Airman magazine

The cover story, titled “Playing the Pawn,” tells the story of Chief Master Sgt. Jose Barraza, who grew up in Los Angeles and followed in the footsteps of his parents by joining a gang. After being shot multiple times and a sentence to prison, Barraza enlisted in the Air Force and turned his life around. Now, as the 3rd Wing command chief at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, he uses his life’s story as motivation for Airmen to achieve their potential and to share their own story. (U.S. Air Force graphic)

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Latest Airman magazine now available

Published Jan. 13, 2014

FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md. -- The January/February issue of Airman magazine is now available to download and viewable through a Web browser.

The cover story, titled "Playing the Pawn," tells the story of Chief Master Sgt. Jose Barraza, who grew up in Los Angeles and followed in the footsteps of his parents by joining a gang. After being shot multiple times and a sentence to prison, Barraza enlisted in the Air Force and turned his life around. Now, as the 3rd Wing command chief at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, he uses his life's story as motivation for Airmen to achieve their potential and to share their own story.

In this issue, you will also find additional stories from Alaska, including "100 Hours," which features the dangerous and incredibly high operations tempo of pararescuemen assigned to Joint Base Elmendorf. In just the four days the Airman team was with them, the rescue squadrons conducted six rescue missions, including one bear attack and five crashed or missing airplanes.

For more stories, click here to visit Airman Online, the website for the official magazine of the U.S. Air Force. (Courtesy of Air Force News Service)