Garrett K. Kuwada

Phil Weaver wishes there were more people like his friend and colleague Garrett Kuwada — people who donate their time to help others, spring into action without being asked and work diligently without seeking recognition.

"It’s always been an honor and a pleasure to work alongside Garrett," Weaver said. "I think I’ve been the beneficiary of our working relationship and friendship more than he has."

Weaver said he has worked with Kuwada at the Pacific Air Forces Air Postal Squadron based in Hawaii on and off over the past 10 years. The office is responsible for all Air Force postal operations throughout the Pacific Theater. Weaver said he nominated Kuwada, a 42-year-old Air Force senior master sergeant, for the Star-Advertiser’s Heroes Next Door honor "because he is an unsung hero in my eyes, he does a lot at work, (and) he does a lot in the community."

Kuwada, a Makakilo resident who works as a superintendent of postal operations, is vice president of Friends of the Hickam Airmen and Family Readiness Council, which helps raise money in support of military families. In addition, he has spent several hours over the past year volunteering for AccesSurf’s Wounded Warrior Program.

He said his father’s job with the Air Force moved the family to Germany during his freshman year at Radford High School, and he, too, has spent nearly his entire 22-year military career overseas. But Kuwada still considers Hawaii home, and he never lost his childhood passion for surfing.

Roughly a year ago, after returning from a 15-month deployment to Turkey, Kuwada was surfing at White Plains Beach when he saw AccesSurf volunteers helping people with disabilities learn how to surf. He asked the group what they were doing and thought it would be fun to get involved.

"I thought that was a great thing because I love to surf, and I figured other people would get the enjoyment out of surfing as well," he said.

AccesSurf also runs a free monthly Wounded Warrior program that uses specialized surfboards, stand-up paddleboards and flotation devices to help military personnel with disabilities enjoy the water.

"I thought that would be a great opportunity to get out and help the wounded warriors get out in the water as well and enjoy the same love for the water that I have," Kuwada said.

His favorite part of volunteering with AccesSurf is meeting people and seeing those he helped stand up on a surfboard and ride the wave, he said, because it creates a "sense of accomplishment for the individual and for you."

Before Kuwada left his wife and three sons in Hawaii in 2010 for a short assignment in Turkey, he said he was in charge of the Hickam Airmen and Family Readiness Council.

"Basically our job was to make sure that the families and single airmen were taken care of with any type of support that they need," he said. That includes hosting monthly dinners and programs for kids such as Operation Hele On, which is a day filled with mock deployment activities such as marching in formation and Explosive Ordnance Disposal demonstrations.

In Turkey, Kuwada ran his squadron’s Airmen and Family Readiness Council and won the Enlisted Manager of the Year award.

He has also found time over the years to coach his sons’ basketball, baseball and soccer teams, as well as intramural and base volleyball teams. His sons are now 14, 18 and 19 years old.

"He’s a guy that’s always willing to give his free time or his services to help others; that’s just the way he is," Weaver said. "I think he’s a great ambassador for the Air Force: the kind of people we need, that our country needs."