Rock Solid Warrior

Airman 1st Class Cody Elfring, 386th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, performs his duty of water and fuel system maintenance at an undisclosed deployed location in Southwest Asia on April 11, 2013. Elfring was awarded this weeks “Rock Solid Warrior” designation by the 386 Air Expeditionary Wing. This is Elfring’s first deployment, and has waited his whole life for this. “I joined the Air Force because it runs in my family. My whole entire life this is what I’ve known, so I knew it was my turn.” (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Austin Knox)

Rock Solid Warrior: Airman 1st Class Cody Elfring

Published April 17, 2013
386th Expeditionary Civil Engineering Squadron

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Rank/First & Last Name: Airman 1st Class Cody Elfring

Deployed Unit: 386th Expeditionary Civil Engineering Squadron

Duty Title: Water and Fuel System Maintenance

Home unit/station: 140th Civil Engineering Squadron Buckley AFB, CO

Family's military heritage: Father, Uncle, Both Grandparents, Cousin were in the military.

What is your mission here? Maintain and sustain base utility functions

What are some of the best parts of your mission? Getting to know and help out everyone across the base.

What are some of the challenges you face while conducting your mission, and how do you overcome them? Not knowing what is going to happen each day, and learning how to fix the problem we encounter.

How does your job differ in a deployed environment vs. home base? Deployed environment we get to do plumbing and get called to fix stuff. Home base we do online training and CBT's.

How many times have you deployed? First time deployed

What makes this deployment unique? Being in the Middle East, you have to deal with a lot more environmental elements and learning how to communicate with the locals. Also, the way they do their plumbing is different than how it is done in America.

Why did you join the Air Force?
I joined the Air Force because it runs in my family. My whole entire life this is what I've known, so I knew it was my turn. Also, helping with paying for school was a big benefit so I can finish my degree and try to get commissioned.