Stories

Forty-two-year-old Ugur Sazil arrives at work every morning at 5:30 a.m. eager for the day ahead. Mr. Sazil works at the Sultan Inn, the main dining facility (DFAC) on Incirlik Air Base in Türkiye, where he has worked for most of the last 19 years.  

“I still have 18 more years to work before retirement, and I plan to spend those years at Sultan Inn,” said Sazil, the shift leader who oversees morning operations. “I enjoy providing great service to the American military. I like to help the airmen and soldiers feel happy and well-fed while they are away from their families.” 

He was not surprised the Sultan Inn was selected for the Air Force’s highest dining award, the John L. Hennessy Trophy Award. “Our employees are thrilled and proud. Hennessy is a big award, and it gives us motivation to do great things.”  

Patrick Guthrie, the dining facility manager, was not surprised either.  

“The Sultan Inn has a great reputation among U.S. Air Force Dining Facility/Cafeterias (DFAC) and has earned the Hennessy Award twice in the past – in 2010 and 2012.” said Guthrie. “But this year was an exceptional achievement because of the immense tragedy our team overcame while earning this award.”  

On February 6, 2023, a series of major earthquakes hit Türkiye and Syria causing widespread devastation, killing thousands, and turning buildings into rubble. Most of the Sultan Inn’s 71 employees live in the village of Incirlik or the nearby city of Adana.  

The first earthquake, 7.8 magnitude, struck around 4:15 a.m. People woke in absolute terror and struggled to protect each other. A second devastating quake of 7.7 magnitude struck at 1:24 p.m. while lunch service was in progress, and aftershocks have become a daily routine. While the worst hit regions were east and northeast of the Incirlik area, several high-rise buildings in Adana were reduced to ruins. Many KBR employees lost family members, friends, or their homes in the disaster. KBR was devastated learning about the loss of one of its own, an employee who served as an Incirlik Air Base firefighter. 

Rebecca Wardell is KBR’s human resources manager for the base operations contract that covers Türkiye and Spain and has lived in Türkiye for 12 years. She, like many others lucky enough to survive the earthquake with their properties intact, offered up her home to fellow employees who needed a place to stay.  

“I feel like others did more than I did,” said Wardell. “Some personnel, like Arlene George, purchased tents to provide shelter to those not able to return to their homes. Even though she was not allowed to enter her own apartment due to safety issues, she thought of others before herself. So many employees came forward to do the same, exemplifying our KBR core values.” 

“It’s not easy to explain,” said Sazil. “Horrible things happen. But you have to be strong and try to continue living life. In the moment, my focus was saving my two kids and helping others.”  

Guthrie explained that a DFAC operation would typically switch to mission-essential in the face of such tragedy. But that wasn’t an option for Incirlik Air Base because it served as a focal point in the humanitarian efforts to help people across Türkiye and Syria.  

“Initially, we were short on employees because people were trying to take care of their families and check on relatives in harder hit areas,” said Guthrie. “We were really trying to keep their psychological state in mind and had a plan in place to borrow workers from other DFACs across Europe if necessary. But, amazingly, that was unnecessary and the Sultan Inn remained 100% self-sufficient. Within a week, we were operating at our normal employee level.”  

He added, “When the teams of rescuers came from stateside in those first few days, our employees looked at them like superheroes. It was a glimmer of hope that more people could be rescued. Those rescuers really helped our team’s morale. It was really quite a moving moment.”  

Sazil said his and other employees’ commitment to the customer is unshakable. “We knew that Incirlik Air Base had to remain fully operational to help our fellow citizens. Across Türkiye, we were sad and afraid. The aftershocks have continued, and we still have some to this day. It’s scary but it is also a part of life. It was a hard situation with people living in tents or sleeping on the floors of someone else’s home, but we managed to come to work because we will not turn our backs on our customers. It gives us pride and hope, and it shows us that life goes on. There is a future to look forward to.”  

Both Guthrie and Sazil said that when they saw the other cities in Türkiye that were living far worse nightmares, it put the local situation in perspective.  

“It might sound cliché, but we really are like a family here,” said Guthrie, an American who married a Turkish woman and began working at Incirlik 13 years ago. “We go through life’s ups and downs together, and this was no exception. It took a toll on so many in this community, and it’s hard to explain the rallying effect that we had within the DFAC.”  

“It was a time of catastrophic loss for Türkiye.” said Wardell. “But so many of our team members, through their own tenacity, stepped forward to help each other, even in the roughest moments. From managers to laborers, several individuals focused on taking care of their teammates like they were family. It’s a testament to KBR’s value of integrity that our employees did what was right for our communities and where we live and work.” 

Sultan Inn’s employees, and the 715 employees that work Base Operations Support (BOS) services, such as civil engineering, wastewater treatment, lawn care, medical, and firefighting, are incredible examples of resilience in the face of tragedy.  

Bobby Nicholson, VP of Operations for Readiness & Sustainment within KBR’s Government Solutions U.S. business segment, remains in awe of the KBR team in Türkiye. “Incirlik Air Base was crucial to the international response and recovery for one of the largest natural disasters in decades. I am incredibly proud of the KBR team who, in the midst of their own tragedy and hardship, came together to support each other and the relief effort.” 

Asked what he wants the rest of KBR’s 32,000 employees to know about this experience, Sazil said “Humanity is so important. Be willing to serve others. Have respect for your job and safety. Focus on supporting your family, and whatever life brings you, you have to fight through the tragedy and move forward. If any of these employees feel like they’re having a bad day at work, remember what happened in Türkiye and recognize how lucky you are in this world – you have safety, health, and security. And that is what matters.”