MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. -- 1. What is your official job title?
931st Security Forces Squadron fire team member.
2. What is your hometown? Where did you grow up?
I grew up and graduated high school in Enid, Oklahoma. After 13 years of school and work in Stillwater, Oklahoma, Oklahoma City and Tulsa, (Where I attended Oklahoma University for Physical Therapy) our family moved back to Enid.
3. What is your civilian job? Are you an ART, ARG or TR)?
I am a traditional reservist. I am in my second year as a part-time grade school computer teacher at Emmanuel Christian School located in Enid, Oklahoma. I also just began an assistant coaching position with the Oklahoma Bible Academy middle school boys basketball team.
4. Why did you join the AF?
There were multiple factors involved in my decision. For most of my life, I have wanted and felt like I needed to serve my country. Although I pursued college and professional school and started a family first, this sense of responsibility and desire to serve did not got away. I chose the Air Force over other branches because core values of Integrity First, Service Before Self and Excellence in All We Do are a perfect match with the man I want to be. Also, I wanted to set an example of service as well as pursuing goals for my three sons.
5. What are your goals (i.e. personal, school)?
Within my unit, my goals are to continually work toward mastering my job through training and to contribute in any and every way possible to the health and effectiveness of each member. In my civilian life my goals are to honor God in the way I lead my family and raise my boys and to have a farther reaching positive impact on the many students I am fortunate to interact with as a teacher and coach.
6. What are your hobbies?
I enjoy exercise for general fitness and both playing and coaching sports. I play basketball and pickleball semi-regularly and just about any other sport when the opportunity arises. I also help coach basketball, soccer and flag football for my sons and their teams.
7. How do you contribute to the 931st mission?
I believe my role is to first learn and master the responsibilities of a security forces member to provide base and personnel defense as needed. Secondly, by supporting the professional development as well, as the camaraderie and trust within our unit, I believe I will be contributing to the overall effectiveness of our unit to accomplish the larger mission.
8. What challenges do you face?
There is often limited time to invest in the many areas where I am pursuing excellence. These areas include at home with my family, in my civilian jobs, with my church, coaching my kids and in my Air Force career field. Acquiring the knowledge and gaining vital hands-on experience is a challenge while in a reserve capacity with limited duty days spread out over one weekend per month. However, voluntarily stepping away from my civilian responsibilities to gain additional experience is extremely tough to justify, so the reality of limited time feels like the biggest obstacle.
9. What's your favorite part of the mission?
It's the people. Connecting with and supporting the people who serve our country through military service was a driving force behind my enlisting in the Air Force and I have thoroughly enjoyed each phase of my career from basic military training, to technical school and to here at the 931st because of the people I've met in the process. I'm not claiming that everyone is best friends, but I am deeply appreciative that nearly everyone I've met carries an underlying desire to help each other out and lift each other up. That makes both the fun times and the not-so-fun times still feel like an overall win.