Then & now

Airman, Feb, 2005 by Louis A. Arana-Barradas

As a young troop, Senior Master Sgt. John Eklof worked with combat controllers. But the aerospace physiology troop's dream was not just to help the controllers during high altitude jumps.

"I wanted to jump with them, not stay on the ground," he said. He got his wish. Given the chance in 1985, he joined the elite brotherhood of combat controllers.

In January 1990, Airman magazine featured Sergeant Eklof and fellow controllers at work moving to a drop zone near Howard Air Force Base, Panama. Up to his chin in the Panama Bay, he was in his element. Some 15 years later, he has no regrets about the dangerous career he chose.

"I confess--I Jove my job," said Sergeant Eklof, now the senior enlisted manager for the 22nd Special Tactics Squadron, McChord Air Force Base, Wash.

That feeling hasn't wavered since he first put on the red beret of his profession. Since then, he's been in every U.S. military operation since Just Cause, except Bosnia. He's plied his trade in Central and South America, Asia and the Middle East, and fought drug cartels, the Taliban, al-Qaida and terrorists. Though he was often in danger, he wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

"I've been lucky enough to participate in some good missions. And I've made good friends all over the world."

After 27 years in the Air Force, Sergeant Eklof will retire this summer. The highlight of his career came during his second tour of duty in northern Iraq. After a long struggle, he streamed into a free Kirkuk with his triumphant Kurdish allies. There was much jubilation. "Several of the Kurdish militia were so overcome with emotion that they cried. They had not been allowed to enter Kirkuk until that day," he said. The city is vital to the Kurds and a source of national identity. "They were thankful we'd helped liberate it."

Sergeant Eklof misses the action. Still trim and fit, he's again ready to parachute into harm's way. But it's back home where he can pass on his knowledge and experiences to a new generation of combat controllers. It's a key job, and he knows it.