NCO remembers helping hand

2nd Lt. George Tobias

The Air Force Aid Society (AFAS) is one of the four foundations funded by the Air Force Assistance Fund (AFAF), but is, perhaps, the most notable for Airmen.

AFAS assists Airmen of need, and according to one Cannon Airman, that is just what it has done. Tech. Sgt. Heather Jones, 27th Comptroller Squadron, benefited from AFAS help on two different occasions.

On one occasion her grandfather was very ill, and Sergeant Jones had made plans to go home to see him.

“I had talked to my mom on a Friday night and she said ‘everything’s good with him, he has at least another couple of months, so you should be good to go home and see him before he passes,’” said Sergeant Jones, remembering the incident.

But later that evening, around midnight, she received a call from her mother who told her that her grandfather had just died.

“becaus it was so last minute and having to get tickets for my daughter and me, I had no means to get home for the funeral, which was on that Monday.”

She called her first sergeant and commander and on Saturday morning they had her in with Air Force Aid Society personnel who had already cut her a check.

She and her daughter were able to fly home Sunday morning for the funeral.

“They -LESS-THAN-0054375-AFAS-GREATER-THAN-0054375- helped out a lot; they even made sure I had money for food. In a bad situation they came through.”

That was not, however, the only time the AFAS helped Sergeant Jones,

“When I first came into the military, I totaled my car a week after I got it,” said Sergeant Jones. The AFAS helped her out with the deductible.

“They have always come through [for me]. There are people here taking care of their own,”she said.

As expected, Sgt. Jones is now a faithful contributor to the AFAS.

“I’ve given back to them -LESS-THAN-0054375-AFAS-GREATER-THAN-0054375- ever since they helped me out 12 years ago.”

The AFAF drive ends April 21. To donate, contact you squadron representative or call 784-4131 or 784-6597.