Reservist James Kyaw, UH staff member, gives William Fitzgibbon, College of Technology dean, a U.S. flag that was flown in honor of the college on a jet during combat missions in Iraq. Photo by Francis E. Alba

U.S. Air Force Reservist James Kyaw (’06) presented William Fitzgibbon, College of Technology dean, with a U.S. flag that was flown in honor of the college on an F-16 fighter jet during combat missions in Iraq.

One month into his employment at the college as user server specialist, Kyaw received a call from the Air Force Reserves to inform him that his unit will be heading to Iraq for a two-month deployment. During his combat missions in Iraq, the Air Force allowed him to fly two flags in honor of whomever he wished. On April 30, one flag was flown in honor of his family and the other in honor of the college.

“I decided to fly a flag in honor of the college because Dean Fitzgibbon, Associate Dean (Fred) Lewallen, my manager Mr. Tom Jones and my fellow coworkers were very supportive of my deployment,” said Kyaw. “Some reservists have to worry about keeping their civilian jobs when they are being deployed, but it was not an issue for me at the college because management at the college was fully aware of my reservist obligations when they hired me. The college showed true patriotism.”

Kyaw was deployed to Iraq with the 147 Fighter wing division based out of Ellington Field. In Iraq, he was assigned to the 332nd Air Expeditionary Force and was based north of Baghdad at Balad Air Base. As a senior airman, he was in charge of managing and providing the necessary supplies needed to fly the fighter jets into combat missions.

Francis E. Alba
fealba@central.uh.edu