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Dan Holdridge is at Balad Air Base Newark native Dan Holdridge, Master Sergeant USAF, is stationed in Iraq. He joined the military in 1983 (after graduating from Newark High School in 1982) and has been in the Air Force for 23 years. He joined the military as an Explosives Ordinance Disposal Specialist, and worked as carpenter, welder, sheet metal, lock smith and masonry. Today, his career is defined as a Structural Specialist. His first tour of duty was at Chanute AFB in Illinois from 1984-87. From there he went to Osan AB, Korea from 1987-88. After Korea he was stationed at McGuire AFB, New Jersey from 1988-98. In 1998 it was off to Ramstein AFB Germany for two years and back to Holloman AFB, New Mexico from 2001-04. Now he is stationed at Kadena AB, Okinawa Japan. He has served in Desert Shield, Desert Storm, and Operation Iraqi Freedom (2006). Holdridge is pictured in Iraq, with a gold-plated gun, which Saddam Hussein's son Uday used to give to war heroes, until the U.S. military confiscated the guns. He plans to retire no later than January 2008 and move to Florida or North Carolina. He has two daughters, Danielle, 13 and Summer, 12. Holdridge is the son of Marilyn Tome of Ruskin, Florida, and Stephen Holdridge of Wilmington, North Carolina, formerly of Newark. (Daniel Way, on the southwest side of Newark, was developed by Stephen Holdridge and named after his son.) News from Balad Air Base, Iraq This appeared in the 'Air Force Print News' earlier in October and was written by Staff. Sgt. Alice Moore, 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing. Operating a paint striper on the flightline at night where sight is limited or mixing concrete to pour into a box to hold wind cones may not seem to be the most glamorous job in the Air Force, but it can be gratifying. The 332nd Civil Engineer Squadron structures shop takes pride in making things happen through innovative ways. 'You sometimes run into a variety of challenges while you're at a deployed location that you don't face while you're at home,' said Master Sgt. Daniel Holdridge, structures noncommissioned officer in charge, deployed from Kadena Air Base, Japan. 'There are times when you lack certain materials and tools when you get assigned a job. We overcome this challenge by improvising with innovative ideas.' The structures team was put to the test when they had to install wind cones on the flightline. The cones enable pilots to see which direction the wind is blowing. 'Back at home station, we use concrete pads to hold the cones in place. We're able to do things this way because of concrete trucks,' Sergeant Holdridge said. 'Since we don't have access to concrete trucks here, we came up with the idea to pour concrete into 2 by 2 foot boxes and dig a hole in them to hold the cones in place.' Paint striping on the flightline is another challenge for the shop. Although the structures team members spend much time on projects that help aircraft take off and land safely, they've also been innovative in their projects that have improved the quality of life for Airmen deployed here. 'We recently constructed a stage for theater seating at the new recreation center,' said Tech. Sgt. John Lynn, structures craftsman also deployed from Hill AFB. 'Normally, to get this type of job done, you use 2-by-10 boards (inch) boards because the larger boards provide sturdier support. We only had access to 2-by-4 boards (inch). 'We overcame this challenge by prefabricating individual frames to be used to place the boards together to increase their strength and make them stronger to hold the seating stage.' And the job doesn't end there, Sergeant Holdridge said. 'We do everything from the simple to the complicated. We repair doors falling off hinges, replace locks on facilities, hang TVs in the fitness center and build speaker stands,' Holdridge said. 'We've also helped with securing the base by repairing the gates into the housing area and built walls within the fire department.'
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