“I think the Air Force is understanding the unique contributions the guard can bring today, that we are a family, we travel as a unit and we’re going to get the job done when we get there,” said Kalei.Ĭlaiming a full 24 hours quicker response time than its federal active and reserve counterparts, states, “No matter where in the world conflict arises or crises erupts, the Air Guard is able to mobilize and respond within 48 hours.” That could in part be due to the one-location career and family-style camaraderie within the guard. In this era of total force integration, the Kleive family and the 148th FW are carrying their weight having served local interests with COVID-19 aid state interests with civil unrest in Minneapolis–Saint Paul federal interests with Operation Allies Welcome and global interests deploying as the 179th EFS. So the Guard and Reserve have become in time an active component of the military. Now, many of these members that are here on this trip have deployed six, seven maybe eight times to Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, etc. “In my early term in the 90’s this didn’t exist. “The new Guard is an active force,” said Scott. 11, 2001, the line has all but faded between active and guard, as it is now part of and deployable with, the Total Force.
However, starting around the events of Sept. The Guard’s family operating style nurtures these lifestyles and the transition between the two, allowing for an easier flow of innovation, support and personal life exploration. “It’s like building external points in your resume and getting qualifications outside of what you know in the military.” “It's great that you can get civilian experience and be in the guard at the same time,” said Kalei. Representing the older guardsmen generations, Scott provides the National Guard a source of continuity, life wisdom and long honed expertise.Īll together the Kleives, like other Citizen Airmen being half civilian and half service-member, bring the unique opportunity of integrating and advancing their two lives, augmenting the skills of one to better accomplish the other. I don’t think you’d ever see that on the active side.” We have members here that have worked the F-16 airframe for 32 years that are still working maintenance. We also have an older component, like myself, that's here. “While they’re serving their commitment to the Air National Guard, they’re working towards their educational goals. “We have students that are unique to the guard outside of what you see on the active side,” said Scott. Whereas the youth of the active side often don't have the time or single location stability to pursue hands-on or in-person education. They give the Guard a direct line to understanding and incorporating the new and ever-advancing technologies, practices and theories of the civilian sector. Together they check the viper's scales, schedule its vet visits and sharpen its fangs, in order to keep it mission-ready.īesides the air power assets, the Kleive family is also a perfect example of the two different lifestyles common in the ANG but foreign to most active-duty Airmen - full-time students and older “non-traditional” Airmen.īoth Kalei and Devin, like many younger Citizen Airmen, are full-time college students. Kalei manages both aircraft maintenance and engine maintenance, and Devin, a munitions systems specialist, loads munitions and provides general maintenance to weapon-related systems.
Scott, a crew chief with the 179th EFS, is a general systems mechanic and oversees all maintenance, related to the aircraft. Like its nickname “Viper” implies, the F-16 packs a fast and nasty bite for anyone unwise enough to provoke it. The 148th FW out of Duluth, Minnesota, or the 179th EFS, as it's currently known in the Southwest Asia theater, operates the Block 50 F-16CM Fighting Falcon, one of the newest models in the U.S. Family trip to the desert, that's what we decided.” “My dad learned first, then soon after I found out I was going and then Devin found out. “It was a little like a domino effect,” said Kalei, a plans and scheduling manager with the 179th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron. Devin Kleive, with them this time to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The father-daughter duo documented in the past, Master Sgt. Out of the 13 Guardsmen family units stationed at Prince Sultan Air Base the Kleive family is the largest. Air National Guard and what it brings to the Ninth Air Force’s Total Force family.
This time they’re not only representing the 148th Fighter Wing, but the entirety of the U.S. The Kleive family is back in AFCENT news since their last deployment in 2018. PRINCE SULTAN AIR BASE, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.