Westover Airmen teach Afghans at Bagram Published June 1, 2009 By Senior Master Sgt. Sandi Michon 439th AW Public Affairs WESTOVER AIR RESERVE BASE, Mass. - -- Twenty-five 439th Airlift Wing civil engineers deployed to Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan in early March to support a U.S. Army tasking - leaving their civilian jobs thousands of miles behind, and reaching out to train the Afghani people. Westover's capable craftsmen and women, who joined the 755th Expeditionary Civil Engineering Squadron, are already on the recognition radar. Lt. Gen Charles E. Stenner, chief of the Air Force Reserve, presented Senior Airman Andrew Bergeron a coin to praise his creation and implementation of a syllabus to teach English to Afghan nationals. Airman Bergeron is a utilities journeyman with the 439th Civil Engineering Squadron at Westover. Unlike many deployments "inside the wire" that offer little interaction with the local community, leadership selected a group of Westover non-commissioned officers, with Dobbins Air Reserve Base (Ga.,) personnel, for additional duty to support the Training Afghan Craftsman (TAC) program which trains local nationals on military installation projects. The 755th ECES teaches Afghan students within a focused area of study, particularly: structures, electrical, heavy equipment, utilities, heating, ventilating, and air conditioning and engineering. They provide verification of skills, allowing career growth opportunities. Ancillary training in basic subjects such as functional English, math, computer skills, and mechanical understanding are offered when necessary.