Face of Defense: Airman Aids Afghans With Carpentry Skills

Our troops often make use of non-military skills when they are deployed. One Airman utilizes his carpentry knowledge for a somber, but important, project:

CAMP BASTION, Afghanistan, June 14, 2011 – Some of the heat has burned off as the summer moon rises overhead. An airman labors over scrap wood in a makeshift workshop under a canopy of camouflage. Fitting pieces of wood together, the shape of a tiny coffin emerges.

Air Force Master Sgt. Jason Reininger builds a child-size coffin to be turned over to the hospital at Camp Bastion, Afghanistan. Reininger is an aerospace medical technician assigned to the 451st Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron. U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Adrian Cadiz (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

When the contract providing coffins for deceased Afghans expired, members at the hospital here immediately began making alternative plans. Americans stepped in to continue the role after their British counterparts brought the deficiency to their attention.

"[British army Maj. Martin Smith] came asking to see if our airmen would help out," said Air Force Lt. Col. Barbara Persons, commander of the 451st Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron Detatchment 1 Contingency Aeromedical Staging Facility. "I didn't even hesitate. I knew my airmen would feel the same way as I did -- anything to preserve the dignity of an innocent child."

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