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CNN LIVE AT DAYBREAK
Married in Uniform and Stationed Overseas
Aired January 6, 2003 - 05:41 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
UNIDENTIFIED CNN CNN ANCHOR: There's about 4,000 U.S. troops stationed in the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Among those Americans, Christopher and Heather Otis, a married couple and members of the U.S. Air Force.
JOHN: And CNN's Alex Quade tells us how they actually manage to work together.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEX QUADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Meet Airman Otis and Airman Otis, they're married and in the U.S. Air Force. What's unusual, they're deployed together and work together, something virtually unheard of in the military.
AIRMAN CHRISTOPHER OTIS, KC-10 CREW CHIEF, USAF: We are crew chiefs on the C-10 and we have to do the inspection, make sure everything is working right.
AIRMAN HEATHER OTIS, KC-10 CREW CHIEF, USAF: Make sure the oxygen masks are good so that the pilots can breathe, make sure the seats are good, make sure the emergency equipment is good.
QUADE: Christopher and Heather met during training.
H. OTIS: He walked in, I thought he was like really old. And then we became friends.
QUADE (on camera): The Air Force does not guarantee that it will keep married couples together, stationed together or deployed together. But in the case of the Otis' chances are good because they do the same job and they could be assigned to the same unit.
(voice-over): What do their colleagues think?
H. OTIS: They're pretty supportive of it as long as you're not like, you know, here fraternizing or something.
QUADE: Which means they must keep their military bearing, no public displays of affection. And no, they don't share a tent. Per Air Force policy, she's with the women, he's with the men, and they're usually assigned two different shifts.
H. OTIS: Hopefully we'll get to be together...
C. OTIS: Yes. H. OTIS: ... like all the time you know. I mean every time it'd be nice but...
C. OTIS: We don't know yet.
H. OTIS: I feel pretty lucky right now.
QUADE: With the U.S. troops at Al Udeid Air Base, Alex Quade, CNN, Qatar.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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