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COITSVILLE -- Bob Davis may have spent a few decades in the military branch that usually entails a lot of time in the air, but, for most of his career, he was grounded and tasked with keeping things in balance.
"Bags would be loaded on a plane based on how I tell them to do it," Davis, 46, said, referring to his position as a load planner, which meant making sure the weight of cargo was evenly distributed and balanced on planes so their flights would be level.
That was one of many intricate aspects of the 21-year U.S. Air Force veteran's career, which began a few weeks after he graduated from Wilmington Area High School in Wilmington, Pa., in 1992.
"When I was 17 years old, I decided I was going to join the Air Force, and, after I graduated from high school, that's exactly what I did," Davis said.
His first step was basic training in July and August 1992 in San Antonio, then he attended a technology school in Wichita Falls, Texas, before traveling to an Air Force base in Mildenhall, England. There, Davis worked about two years in the office of special handling, where he dealt with hazardous materials, explosives, registered mail, packages and many other types of cargo.
The longtime Air Force veteran then spent December 1994 to December 1999 in Japan, where he started as a passenger-service agent and was to check passports and make sure passengers safely boarded planes, among other things. After that, his career shifted to cargo processing in which he processed baggage that was to be flown all over the world, explained Davis, who in 1996 also met his wife, Rie, in Japan.
"The Japanese were very receptive to me, even though I was a foreigner," he fondly recalled. "I loved the people there."
Davis also was on the front lines during two of the country's major disasters: the 7.1-magnitude Kobe earthquake that struck on Jan. 17, 1995, and killed an estimated 6,400 people, and the March 11, 2011, tsunami that resulted from the 9.0-magnitude temblor off the coast of Tohoku, which claimed nearly 16,000 lives.
In the aftermath of the 1995 quake, he was part of a two-week humanitarian operation in which blankets, pillows and water were distributed. Davis sometimes worked 18-hour days, he recalled. He also received one of his humanitarian awards for those efforts.
Davis was working in the office of combat readiness when the tsunami hit, after which he sent six of his troops to help clean up the flooded airport and perform search-and-recovery efforts, he continued.
For three years beginning in January 2000, Davis was stationed at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, Calif. His primary duty was in ramp services, meaning he loaded cargo on 747s and other commercial planes as well as military aircraft, he noted.
Upon returning to Japan in early 2003, Davis worked about 18 months in an air terminal operations center office, where his detailed obligations expanded considerably. His main duty in the operations center, which he referred to as a "giant dispatcher," was to coordinate a variety of agencies, including ramp-passenger, fleet and fuel services "to be sure all goes as smoothly as possible and that the plane leaves on time," he explained.
Everything had to run like a well-oiled machine in a relatively short time, even while dealing with large aircraft, Davis said.
"One slip can be disastrous."
Davis's own travels, however, were far from grounded. He also went to Lajes Field Azores, a Portuguese air base that shares a runway with a civilian airport on the small island of Terceira, which is part of an archipelago in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
While at the base, which Davis called "a big gas station" because it also served as a fuel stop for military planes, he performed everything from dealing with cargo and mail to performing military exercises and operations center duties. In addition, Davis served a four-month tour of duty in Afghanistan mainly handling cargo, he said.
Perhaps the career military man's most poignant duty was "special cargo," such as bringing home prisoners of war and the bodies of those who died in combat, recalled Davis, who also taught classes on vehicle training, weight and balance, and joint inspections.
"My job was also to make sure everyone came home," he said.
After he returned home, Davis worked in a warehouse and has been a truck driver for about six years, which relates closely to many of his military duties. He works full time for Ben Weitsman of New Castle in New Castle, Pa.
If he had the chance to re-enlist and again serve the nation, Davis wouldn't hesitate, he said.
"I miss it greatly every day. I used to say, 'I bled Air Force blue' because I truly did love my service and my country that much," he added. "That job was my life."
Bob Davis
AGE: 46
RESIDENCE: Coitsville
SERVICE BRANCH: U.S. Air Force
MILITARY HONORS: Two humanitarian medals, an achievement medal and one for the global war on terrorism
OCCUPATION: Truck driver for Ben Weitsman of New Castle in New Castle, Pa.
FAMILY: Wife, Rie; and son, Robert