Talking turkey, football with President Obama

  • Published
  • By Capt. Jason Smith
  • 451st Air Expeditionary Wing
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan --  As Staff Sgt. Dustin Hawkins prepared for his moment with the  President, he tried to remain calm. 

"I'm pretty nervous," said Hawkins just prior to receiving a call from the president. "I shook hands with Hillary Clinton once when she came through (RAF) Mildenhall (England). I think I said, 'Nice to meet you, ma'am.'"

Hawkins, 451st Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, is deployed from Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. This is Hawkins' fourth deployment in six years, but the first in which he has received a call from the president.

"Good, Mr. President. How are you?" said Hawkins, when the president got on the phone. "Happy Thanksgiving to you too."

The president thanked him for his work, said Hawkins. Obama also asked about the well-being of Hawkins' family and thanked him for serving his country and missing the births of both of his daughters due to deployments.

As a power production airman in civil engineering, Hawkins is responsible for maintaining, repairing and replacing 82 generators which support the more than 470,000 sorties flown from KAF each year. Hawkins also provides support to electrical technicians anywhere help is needed to support the mission.

Hawkins said in addition to asking about his family, the president talked football.

"Yes, sir. I'm a pretty big (Tennessee Volunteers) fan, so I have to stick with Peyton (Manning)," said Hawkins. "I hope this doesn't end up being his last year."

"Yes, sir. I will, and thank you very much," said Hawkins as the roughly two-minute conversation came to a close.

According to his commander, Hawkins was nominated to potentially receive a call from the president because of his strong dedication to the mission and his unwavering work ethic.

"Staff Sgt. Hawkins has sacrificed so much in support of the mission here in Afghanistan," said Maj. Aaron Brooks, 451 ECES commander. "He is the consummate professional, working extremely long, and sometimes odd hours, leading his section to provide power to mission-critical assets out here in some pretty challenging conditions. People thank him for what he does and he usually just shrugs and says 'that's my job.'"

"Receiving a call from the highest person in the military chain of command is something Hawkins earned consideration for through his hard work and sacrifice," said Brooks, who is deployed from Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii. Brooks jokingly said Hawkins' peers "will most certainly remind him of his new status."

"I'm humbled my leadership saw fit to nominate me to receive a call from the president," said Hawkins. "It was a great honor, and I'm truly humbled."

Following the call, Hawkins said the president sounds just he like does on television, and he was casual and easier to talk to than Hawkins imagined. He said he will never forget this once-in-a-lifetime phone call.