By Keysha Drexel
Journal editor
After four deployments and more than 1,000 hours in combat flights over Iraq and Afghanistan, most people would think U.S. Air Force Capt. Jeffrey Burns has done his part to give back to the community.
But when he’s not teaching pilots as a flight commander with the 47th Student Squadron at Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas, the 2002 Oak Mountain graduate is doing what he can to make the world a better place, one service project at a time.
In April, Burns received the Spirit of Hope Award for the entire air education and training command for his service to the Laughlin and Del Rio communities in Texas. He is now in the running to win the prestigious award for the entire service branch.
The award is named in honor of Bob Hope, the famous actor, comedian and author, who was an avid supporter of the military his entire life.
One member of each military service branch and one Department of Defense civilian are given the Spirit of Hope Award at the national level to remember Hope’s contributions to our military service members, Burns said.
“It’s a huge honor to have been nominated for this award,” he said. “I appreciate all of my mentors throughout my time here at Laughlin. This has been a humbling experience.”
Burns was given the Spirit of Hope Award for the execution of 23 different community service projects and raising more than $50,000 for charities.
“When I showed up at Laughlin, I wanted to give back to the community,” he said. “I didn’t have any award in mind when volunteering because helping people out is intrinsically pleasing.”
Burns’ service includes everything from mentoring Civil Air Patrol cadets and local elementary school students to volunteering in disaster relief efforts and helping military families.
“From my first interaction with Capt. Burns, it was apparent that he was about more than himself,” said Lt. Col. Jason Mills, commander of the 47th Student Squadron.
Burns said instead of playing golf or “sitting around doing nothing” after work at the base, he decided to volunteer as much as he could.
“This is a small town of 30,000 people, and I knew there was an opportunity to make a difference here,” he said.
Burns recruited other pilots to set up a food bank in the Del Rio and Laughlin communities. He also started a mentoring program for elementary school students.
“I have a student that I talk to every week. He hasn’t had the easiest life, and I just try to do what I can to help him and encourage him,” he said.
Burns also works with older students at a local high school through a robotics program.
“There’s a robotics club at the high school, and it is so much fun to see these kids getting excited about learning to apply science and math, and who knows, some of these kids might go on to be great engineers and come up with something that helps our whole country,” he said.
Burns said it is rewarding to see the students he works with grow confident in their skills and enjoy learning.
“You see a direct impact working with the kids, and it makes you feel good if you have some small part in that,” he said.
Burns has also extended support to military families at Laughlin Air Force Base.
Burns’ father also served in the Air Force, and that meant a lot of moving around and long deployments.
“We ask a lot of our military families, not just our military members. We move around our members every three years or so. I grew up in that, and it can be hard on families,” he said.
Because of his own experience, Burns said he knows firsthand how important it is to rally around military families when their loved ones are away serving their country.
“We have picnics and group activities and try to show the families that they have a whole network of support. When their family members are deployed, we just make sure we’re there to do anything we can to help them,” he said.
Burns said while being in a military family can sometimes be tough, he credits it with inspiring his life’s passion–aviation.
He said he remembers from a very young age being mesmerized by all things related to flight.
“I was just fascinated by the whole thing. I was this little kid with toy airplanes all over my room, and I just never outgrew that fascination,” he said.
Burns was involved with the Civil Air Patrol while in high school. After graduating, he went to the University of Alabama to study business.
“I joined the ROTC at UA and decided to go for pilot training. My family was really supportive of my decision and they always have been. They understand how much this means to me,” he said.
After graduating from college, Burns was commissioned throughout the ROTC program and then earned his pilot wings at Laughlin Air Force Base.
Burns was then assigned to Travis Air Force Base in California, from where he was deployed overseas four times. He flew 1,178 combat hours over Iraq and Afghanistan, refueling numerous U.S. and coalition aircraft.
Burns then returned to Laughlin Air Force Base, where he handles the task of managing and teaching student pilots in their first six weeks of pilot training.
“Of course, my family had rather I was back at home in Alabama, but they understand that I am doing my job and that I love my job,” he said.
Burns said he hopes this Memorial Day and every day, more people will think about the men and women currently serving overseas in the military.
“I think a lot of people forget that if we weren’t overseas fighting now, we’d be fighting in this conflict here at home,” he said. “It takes these men and women going far from home, going into harm’s way and fighting for our freedom so that is not happening here in our own backyards.”
That desire to keep the folks back home safe was always in his mind as he flew combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, Burns said.
And no matter what happened on those flights or on any other flight he’s piloted, Burns said he’s always felt he was exactly where he was supposed to be.
“Every time I’ve flown, even if it was a difficult mission or bad weather or whatever, I’ve enjoyed every single flight,” he said. “I’ve always had this feeling that I was born to fly.”
