW Unmet Needs program, Lee was
able to secure $4,500 to donate to the
event. The VFW Post 7714 also donated $300.
For Lee and many other reservists, the
911th isn’t just a job; it’s a way to serve
both their country and community while still
having time for a life outside of the
military. Such was the case for Master Sgt.
Jim Crane, a K-9 officer with the city of
Pittsburgh who also serves on the honor
guard at the 911th. During the family day
event, Crane gave demonstrations to a crowd
with his police dog.
Prior to becoming a reservist, Crane
served on active duty as a military police
officer in the Army for eight years. After
the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001,
he wanted to reenlist, but not at the cost
of leaving his family for extended periods.
He’s since found a part time but meaningful
role with the base’s honor guard, which
handles military funerals across western
Pennsylvania, as well as into Ohio and West
Virginia. The only other closest honor guard
is an active duty one stationed at Wright
Patterson Air Force Base in Youngstown,
Ohio, he says. Crane says he probably
handles about 90 to 200 funerals per year,
and estimates he’s performed 500. In 2009,
he was named Ceremonial Guardsman of the
Year. |