Team Andersen Spouses’ Club honors Martinez family Published June 29, 2025 By Senior Airman Audree Campbell 36th Wing Public Affairs ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam -- Team Andersen Spouses’ Club (TASC) welcomes the resilient Martinez family back to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, June 26, 2025. U.S. Air Force Ret. Col. Melchizedek “Kato” Martinez and late wife Gail Minglana Martinez, and their four children were stationed in Guam from 2013-2015 just before their lives changed in 2016. Since leaving Guam, the Martinez family has dealt with their own injuries and the loss of loving Gail, after their lives were forever changed when two suicide bombers detonated their suitcase bombs in Brussels Airport in Zaventem, Belgium, March 22, 2016. TASC Gail, who had been a part of Team Andersen Spouses’ Club (TASC), then called Andersen Officers’ Spouses’ Club (AOSC), was never forgotten by the club. The TASC Gail Minglana Martinez Memorial Scholarship for high school seniors is given in her honor by the club to keep her memory alive. “Over the years, we have given over 35,000 dollars to 33 students,” said Kenna LaFevere, TASC Scholarship Chair, while addressing the Martinez family and other members of TASC. “I’ve been a part of so many spouses’ clubs and scholarships, but after reading about Gail for the first time, picturing in my mind the Brussels airport having been there myself, this scholarship means more to me than any of the others.” LaFevere had the opportunity to read some of the essays from this year’s scholarship recipients to the Martinez family, and continued to explain the different colleges and career paths former recipients have taken. Former students have studied anything from music in Japan to Aerospace Engineering in Colorado, and some students even plan on enlisting or commissioning into the Air Force. Noelani Martinez, who was in elementary school when her family lived on Guam, is now a recent high school graduate and was moved by the reading of the essays. “As I’m facing adulthood myself, realizing how much college actually costs and that money can be the difference between going after your dreams or not, I’m so happy to know my mom has had a hand in so many lives,” said Noelani. TASC President Katie Powers presented personalized gifts to each member of the family before transitioning a more relaxed and social time during the gathering. “Again, we want to thank you all for coming back to Guam. We are honored to carry on Gail’s legacy, and to see how all of you have grown and overcome challenges is really inspiring for me and my family. Thank you.” Love After the attack, Kato Martinez spent his time in recovery, raising his kids, and traveling the world to tell their story. Out of all the resiliency briefs he’s done over the years, returning to Guam hit him differently. “It’s bittersweet. I’ve never broken down like this in front of an audience, but I look out at the CRG [Contingency Response Group] family, I see military family and everything we’ve been through together,” said Martinez. “To the spouses, I can’t look at you without crying…because I see my wife in all of you.” Overwhelming emotion fell from friends and strangers faces as Team Andersen embraced the Martinez family. Nostalgia, reunions, joy and grief are all wrapped up in an unforgettable experience. Gail and the Martinez family’s legacy continues to touch hearts of everyone who meets them and beyond.