As part of the We Honor Veteran Program, our VNA and Hospice volunteer was able to interview Jefferey Curtis at his home.
On July 5, 1983, Jefferey, fresh out of high school, travelled from Maine to Lackland Air Force Base in Texas to begin basic training. His training included tech school and air base ground defense. On October 1, at age 18, he left that base and on October 31 went to Malmstrom AFB next to Great Falls, Montana, leaving on the exact day three years later as a Sergeant. While there, Curtis trained in security forces, missile field and base security. He was there from 1983-1986.
Sgt. Curtis spent a year in Turkey arriving at Pirinicillik AB, next to Iraq, in December, 1986. The days consisted of daily emergencies training, training foreign nationals, and air base security. Training the Kurds in Iraq proved to be a challenge as their view on life and death was quite relaxed. At the air base you train as a cop and a warfighter. Once a week he was allowed a “morale call” to his family back in Maine by sat phone.
While there he experienced the food and culture of Turkey: Chai so strong that if not accompanying food, could keep you jittery and awake for 24 hours. Mediterranean “pizza”, called lamaushun, which is a flatbread topped with minced meat, vegetables and herbs. The people don’t eat cows there, so when a menu said meat, other than lamb, you weren’t quite sure what you were getting. He also learned the language – zule zule means goodbye.
After that year was over Curtis went to Pease Air Force Base in New Hampshire from January, 1988 to the Summer of 1990.
From there he went to Mountain Home AFB south of Boise, Idaho. He finished his service on the morning of August 15, 1992, at 8:05 AM.
After his years of service in the Air Force he joined the National Guard and worked in Coburn Gore, Maine, the first port of entry from Canada east of New Hampshire. In that remote area he was part of the counter drug program.
In 1995 he started working for the border patrol in southern California and Arizona, then moved to Vermont to be part of Immigration and Naturalization Service where he performed removal ops where needed. He performed embassy relief to get Americans out of violent areas around the world, like Sierra Leone. When Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] was formed after 9/11, he used his skills to perform the same duties for that department.
In 2018, he retired from DHS and ICE.
He keeps in touch with friends from his days on different Air Force bases and his photos and mementos are tucked away in a box in a storage unit in Maine.
We thank him for his years of service in the Air Force and beyond, keeping the United States and its allies safe and protected.
