An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Reserve Airmen uses carpentry skills to better KAF

  • Published
  • By By Tech. Sgt. Joseph Swafford
  • 455th AEW Public Affairs
Tech. Sgt. Dallan Livingston, 451st Expeditionary Support Squadron Central Command Material Recovery Element air transportation specialist, has a unique skill set he uses to better Kandahar Airfield.

Day-to-day Livingston is an air transport specialist who loads and unloads aircraft and processes cargo and passengers, but when not performing that duty he uses his carpentry skills to improve the base.

“We deal with anything before it hits the aircraft or after it gets off the aircraft is normally what our job is,” said Livingston, a native of Roseville, California.

“Tech. Sgt. Livingston holds the Aerial Porter 2T2 AFSC, so he would be normally assigned to a fixed Aerial Port,” said Chief Master Sgt. Patrick Burke, 451st ESPTS CMRE chief. “However, on this current deployment he is assigned to the Central Command Materiel Recovery Element; so, our mission is to retrograding equipment and personnel from the CJOA-A.”

As that part of his job has slowed recently, he uses his spare time to better the base by building much needed projects.

“As the team is in between missions, we’re actively looking for missions we can support,” said Burke. “Early on in the tour, it was discovered that Tech. Sgt. Livingston was an expert carpenter and engineer in the civilian world and quickly found a need for his talents.”

“I’ve built six sets of stairs for defensive fighting positions around base. A lot of them were just old ladders and rickety structures that were not safe,” Livingston said. “Now with the new structures they can go up and down safely with their weapons and gear and it’s no longer a safety issue.”

Livingston is an Air Force Reservist assigned to the 45th Aerial Port Squadron at Travis Air Force Base, California. Having a full time job outside of his military career allowed him to take up a hobby and learn carpentry skills, which he has used while deployed.

“Woodworking is a big hobby of mine,” said Livingston. “I’ve spent a lot of my spare time doing wood working and learning how to do it on my own. I did a couple of projects here and the word spread, and I started getting more taskings after I got more of a reputation.”

His carpentry skills are not only good for the base but are also a stress reliever for Livingston.

“It’s relaxing and de-stresses me while I am out here away from family,” Livingston said. “I have a lot of fun and it’s a great opportunity to do some problem solving and think outside of the box. I’ve gotten a lot of good response and feedback so far. It’s good in two parts; it de-stresses me and it also helps the base.”