Liberty Spotlight: Key Spouse Debbi Bragg Published Jan. 20, 2015 By 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England -- Name: Debbi Bragg Name of Spouse: (Ret.) Senior Master Sgt. Wesley Bragg Spouse's Unit: 48th Communications Squadron Spouse's Time in Service: 28 years active duty, 5 years civil service Time at RAF Lakenheath: 8 years, 7 months Hometown: Brunswick, Ga. Hobbies: Sewing, quilting, reading and baking Core Value Portrayed: Service Before Self How does the individual portray this core value? Debbi Bragg was submitted for a Liberty Spotlight by Maj. Ciro De La Vega, 48th Communications Squadron commander. According to De La Vega, Bragg is a key spouse for the 48th CS who goes above and beyond for deployed families. She does it all: drives spouses to medical appointments, helps pick up groceries, checks mail and visits the Exchange for necessities. Additionally, she helps with the collection and mailing of deployed members' morale boxes, bakes and cooks food for various meals and assisted with the 48th CS Immersion briefing. Bragg helped raise $338 for the booster club and volunteers at the Treasure Trove thrift shop helping to earn funds for local U.K. charities. She is truly a significant asset for the 48th CS, and we are grateful for her dedication. How do you support the mission of the 48th Fighter Wing? I've been a 48th CS key spouse for about five years now. We help spouses and their families that are left behind when their military member deploys. I also volunteer at the Treasure Trove thrift shop to raise money for the Enlisted and Civilian Spouses' Club to give to local charities and deserving groups throughout the community both on and off base and at the Post Office package pick-up window. What is your favorite part of being a military/civil service spouse? Meeting new people in new places! We've been fortunate to live in a lot of overseas countries, and this makes the world a small place. I'm also a Marine Corp brat, and spent four years in the Air Force myself, so the military is in my blood. We were able to travel throughout our 28 years with the Air Force, and we are continuing this as we start our civil service career. What inspires you to do everything you do? The end result is the satisfaction of knowing you helped make someone's life a little easier. I had one spouse who was receiving collection calls all the time. She talked to the collection agency and was convinced she owed no money, even contacting the college who said she was right. She was getting very stressed after a few weeks. So, I took her to the Airman and Family Readiness Center and within an hour we got it straightened out and there weren't any more phone calls! I had another spouse who didn't drive and lived 15 minutes outside of base. I would pick her up once a week to check mail and do necessary shopping. Since she didn't drive, she hadn't been sightseeing, so we went on excursions to see the local area, sometimes with other key and deployed spouses. Another spouse had a difficult pregnancy, requiring emergency room visits and appointments at Addenbrooks in Cambridge. Sometimes she just needed a hand to hold or company at the appointments. Her mother appreciated me being there for her. What advice can you give other military/ civil service spouses? Get out and about! Go see the local sights, take trips, join groups and volunteer. If you don't want or can't have a job, do what you can and volunteer. The experience is priceless and will never be forgotten. What has been your favorite place to travel in England/Europe, or where would you like to travel? I have lived all over and visited many countries and cities, but I loved Krakow and Auschwitz in Poland.