VHHS teacher helps Air Force members, Afghan refugees

A Vestavia Hills High School teacher is playing a part in history, assisting Air Force members and Afghan refugees in western Germany.

Steve Brooks, a religious affairs airman from the Alabama Air National Guard and an engineering and architectural design teacher at VHHS, has spent time this summer at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, working as part of a chaplain corps from the 117th Air Refueling group in Birmingham. As part of the religious support team, Brooks he is there to monitor the spiritual, mental and emotional health of the soldiers performing missions, as well as interacting, as possible, with the thousands of refugees fleeing Afghanistan in the wake of the Taliban takeover of the nation.

Ramstein is the last stop for the refugees before they are sent to the United States, Brooks said, and so most of the refugees, who go through “several layers” of vetting, are happy and optimistic. Living on an Air Force base may not be ideal, but it’s better than what would have awaited them back home, he said.

“I’m just grateful for this opportunity,” Brooks said. “To see their (Air Force members) enthusiasm … they understand the significance of this. … I’ve been very encouraged.”

In early September, Brooks said the logistical issue was finding enough civilian aircraft to take all of the refugees to the U.S., and the plan was to leave at the end of the month.

“To hear some of their stories is pretty heart wrenching,” Brooks said.

The Afghans are “amazing people,” he said.

Brooks has been in and out of the 117th four times, he said, but each time, they’ve welcomed him back with open arms. He first joined in 1983 and has been sent to many different places in his time with the Air National Guard.

Brooks has been at VHHS for five years and uses his degree in landscape architecture to teach students.

“I absolutely love it,” Brooks said.

Some of his students have become really interested in what he does, and are supportive of him, despite the short, 24-hour notice he is given to leave Vestavia and deploy.

“They think it’s pretty neat,” Brooks said. “I hate leaving them like this.”

Nina Hall, Brooks’ substitute teacher, does a great job filling in for him, he said.

In Germany, despite the horrors of what’s happening in Afghanistan, the attitudes for many of the Afghan refugees and from the members of the Air Force have been good.

“Afghans are pretty chipper,” Brooks said. “They know they’re very close to leaving.”

The Afghan people are resilient, Brooks said, and know there is a lot of opportunity awaiting them in the United States.

“They’re people like we are,” Brooks said.

Many of them, he said, are still waiting to hear if their family members have gotten out of Afghanistan and are asking for help in making sure they have.

“They’re understandably concerned but also hopeful,” Brooks said.

Brooks said it’s been “impressive” how many of the young men and women at the base understand their role in these events, which have gripped the world since the Taliban first took over a few months ago.

“I’m encouraged by their attitudes,” Brooks said.

He tries to impress upon them the importance of recognizing how significant these days are.

“This is pretty cool to be a part of history,” Brooks said.