Turning 21 in Kandahar

By Sgt. Uriah WalkerFebruary 23, 2013

Turning 21 in Kandahar
1 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Danny Hansbrough, a Department of Defense contractor, spends the day with his son, Army Spc. Josh Hansbrough, assigned to 5th Squadron, 7th U.S. Cavalry Regiment, 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Feb. 21, in Kandahar Airfield, Af... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Turning 21 in Kandahar
2 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Danny Hansbrough, a Department of Defense contractor, spends the day with his son, Army Spc. Josh Hansbrough, assigned to 5th Squadron, 7th U.S. Cavalry Regiment, 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Feb. 21, in Kandahar Airfield, Af... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Turning 21 in Kandahar
3 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Danny Hansbrough, a Department of Defense contractor, spends the day with his son, Army Spc. Josh Hansbrough, assigned to 5th Squadron, 7th U.S. Cavalry Regiment, 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Feb. 21, in Kandahar Airfield, Af... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - The overcast skies, mud and threat of rain could not keep the smiles from the faces of Army Specialist Josh Hansbrough and his father Danny Hansbrough, Feb. 21, in Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan.

Deployed service members celebrate birthdays here every day. Most are uneventful with no special parties or celebrations and simply pass by as another day towards the end of deployment. However, Spc. Hansbrough's 21st birthday was made special through the efforts of many and a little luck.

"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity," said Mr. Hansbrough.

Mr. Hansbrough is a Department of Defense contractor with a Tampa, Fla. based communications firm. As the company's corporate security manager, he travels to various military posts around the world performing checks on the company's systems in use by the DoD.

"My visit to KAF kept getting pushed back," he said. "This trip just so happened to line up with Josh's birthday and his command let him come here to celebrate with me."

When Spc. Hansbrough's friends found out that his dad may be traveling to Afghanistan during his birthday they made their chain of command aware of the opportunity. Once dates had been verified his command arranged for him to travel from Forward Operating Base Smart to KAF so he could celebrate with his father.

Hansbrough, a cavalry scout assigned to Apache Troop, 5th Squadron, 7th U.S. Cavalry Regiment, 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, broke family tradition when he joined the army in 2009. His father, uncle and grandfather all served in the Air Force.

"I was actually signed up to go into the Air Force," said Hansbrough. "They kept telling me they didn't have a job for me. So, after six months I went to a job fair and talked to the Army recruiter. I had a job the same day."

"I originally wanted to be infantry. Then the recruiter showed me a couple of videos, one of which was for cav (cavalry) scout, and after seeing it I said, 'That's what I want to do,'" he continued

Although he strayed from the Air Force tradition, his father said he couldn't be more proud of his son's decision to serve.

Hansbrough said friends back home are already planning a welcome home party for him, but for now being able to spend time with his dad while deployed is more than he could have hoped for.