SSGT. Carly Underwood
U.S. Air Force – HQ PACAF
97th Logistics Readiness Squadron
Operation Enduring Freedom & Iraqi Freedom
Sept. ’94 – Sept. ‘04
U.S. Air Force – HQ PACAF
97th Logistics Readiness Squadron
Operation Enduring Freedom & Iraqi Freedom
Sept. ’94 – Sept. ‘04
Carly Underwood was born on December 21, 1974 in Wooster, Ohio. Carly spent the first 18 years of her life there and graduated from Wooster High School where she played softball, ran cross country and was the anchor on the 200m relay.
After high school Carly decided to enlist. She was motivated by both of her grandfathers who served in WW II. Carly took her first plane flight to Lackland Air force Base in San Antonio, TX to attend Basic Training. After 8 weeks of Basic, Carly was sent technical training at Medina AFB where she received training in supply chain management and logistics. From there she was sent on to Altus AFB in Oklahoma. In Altus Carly worked on the flight line out of hanger 285. There she was responsible for keeping the aircraft mission ready. Her unit handled the “heavy” aircraft including, C17’s (cargo plane), C141’s (bigger cargo plane) and C135’s (refuelers). She would often have to call the “Boneyard” to cannibalize parts from non-operational aircraft parked in the desert. While she was in Oklahoma, the Oklahoma City bombing took place and resulted in much higher security on the base. In 1999 Carly was married.
After 4 years in Oklahoma, Carly applied to Logistics Readiness Squadron (LRS) which was brand new group at the time. She was selected and transferred to Hickam AFB in Hawaii. LRS was responsible for procuring mission readiness parts for a number of bases under their command. In Hawaii Carly had a son and a daughter. On 9/11/2001 Carly and her husband and her 6-month-old son were flying home to tell her parents that she was pregnant. But the 9/11 planes attacked the US that day and her flight was diverted to California where she was stuck for 5 days. One of the most memorable things Carly saw in Hawaii was the aircraft carriers come into port with the sailors lining the deck in their dress whites.
After 4 years in Hawaii, they transferred back to the continental US and ended up at the Mountain Home AFB, in Mountain Home, ID. This was an Air Combat Command, 366th flight Wing. There Carly worked on the flight line handling the logistics and supply chain for War Readiness Parts (WRP) for F16’s and F-17’s. One month into her tour at Mountain Home, she was told she would be deploying to Qatar and have to leave two infant children behind.
I asked if she was worried. “Of course!!”
When she landed in Qatar and arrived at Al Udeed she was amazed at how much sand there was and soon found it was the hottest place she had ever been with daytime temperatures reaching 130 degrees. She moved into her luxurious “Tent City” accommodations and found that there was no running drinking water, just pallets of bottled water. They did have a “shower tent” but you could only run the water to get wet and then again to rinse off. The men to women ratio was 50:1. Here Carly was responsible for the Hazardous Waste Material Yard and became a proficient forklift operator. Carly loved being around the planes. She recalls the time she Marshalled a C5 and an F16 to the runway. The F16 pilot asked her what music she liked, and Carly said she liked anything. After the pilot boarded the plane, she heard the song Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down coming through her headphones from the cockpit and she said “that was so cool!” During her time at Al Udeed the US forces captured Sadaam Hussein. The plane he was on briefly landed at her base. After 6 months it was time for her to head home and after missing Thanksgiving, her 29th birthday, Christmas and New Year’s, she made it home for her children’s birthdays.
After 10 years Carly decided not to extend her time and was discharged on 9/15/2004. I asked Carly for some memorable moments of her time in the service. She was the only female to be licensed to drive the heaviest equipment, she received a Marksmanship Ribbon for her proficiency with her rifle and she “got to drive a deuce and a half!” That is a 2 ½ ton 6x6 transport vehicle that can carry troops or cargo.
“I would go back and serve again if I could.”
Thank you, Carly, for leaving your infant children for 6 months and serving your country in a war zone.
After high school Carly decided to enlist. She was motivated by both of her grandfathers who served in WW II. Carly took her first plane flight to Lackland Air force Base in San Antonio, TX to attend Basic Training. After 8 weeks of Basic, Carly was sent technical training at Medina AFB where she received training in supply chain management and logistics. From there she was sent on to Altus AFB in Oklahoma. In Altus Carly worked on the flight line out of hanger 285. There she was responsible for keeping the aircraft mission ready. Her unit handled the “heavy” aircraft including, C17’s (cargo plane), C141’s (bigger cargo plane) and C135’s (refuelers). She would often have to call the “Boneyard” to cannibalize parts from non-operational aircraft parked in the desert. While she was in Oklahoma, the Oklahoma City bombing took place and resulted in much higher security on the base. In 1999 Carly was married.
After 4 years in Oklahoma, Carly applied to Logistics Readiness Squadron (LRS) which was brand new group at the time. She was selected and transferred to Hickam AFB in Hawaii. LRS was responsible for procuring mission readiness parts for a number of bases under their command. In Hawaii Carly had a son and a daughter. On 9/11/2001 Carly and her husband and her 6-month-old son were flying home to tell her parents that she was pregnant. But the 9/11 planes attacked the US that day and her flight was diverted to California where she was stuck for 5 days. One of the most memorable things Carly saw in Hawaii was the aircraft carriers come into port with the sailors lining the deck in their dress whites.
After 4 years in Hawaii, they transferred back to the continental US and ended up at the Mountain Home AFB, in Mountain Home, ID. This was an Air Combat Command, 366th flight Wing. There Carly worked on the flight line handling the logistics and supply chain for War Readiness Parts (WRP) for F16’s and F-17’s. One month into her tour at Mountain Home, she was told she would be deploying to Qatar and have to leave two infant children behind.
I asked if she was worried. “Of course!!”
When she landed in Qatar and arrived at Al Udeed she was amazed at how much sand there was and soon found it was the hottest place she had ever been with daytime temperatures reaching 130 degrees. She moved into her luxurious “Tent City” accommodations and found that there was no running drinking water, just pallets of bottled water. They did have a “shower tent” but you could only run the water to get wet and then again to rinse off. The men to women ratio was 50:1. Here Carly was responsible for the Hazardous Waste Material Yard and became a proficient forklift operator. Carly loved being around the planes. She recalls the time she Marshalled a C5 and an F16 to the runway. The F16 pilot asked her what music she liked, and Carly said she liked anything. After the pilot boarded the plane, she heard the song Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down coming through her headphones from the cockpit and she said “that was so cool!” During her time at Al Udeed the US forces captured Sadaam Hussein. The plane he was on briefly landed at her base. After 6 months it was time for her to head home and after missing Thanksgiving, her 29th birthday, Christmas and New Year’s, she made it home for her children’s birthdays.
After 10 years Carly decided not to extend her time and was discharged on 9/15/2004. I asked Carly for some memorable moments of her time in the service. She was the only female to be licensed to drive the heaviest equipment, she received a Marksmanship Ribbon for her proficiency with her rifle and she “got to drive a deuce and a half!” That is a 2 ½ ton 6x6 transport vehicle that can carry troops or cargo.
“I would go back and serve again if I could.”
Thank you, Carly, for leaving your infant children for 6 months and serving your country in a war zone.