Photo By Tech. Sgt. Nathan Allen | U.S Air Force Staff Sgt. Andre Garrucho, C-130 Hercules flight engineer, 36th Airlift...... read more read more
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CLARK AIR BASE, Philippines - C-130 Hercules Flight Engineer Andre Garrucho has a knack for surprising people.
His ebony black hair is laced with but few traces of gray, despite a nearly 12-year career ensuring C-130s take off, land, and fly safely. Now nearly 40 years old, Garrucho’s jovial nature and youthful complexion might mislead one to thinking he is 10 years younger.
“I look so young, people would think I don’t have the maturity to be a flight engineer. Whoever doesn’t know my background…how many kids I’ve raised, would definitely be surprised at what I’m capable of doing.”
Also surprising are the circumstances of Garrucho’s job. He sits in the center of the flight deck, elevated above all others, despite his certainty that he will always be outranked by the pilots and navigators with whom he shares the aircraft’s metallic perch.
“I need to see what’s going on everywhere…how the pilots are performing and have a feel for the flight. If something goes wrong, an engine shuts down, we strike a bird, etc., you will definitely feel something. Sitting in that chair, I like to think of myself as [Star Trek’s] Captain Kirk.”
The truth is, it was no accident Garrucho was hand-selected to make the relatively short flight to the Philippines from his home unit, the 36th Airlift Squadron at Yokota Air Base, Japan. It’s fair to say that his selection was made based on his unique skillset, not only inside the cylindrical metal walls of the aircraft, but outside of it.
Garrucho is a Filipino-American. He is from Manila, the country’s capital. He speaks fluent Tagalog and English, two of the most widespread languages in the Philippines. He married his high-school sweetheart and has four children ranging in age from 16 to 21. His oldest son, also an American Airman, works on avionics for the F-15 Strike Eagle. His oldest daughter attends college in the Philippines, his second daughter lives with him at his home in Yokota Air Base, Japan and attends high school there. His youngest daughter was unable to travel with him to Yokota due to being diagnosed with Turner’s syndrome - a chromosomal condition that affects development in females. She lives in the Philippines with his parents where she can receive treatment.
That is why, in contrast to most who traveled to the Philippines for Exercise Balikatan 2015, it was a homecoming for Garrucho.
“I’ve gotten to see my mom and kids a lot, and my other family members have come to visit me while I’m here. It’s such a great opportunity to see family who have driven to see me from my hometown two-and-a-half hours north of here. Since I’m here, I’m in a position where I can clear up any misunderstandings between the two forces during Balikatan…I can relate to them both.”
Balikatan is an annual bilateral exercise between the U.S. military and the Armed Forces of the Philippines in which the two forces team up to share best practices, strengthen relationships, and reinforce cooperation in the spirit of the Filipino term “Balikatan” - the “shoulder-to-shoulder” mentality for which the exercise is named.
“I’ve talked to pilots in the Philippine Air Force since I’ve been here…they were wondering how I got into the [U.S.] Air Force. Now that I’m back, I get to show them what we’re capable of doing. We can learn from them side-by-side and help them learn what they can do with the things they have.”
Garrucho is what Balikatan is all about. The idea that one person can step into a situation requiring bilateral organized military effort and work seamlessly with their partners, American or Filipino. Garrucho just happens to be both.
For now, Garrucho sits alone perched on his metal throne. The harsh noonday sun shines through the flight deck windows, enveloping Garrucho’s silhouette in a blinding halo. Undeterred, Garrucho continues to go through his pre-flight checklist, ensuring that Balikatan and his aircraft’s role in it continue – undeterred toward success. As he calculates engine performance data and inscribes landing and takeoff distances, an American flag sits comfortably alongside a Filipino flag on the left shoulder of his flight suit. He is precisely the kind of service member that Balikatan is meant to create – one who can operate in both worlds concurrently and is predisposed to professionalism, diplomacy, and amicability.
This amicability was on display a half-hour earlier as Garrucho relaxed in the shade under a sparsely leafed tree on the outskirts of the tarmac here, postponing entering the heat of an unpowered C-130 until the last possible moment. This time was not wasted, however, as he took care to gift a warm, enthusiastic wave to passing helicopters, colleagues, and even strangers, all of whom were sharing in the Balikatan experience.
And for anyone who has spent any amount of time with Garrucho, his pleasant nature comes as no surprise at all.
| Date Taken: | 04.29.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 04.29.2015 02:39 |
| Story ID: | 161624 |
| Location: | CLARK AIR BASE, PH |
| Hometown: | MANILA, PH |
| Web Views: | 513 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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