Rock Solid Warrior: Senior Airman Tyler MacEachern

Published May 31, 2013
386th Expeditionary Medical Group

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Rank/First & Last Name: Senior Airman Tyler MacEachern

Deployed Unit: 386th Expeditionary Medical Group

Duty Title: Pharmacy Technician

Home unit/station: 82nd Medical Support Squadron, Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas

Family's military heritage: My grandfather and his father both served 20 years in the Navy. They retired as senior chief petty officers.

What is your mission here? My mission here is to support the Central Command's men and women in any and all aspects of pharmacy to the best of my abilities.

What are some of the best parts of your mission? The best part of my mission here is the fact that I am supporting those who are on the front lines whether it be Air Force pilots, Apache helicopter pilots, Special Forces in transit and the people that keep this base running day in and day out. It is a feeling that I don't get back home. Here, I just feel my work is a bit more effective in the grand scheme of things.

What are some of the challenges you face while conducting your mission, and how do you overcome them? The challenge that I would say is the most noticeable would be working with people from different bases. Because every base does things differently, I think it's a bit of a learning curve when new individuals arrive. Sometimes there is a conflict because people want things to be exactly as they are at their home station and the home station operations are not the same as the operations here. I think that it is all about being flexible and willing to work together to determine what is best for the patients here. Another challenge that I have encountered is from a pharmacy logistical aspect. Ordering supplies out here is not the same as back at home. When I order a medication, it doesn't arrive the next day. There is a one to two month turnaround time. I had to adjust to this factor and change my approach to maintaining the pharmacy inventory.

How does your job differ in a deployed environment vs. home base? At home, the majority of my work involves prescription data entry for a rather large population of retirees, dependents, and Airmen in training. Here, I am directly serving the people on the front line and it gives me a higher feeling of self worth. At home station, I have more co-workers so all of the additional duties are spread out among the group. Here, I manage all of the additional duties, so I feel more responsible for the pharmacy and its operations. I get a firsthand view of problems that may arise and the ideas that I come up with actually have an impact on the solution. Another difference I get to experience here is that I work one on one with the pharmacist which does not happen very often back at home. This interaction has given me more of an opportunity to learn new things about my career field.

How many times have you deployed? This is my first deployment, but I hope for the chance to have other opportunities.

What makes this deployment unique? To me, everything makes this deployment unique. Even though this is my first deployment, I feel that no two deployments will be exactly alike. I would be working with a different group of people, the mission of the area may be different and the friends that I would make all create a new experience. The deployment itself makes it unique.

Why did you join the Air Force? The reason I joined the Air Force is simple. I had a desire to leave home and I wanted to travel and see the world. I wanted to better myself and set myself up for a successful future for not just myself but for my future family. I saw all of my friends from high school make their own choices. Some wanted to go to college, some wanted to start working right after high school and others wanted to just stay at home and do nothing. I knew that I didn't want to stay at home and I also knew that I didn't want to get stuck working a mediocre job. During the middle of my senior year, I made the decision to join the AF. Two months after I graduated from high school, I was living in a bay with 40 other guys not knowing what to expect and wondering why on earth I chose to do this. Every time I asked myself that question, I concluded that this is for the betterment of myself and to be part of something bigger than just me.