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Senior Member Cindy Osuna welcomes two National Guardsmen from Washington state.
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Senior Member Cindy Osuna greets a married troop couple.
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Senior Member Cindy Osuna waits at Portsmouth International Airport in Pease, N.H., where she and other Pease Greeters gathered to welcome American troops back to the States and thank them for their service overseas.
Jennifer S. Kornegay
Contributing Writer
VERMONT -- “The hugs are the best,” Senior Member Cindy Osuna said as she tried to put into words the impetus that moved her to drive over 150 miles each way to wait, sometimes for hours, in an airport lobby just to say “welcome home” or “thank you” to service members on their way to or from deployment.
“Until you’ve been there, you can’t explain it,” said Osuna, a member of the Springfield Composite Squadron. “It’s a long trip, and it is tiring, but I try to fit it in because it is worth it.
“Once you go and see what an important role you play, you want to go every time you can make it.”
As part of a group known as the Pease Greeters, Osuna and her fellow greeters offer support to complete strangers at a critical time. “Especially for those that are leaving home, heading overseas, they get boosted morale,” she said. “They’re just stopping to refuel, and then they are greeted by all these cheering people. It touches them.”
Sometimes even the greeters don’t really know each other, but that all changes after a few moments together. “When I walk in I get an immediate response from other greeters, whether I know them or not,” Osuna said. “It’s like a family.”
Pease Greeters was started in 2005. The group consists of volunteer veterans and civilians who travel to Portsmouth International Airport in Pease, N.H., every time a plane carrying troops either leaves for deployment or returns home.
The greeters give the troops drinks, snacks and a heartfelt show of support. The group just recently celebrated greeting its 300th flight.
Osuna joined the Springfield squadron in 2009. Her reasons for joining Civil Air Patrol further illustrate her giving nature.
“I really have a lot on my plate,” she said. “I am the program associate for health services and counseling at Landmark College, and I’m also the commander of the Springfield Veterans of Foreign Wars as well as state director of VFW Youth Activities. I went to a CAP meeting to form a relationship between CAP and VFW.”
She got a little more than she bargained for — she got recruited.
“At that meeting they told me that they really needed a female senior officer so female cadets could attend encampments,” Osuna said. “I hated to think about a female cadet missing out because there weren’t enough senior female officers, so that’s the main reason I joined.
“When I was in the Air Force, there were fewer opportunities for women, so I know what it’s like. I wanted to do whatever I could to help other females get as much as they can out of organizations like CAP.”
Ozona’s squadron commander, Lt. Col. David Mikelson, is thrilled to have her. “We approached Cindy and said we needed a female senior officer; she said, ‘Sure,’” Mikelson said.
“It means so much to those girls who’ve been able to attend an encampment because of her. She’s also going to be our public affairs officer once she finishes the training. We see her as a real catch, a great addition.”
Osuna met her first flight with the Pease Greeters in January, joining 200 others to offer a pat on the back and words of encouragement to troops.
“There are no dues, no meetings, but once you’ve greeted one flight, you’re a part of the group,” she said. “I do it because I want our military men and women to know that there are people back home supporting them.”
The entire experience is rewarding for greeted and greeters alike, as Osuna explained. “It motivates them to know that we’re supportive, that we understand. They send us e-mails and tell us how we impact them,” she said. “And for the greeters, we get the camaraderie, the friendships.”
And the memories.
“Every time is different, and I remember each one,” Osuna said. “I remember this National Guardsman who gave me the patch off his shoulder to give to my granddad, who was 1st Calvary in World War II and the Korean War. Now my granddad has a 1st Calvary patch from Iraq.”
She’d like to get CAP cadets involved with the Pease Greeters, if she can work out the timing.
“The troops love seeing kids there, and I know the cadets would really get something out of it, too.”
