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Native Hawaiian spends 50 years in Federal service ... 'two years at a time'

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Carolyn Viss
  • 15th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii --  It was 1959. Gas was 25 cents per gallon. Hawaii became the 50th state in the Union. Unemployment rates eased to 5.5 percent. And Carol Kawai, at age 24, newlywed with two small children, took a job with the Joint Military Transportation Board at Fuchu Air Station, Japan.

Having just moved from her home land of Oahu with her husband, Enoch - then a soldier - Carol had no idea that an administrative position for the military would turn into a career that lasted 50 years ... and counting.

"My, my, my, Ms. Carol, what have you gotten yourself into?" asked Col. Jeff Morgan, facetiously, as he presided over a ceremony here Nov. 23 honoring her 50 years of service. He, like the other 18 bosses before him, felt the freedom to tease Ms. Carol; but those in attendance could tell that he reveres her like a mother.

"My youngest daughter's almost as old as he is," said the sharp-witted secretary, her eyes twinkling.

Pausing to compose herself, her voice cracked slightly while she thanked her friends, her family, and her Lord for her time in Federal service - so far.

She's not one to make a long speech in public, but if you ask Ms. Carol about her career she'll tell you stories of seeing President Gerald Ford, watching Hickam's gym become a staging area for Operations NEWLIFE and BABYLIFT, and transitioning from a manual typewriter to an electric one, to a computer - all while raising her three children, Enoch, Jr., Crystalann, and JoAnn, and her 13-year-old granddaughter, Paige Leilokelani.

"It was a busy time," Ms. Carol recounted. "I remember seeing the Shah of Iran fleeing, and coming through here; the Vietnamese refugees came through Wake Island; I even met the Emperor of Japan!"

At the time, her position was for the Deputy Commander of Operations. The title changed to the 15th Operations Group commander in 1992, and Ms. Carol was the continuity.

"I was kind of like the office mom or grandma to the executive officers who came through," she said, smiling because she's well aware she's the "go-to gal."

So far, she's out-served any active-duty member of the U.S. Air Force, and Ms. Carol isn't ready to stop. The building where she works, the 15th Airlift Wing headquarters building, was built and dedicated in 1935, "the same year I was born," she said.

"This isn't a retirement ceremony," Colonel Morgan reminded the crowd.

Although she was eligible to retire in 1990, Ms. Carol said the year she contemplated separating was the year her boss was moving on, too, and he begged her to stay to help his replacement, a friend of his whom he would not want to leave in any other secretary's care.

"I basically decided to stay for another two years," she remembered, "and then every two years after that I re-thought it. I've taken the last 19 years of my career decision two years at a time."

A hard worker by nature both at home and in the office, Ms. Carol credits God for her health, strength, and ability to continue.

"Every day, before work, I sit in my car and pause for a moment to pray," she said. "I ask for wisdom, compassion, and love; and I ask for his faith and strength to carry on."

It's her love of God and country that keeps her serving.

"I love the Air Force, and I love the flying community," Ms. Carol said. "They're just such special people. This mission and these people are very, very precious to me and I wouldn't do it for any other reason."

As for the future of her career, "ask me in two years," she said, with a smile.