Rieke answered

call to war

9-11 brought

delays in Air

Force discharge

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

GIBBON -- Fairfax native Roberta Rieke was about to retire from the U.S. Air Force when terrorists hijacked two American jetliners and flew them into the World Trade Center towers a year ago today.

Those barbaric acts set off a chain of events that struck home in the rural communities of Fairfax and Gibbon, where her relatives now live.

A Master Sergeant (E-7) specializing in supply in the regular Air Force, Rieke was called into action somewhere in the Middle East. Aircraft and motor vehicle parts were critical to an air base of tents and metal buildings being constructed from the ground up.

The call to war wasn't easy for Rieke. She was separated from her teenage daughter and the rest of her family for months. Online computers were their saving grace. Roberta's mother Barb e-mailed her every night.

Rieke couldn't say exactly where she served in the Middle East due to security reasons. She admitted her workdays were sometimes 14-16 hours long. A typical workday was from 6:30 a.m. to 7 or 8 p.m.

Still, she enjoyed being part of the Operation Enduring Freedom.

"I felt like I was an important part of something good," Rieke said.

Her Air Force active duty career lasted 20 years, one month and 15 days and ended earlier this summer. She plans to serve another 10 years in the Inactive Reserve.

Rieke's military career enabled her to travel far and wide. After basic training in San Antonio, Texas, she served at Vandenberg and Castle AFB in Calif.; Grand Forks, N.D.; Suwon, South Korea, Patrick AFB near Cape Kennedy, Fla.; Brindisi, Italy; Mildenhall, England; and Woomera in the Australian outback before she was shipped to the Middle East.

She was part of the Hurricane Andrew relief effort, helping set up tents and issuing supplies at Patrick AFB in Florida.

Australia was her favorite place by far.

"I loved it there in the middle of the outback -- the culture and the people were so laid back. Life was slower. It was beautiful country," Rieke said. "Kind of like the movie 'Mad Max.'

Rieke was a Quality Assurance inspector and taught Total Quality Management to military personnel in Australia. She earned an associate degree in business management.

Off base, she directed an amateur theater group, was part of a dance group and often was the mistress of ceremonies at public events.

Corynne, Roberta's 15-year-old daughter, echoes her sentiments for Australia.

Now living in Gibbon, Rieke and her daughter plan to be home with the family for the holidays, something new for them all.