Virginia Wesleyan alumnus serves at military base in Turkey
Chris Whitener, who graduated from Virginia Wesleyan in 2003, currently works at a military base in Turkey.
He got the position as a result of events that happened while he was a student at the College. As a student, Whitener got the opportunity to be a guide for the Morale Welfare and Recreation at Dam Neck Naval Base as a Non-Appropriated Funds employee, which interested him because of his love of the outdoors. He was trained and as he gained experience, he moved up in the office.
Ultimately, however, the office was shut down, and they released all employees - with the exception of Whitener. He soon made a connection at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana.
During this time, Whitener married his wife, Jodi. Shortly thereafter, the couple moved to Montana, where he worked as a GS programmer - a job that would only last for two years. Whitener began sending out applications to other Air Force bases around the U.S., receiving offers from places such as Alaska, Washington, Arizona and Turkey. After considering each place, he decided on Turkey.
"Since my days as a born and educated Virginian, I have been given the opportunity to step outside the world I knew and have acquired an appreciation for cultural values as of then foreign to me," Whitener said, "From my place in the world today I can look back and see how the diversity VWC helped open my mind and release my expectations."
Whitener, who majored in history, has a wide variety of responsibilities and has had some memorable experiences while working at the base.
Upon his arrival, Whitener was given many responsibilities. He is the director of the Outdoor Recreation Facility and has two Turkish nationals working underneath him. His responsibilities include: the pool; an indoor storage unit; a mini golf course; a trap and skeet range; an outdoor pool with a waterslide; a paintball course; and the park where events such as festivals and concerts take place. He is also planning to develop a dune buggy course, batting cages, and two bark parks for community dogs. Whitener also designed and built a "bouldering wall" at the park, which is a short climbing wall that does not use any ropes. The wall focuses on problem solving and workouts instead of vertical climbs.
"My daily life as an US Air Force Outdoor Recreation Director requires me to blend the financial budgetary aspects of developing programs with that of the diverse customer needs of a community of service men and women in locations with varying natural resource attributes and local governmental challenges," he said. "I have certainly learned that the phrase Adapt and Overcome is not limited to those carrying weapons."
He also coordinates programs and trips each month including fishing boat trips, snorkeling trips, hiking trips, castle trips, and trips to various local areas and nearby cities, including Cappadocia, where the famous pod racing scenes from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace were shot.
He also oversees the entertainment aspect of the base, organizing for such guests as NFL cheerleaders, Miss USA winners, comedians and the country band Trick Pony.
Whitener and Jodi estimate that they will stay in Turkey for at least two more years. Then they plan to look into moving to another part of Europe to try something different.
Whitener has won numerous awards and honors for his services, including a five-star Outdoor Recreation Program in Air Force Award and the Best Outdoor Recreation Facility in the United States Air Force Europe for 2006.