JOINT-BASE SAN ANTONIO-Randolph, Texas – During a Habitat for Humanity volunteer project, a teenager from a small town in Oklahoma held up a fitted sheet and asked another volunteer what it was for.
Maj. Logan Draves, instructor pilot assigned to the 5th Flying Training Squadron, Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma, witnessed the exchange and was both surprised by the question and heartbroken when he learned that not only had the child never seen a fitted sheet, he’d never had a bed of his own.
Heartbreak and happiness are tightly interwoven emotions for Draves who serves on the the Enid, Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity board. But he doesn’t let the sorrow paralyze him - as a proactive planner, he focuses systematically on how best to meet as many needs as possible despite cripplingly limited resources.
He may have inherited a tendency toward intentional focus and systematic planning from his parents - who once spent an entire year building a village - but his insatiable need to help others has only grown through a lifetime of practicing good Samaritan values.
Commissioned through the Air Force Academy in 2005, the Colorado native completed the 52-week undergraduate pilot training at Vance, and C-130 track specialized undergrad pilot training at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas, after which he was offered the C-12J, instead.
As an active duty aviator (flying the C-12J and C-17A), Draves’ life was busy - often hectic - and deployments were the norm. While that’s not uncommon, particularly for aviators, that operations tempo was proving difficult for Draves, his wife and their five kids.
Recalling those years, he said “My active duty career was incredible, but I needed to slow down, needed to be able to spend more time with my family, and that wasn’t possible with the mission at the time.”
Graves wanted a position in Colorado Springs - home - but his commander believed it would be better for his career to accept a slightly more impactful assignment like undergraduate pilot training.
“We immediately loved it here. The teaching and flying, the family time and flexibility - it was exactly what we needed and more. The only thing missing were my mountains and snow,” he said. “We saw a community where a Habitat affiliate is fairly active, but when my parents came through in their RV and wanted to work, we had a challenge connecting with Habitat.”
“My parents are very inspirational to me,” Draves said. “After Hurricane Katrina, they saw the devastation and the great need and they saw an opportunity to put their skills to work. They are now a part of the “Care-A-Van” program and they travel around the country, wherever there’s a need, and build Habitat for Humanity houses.”
Before moving to Enid, the Draves were involved with Habitat for Humanity, building houses alongside his parents on build sites near his assignments.
“Some people don’t really understand what Habitat is about, or who the partner families are,” Draves said. “So many of the partner families are everyday people who just need a hand up. They work hard and they want a better life for themselves and their kids, but because they make so little, they’ll never be able to afford a typical mortgage. A Habitat home mortgage could run 250 to 500 dollars a month, rather than a thousand or more, and that’s doable.”
And, the organization doesn’t just give away houses, he explained.
To apply for a home, applicants must first do 15 hours of volunteer work for Habitat. Applicants selected for a home must also work at least 350 hours on their project, and when their home is finished, they make monthly (no-interest) mortgage payments to Habitat.
“Habitat offers people a hand up, a way to improve their lives and their kids’ lives,” Draves said.
Excited about volunteering with the Enid Habitat, the Draves were surprised that it proved to be far from the easy process they expected.
“We couldn’t find it. We couldn’t find a building, and couldn’t find anyone to talk to. We found a phone number but nobody answered. We left messages but didn’t get return calls. It was odd because we knew it existed - it was the first Habitat in Oklahoma - but obviously, they were experiencing some challenges,” Draves said.
However, within three years, “business” was booming. Habitat volunteers were coming in droves - university students, Vance AFB student pilots, moms and dads, local church members, high school students, realtors and those around the real estate business, roofers and local construction companies, electricians and oil industry workers all came together to help build homes. In addition to new builds, the organization was accepting requests for critical home repairs and accepting donations from the community and local businesses.
“It wasn’t about us,” said Draves. “People really want to help each other and we - Habitat - helped provide a way for them to do that. It was a team effort from every Habitat board member and volunteer that paid off.”
The opportunity to help people to achieve their dreams, to connect people who want to help with people who need help is its own reward, but the joy he experienced was bittersweet for the major, who understood that he would not be able stay at Vance as an active duty Airman.
Fate took a hand when a Reserve instructor pilot who flew with his active duty unit told him about a an open Reserve position in the 5th FTS.
“I only applied to that specific position and by the grace of God was given the opportunity to continue working here in a similar capacity,” he said.
He was hired for the opening and now, as an Air Force Reserve instructor pilot, he is able to serve and teach future aviators to fly, while enjoying the flexibility inherent in Reserve service.
“This community is important to us,” Draves explained. “We aren’t leaving in two or three years for our next assignment - this is our home. The attitude at the 5th is very supportive of community activities like this - I have the flexibility to volunteer and work Habitat projects, when the mission allows, and many of our members and students volunteer too. We’re a family, here.”
Today, Draves and his wife (and their kids) work together on Habitat projects, dreaming of a day when all Enid families have a place to call their own, where their kids get to sleep in their own beds, complete with fitted sheets.