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Rock Solid Warrior: Staff Sgt. Andrew Hunn

  • Published
  • 386th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Rank/First & Last Name: Staff Sgt. Andrew Hunn

Deployed Unit: 386th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron

Duty Title: Noncommissioned Officer In Charge, Fuels Laboratory

Home unit/station: 22nd LRS/McConnell Air Force Base, KS

Family's military heritage: Both of my brothers, Tech. Sgt. Matthew Hunn and Staff Sgt. Nicholas Hunn are active duty in the Air Force. My Father served in the Army and my grandfather retired from the Army.

What is your mission here? My mission here at the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing is to ensure that all the fuel that is issued to our aircraft, vehicles, and equipment is of good quality and meets AF technical order specifications. I also do fuel quality control for five Army battalions around the region. Finally, I also sample and analyze all the liquid oxygen, unleaded and diesel fuel for the base here as well.

What are some of the best parts of your mission? When jet fuel does not meet specifications, it could adversely affect the mission; bad things can happen. The level of responsibility I'm given here and the satisfaction I feel with ensuring the fuel meets those specifications are the best parts of my mission here. Ultimately, that's one less thing the aircrews have to worry about so they can carry out their mission.

What are some of the challenges you face while conducting your mission, and how do you overcome them? Since particulate contamination is one of the analyses I perform on the majority of fuel samples, the small sand particles in the desert environment can cause some obvious challenges.

How does your job differ in a deployed environment vs. home base? The mission of the job in the fuels lab does not differ between my home base and a deployed environment. There are a few different grades here at the 386 AEW that I don't deal with at my home base.

How many times have you deployed? I've deployed 3 times.

What makes this deployment unique? What makes this deployment unique is the technology is afforded to us to use. I remember my first deployment when we got two 15 minute phone calls a week. Now with the wifi we receive here I'm able to facetime my expecting wife and 22 month old son every day. I am very thankful for that.

Why did you join the Air Force? Initially, I joined the Air Force for the educational benefits. I wanted to be a CPA. Here I am 8 years later. The quality of life the Air Force provides for my family is hard to find in the private sector. If I'm lucky enough, I'll be able to serve 22 more years and retire at 49!