Photo By Diana Nesukh | Brandan and Amber Griffis met at a gas station at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska....... read more read more
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It was Brandan's third day at work as a firefighter stationed at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, when he and Amber stumbled into each other at a local gas station. Amber was stranded with a broken-down truck when she first saw Brandan. One cheesy line asking if they had met before later, and their love story was off to the races.
Since that fateful day at the gas station, the Griffises have created a full life together, and they credit it to their dedication to serving the civil engineer community.
Amber served in the Alaska Air National Guard as an administrator for commander support staff before separating as a senior airman in 2023. Today, she is the Civil Engineer Key Support Liaison at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, acting as the liaison between spouses and unit leadership.
“I absolutely love getting people resources and getting them connected,” Amber said. As the single line of communication between the key support spouses and unit commander, Amber ensures that key support spouses feel heard and seen. “She cares so much about people, so she goes out of her way to make them feel comfortable,” Brandan commented.
Most of the resources Amber provides revolve around reintegration from deployments. She also delivers resources to new parents on breastfeeding and formula, as well as education on burping, home safety, and swaddling.
Amber is also a full-time student at American Public University, pursuing a degree in Wildlife Management and Conservation with hopes of going into the National Park Service as an Ecologist.
Currently stationed at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Staff Sgt. Brandan Griffis is the Fire Department Crew Chief and has served in the Air Force for 11 years. “I have the best career field in CE,” Brandan said. “We respond to emergencies on and off base, everything from medical emergencies to house fires.”
With so much on their plates, the Griffises emphasize the importance of leaning on one another for support. “My job can be very stressful, so if I didn't have Amber, I wouldn’t be as good of a firefighter as I can be,” Brandan explained. “I make jokes that she's my CEO, my trainer, my boss, my everything.”
In addition to their careers and education, Brandan and Amber are parents to two children. Their marriage and parenthood have taught them the importance of patience and having a strong support system to lean on. One way they have been able to find support is through the civil engineer community on base.
“The civil engineer community puts on many events for families to take part in,” Amber explained. “These events allow stay-at-home spouses to talk to the commander and ask questions that their spouse might not be able to ask.” The community has helped bridge the divide between the military side and the civilian side. “Through the strong community on base, the spouses feel more involved in their military members’ lives,” Amber continued.
If they could go back to when they first met and give themselves advice, the Griffises would tell themselves to take advantage of every opportunity that is presented to them. “If you have a stable foundation at home, all the hard work is worth it,” Brandan said. “That’s how I feel every day coming home.”
| Date Taken: | 07.30.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 07.30.2024 13:17 |
| Story ID: | 477355 |
| Location: | MOUNTAIN HOME AIR FORCE BASE, IDAHO, US |
| Web Views: | 145 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Mission Ready, Family Steady: The Griffises, by Diana Nesukh, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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