Can the son of a hardworking Bajan family rise from being a cook, the lowest rung of the Umited States Armed forces ladder, to a full Colonel in the world’s most powerful Air Force?Just look at the career of Emerson Bascomb, a product of Roberts Land in St Michael who attended Barbados’ St Giles Boy’s School and Harrison College before immigrating to Massachusetts in the 1960s and it would become clear why the answer is an emphatic yes.For when Colonel Bascomb retired last May after 35 years and nine days in the Air Force he was the Chief, Director’s Action Group, a part of the staff of the Manpower and Personnel Directorate on the Joint Staff in the Pentagon in Washington. With a personal staff of 84, the 58-year old Bajan ended his career in charge of services in the entire Air Force.
Services profession
“The profession is services, because that’s what we do, the profession is service,” he explained. “I was in charge of all of the dining facilities, the restaurants, all of the hotels, the child development centres, the sports programmes, the golf courses, the swimming pools, the tennis courts, all of those things. “What we say in the services profession is, we take care of people from the cradle to the grave – from the newborn babies, the youth programmes and those for the parents as well as recreation. All of those things fell under me.”He summed up his rise through the ranks.“The values my parents taught me and my experiences in Barbados, especially the importance of a good education, the need to respect others, and the desire to function as a professional and to extend a helping hand to those with whom you come into contact, they all helped me during my career,” the retired Colonel explained. “Although I have lived in the United States much longer than in Barbados where I was born, the Bajan values have remained with me every step of the way,” he said.He retraced his steps, dating back to the days when his parents worked long hours at the Bell Plantation and factory in St Michael to raise their children. Of course, when he spoke about the classroom experiences in Barbados and in Massachusetts, the birthplace of his mother, Doris Bascomb, not to mention his days and nights working at a full time job and going to college after enlisting in the Air Force in May 1975, the details inspire admiration.That’s particularly true when he spoke of his time as a cook in the Air Force. There, he was carrying out onerous duties and studying at the University of Guam, which awarded him a Bachelor’s degree in political science. Next was a stint at an Air Force Officer’s Training School culminating in his commission as a Second Lieutenant on graduation in 1980. The rest, as they say, is history.
Well-educated
“As an enlisted man, I felt that I was being under-utilised and I realised that in order to be able to use my skills, knowledge, and other qualities, I had to become an officer,” he explained. “That’s when I went to the Officers Training School and decided to make it career. The Air Force has been very good to me. It allowed me to get the education I needed, to assume considerable responsibility, and to see the world.”Along the way, he earned a Master’s degree in human resources management from Central Michigan University and a Master’s in hotel management and food service management from Florida International University. Added to that was his military education and training at various armed forces universities and colleges.
World traveller
That extensive training put him in a good position to accomplish his various assignments and command positions at Air Force bases throughout the United States, in Europe – Germany, Turkey, Spain, the Netherlands – South Korea and in England. At one stage he was an assistant professor at the Air Force Institute of Technology in Ohio.Naturally, he was awarded an array of medals and decorations for his services. The father of three adult daughters – Patricia, Joi, and Lia – Bascomb is now in Hawaii with his wife, Diana Roberson.“I owe a lot to Barbados,” he said. He singled out Major Sam Headley, a teacher at Harrison College, and Bentley Hunt, a retired Barbadian Air Force Sergeant in the United States, as mentors.
