Germantown native helps found first VFW in Australia

- 11/11/2017

Germantown native Steven Sartain is one of the founding officers of the very first and only Veterans of Foreign Wars Posts in Australia. 


Mount Hawthorn Post 12163 was chartered on May 7 and made history as being the first VFW Post chapter created in Australia. As part of the VFW Department of Pacific Areas, the Post is able to provide support for all American Veterans and their families. 

Graduating from Germantown High School in 1992 and Auburn University in 1998, Sartain joined the U.S. Air Force in April 2001 and received his Officer Commission as a Second Lieutenant in September 2001. 

Major Sartain served a majority of his 14 year service flying as an Instructor on HC-130P Combat King Search and Rescue (CSAR) aircraft. 

He would serve on many deployments flying over 30 combat and combat support sorties in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa and numerous exercises/missions in the Middle East, Africa, Central & South America, Europe and Pacific theaters. 

In the U.S. Gulf Coast, Major Sartain flew numerous rescue missions supporting humanitarian efforts during the aftermaths of hurricanes Katrina, Rita, & Ike earning three Humanitarian Medals and contributing to over 1,100 rescues over the disaster-stricken cities of New Orleans, La. and Galveston, Texas. 

He also served as Airboss for Joint Task Force - Space Transportation System on 17 separate Space Shuttle missions for any possible NASA launch contingencies of Space Shuttles Atlantis, Discovery & Endeavour. In June 2011, Sartain changed duty station to the 713th Combat Operations Squadron at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii serving as Operations Officer. 

Originally from Germantown, he has currently been living in Western Australia since 2009 with his wife, Kym, and their two children, Joshua and Benjamin. 

When not working with veterans, Sartain spends his time serving as Chaplain for his Freemason Lodge Kilwinning 849SC, and continues to work in Rescue as the West Australian manager of the State's Emergency Rescue Helicopter Service. 

BARTLETT EXPRESS - Journal West Media p.17

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