Senior Airman To Be Replaced By Staff Sergeant Mother In Iraq
Kirkuk Regional Air Base
Many parents of soldiers and troops serving overseas sit next to the phone, anxious for that next phone call. They await letters bearing news of their Servicemember loved ones. Often the news and communication comes infrequently, and parents
and loved ones are left wondering how their Servicemember is doing.
Well for one young soldier and his Mom, communication is daily. Staff Sergeant Tammi Johnson sees her son on a daily basis, as she is now assigned to the same security and defense post as her son, Senior Airman Derrick Johnson.
Sgt Johnson is being instructed by her son, Derrick on the finer points of base and perimeter defenses. She arrived on January 20th, and will take her sons place on the front lines. Senior Airman Johnson is slated to return to the United States with his unit. This is a huge coincidence, out of all the units and all of the posts, for the Staff Sergeant Mother to replace the Senior Airman son are very unique.
“It is really just a huge coincidence. When I discovered her unit was the one selected to replace mine, I was shocked, my jaw dropped and I thought how this was a one of a million chance,” said Senior Airman Johnson. His mother, Staff Sgt. Johnson serves with the 507th Security Forces Squadron at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma.
Airman Johnson is a member of 610th Security Forces Squadron based in Fort Worth, Texas.
Even with the likelihood low that the two units would be replacing one another, it is even more unique that out of a number of posts, that the Staff Sgt would be designated to replace Senior Airman Johnson on perimeter defense.
