Professor Ann Knabe serves desert duty
Released: December 22, 2005
Ann Knabe
Being deployed to southwest Asia to support Operation Iraqi Freedom would scare most people, but University of Wisconsin-Whitewater communication professor Ann Knabe is excited about the experience she will have this winter as a public affairs officer in the Air Force Reserve.
“I am really fortunate to have 120 days to experience the Arab culture and Air Force mission,” Knabe said.
Shortly after the new year, Knabe will leave her husband and two young daughters and depart for the desert to head up the public affairs team for the 379th Airlift Wing. She will be in charge of maintaining internal communication with the military personnel at the base, as well as guiding media to countries like Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Djibouti.
“Some of the flights could be quite dangerous, but that’s what we train for,” Knabe said.
Knabe looks forward to spending time in warm, “exotic” places while it is winter in Wisconsin. She also sees the mission as a learning experience. “As a communications scholar, I am fascinated by different cultures,” she said. “I think the experience will help diversify my perspectives in the classroom.”
Knabe specifically hopes to learn new media relations and crisis communication techniques to share with her students in May when she returns to UW-Whitewater to teach.
While she will miss her family, Knabe knows they are proud of her service in the Air Force. “Four months is really nothing compared to a year or two like some people have served overseas,” she said.- Cassandra Sura,suracc09@uww.edu
