Pulling Ahead
Then Tech. Sgt. Alfred Van Gieson, now Master Sgt., a reservist with the 735th Air Mobility Squadron, Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam, greets Kexton Cafa after arriving from work for a club party at the Leeward Kai Canoe Club at Kalaianaole Beach Park in Nanakuli, Oahu, Hawaii, Aug 13, 2016. Van Gieson, an Air Force reservist, is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, a world champion outrigger, or Va'a, paddler and the coach at the canoe club, which was founded by his grandparents, where he tries to be a positive influence in the lives of local kids who hang out at the beach like he did when he was their age. (U.S. Air Force photo by J.M. Eddins Jr.)