Air Force 1st Lt. Sean Fazande, the son of Gayle Quinlan, West Woodlawn, Destrehan, is deployed with the 965th Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron as an air weapons officer at an air base in Southwest Asia.
He has been in the Air Force for three years after spending 10 years in the Navy as an enlisted man.
“As an air weapons officer, I control military aircraft through radios and radar systems in order to ensure deconfliction of aircraft and air support for ground troops,” said Fazande, a 1997 Destrehan High School graduate. “Flying in the E-3 Sentry allows me to perform this job anywhere in the world at any time.”
The E-3 mission is to provide situational awareness of friendly, neutral and hostile activity, command and control in a particular area of responsibility.
“We are able to bring command and control to the war where ground command and control are unable to see,” Fazande, a 2005 graduate of Northwood University in Midland, Mich., said. “I believe what we fight for out here, giving these nations a chance to have a say in how they live and to feel true freedom, will only solidify the freedoms we enjoy back home,” Fazande said. “When a free world stands together against terrorism and tyranny, as it is beginning to do now, progress toward a safe and united future for our loved ones and future generations will start to shine through. Hope for a better future and the safety of my family is why I serve.”
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