Rock Solid Warrior: Maj. Justin Galli Published March 5, 2013 737th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Rank/First & Last Name: Maj. Justin Galli Deployed Unit: 737th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron Duty Title: Chief of Scheduling / C-130H Instructor Pilot Home unit/station: 192nd Airlift Squadron / Reno, NV (Nevada Air National Guard) Family's military heritage: My grandfather and great-uncle served in the Army during World War II, my father in-law served in the Marine Corps during Vietnam, and my brother currently serves in the Nevada Air National Guard as an Intelligence Officer. What is your mission here? PREPARE - Maintain mission-ready crews to conduct full-spectrum tactical airlift operations to include Aeromedical Evacuation, Assault, and Airdrop in any future Area of Operations. ENGAGE - Provide support to service, joint interagency, and coalition partners through timely and effective aerial delivery. DEFEND - Ensure viability of theater airlift options through crisp execution of survival response plans. What are some of the best parts of your mission? I have greatly enjoyed working with the members of my squadron who are on their first deployment. To be able to teach and mentor these young warrior aviators in a deployed environment has been very rewarding. Additionally, I am surrounded by my closest of friends. The Air Guard is very special in this regard. Many of my comrades attended the same elementary, middle, and high school that I did. We have played sports together as kids, and now our children do the same. This greatly helps to support and ease the family stresses at home. What are some of the challenges you face while conducting your mission, and how do you overcome them? The flying mission is very dynamic. Change and flexibility are constant and consistent variables. Patience, combined with the expert knowledge of tactics, techniques, and procedures, are required to safely and successfully overcome any challenges. Our crews receive great support from squadron leadership and operations functions. This is an excellent overall team effort. How does your job differ in a deployed environment vs. home base? At home, I am a traditional Guardsman. As an aviator, my requirements, currencies, and proficiencies are exactly the same as my Active Duty brethren. This requires a careful balance with my civilian occupational and family duties. My civilian career as a City of Reno Firefighter requires the constant training and evaluation of my skills in emergency medicine, fire suppression, fire prevention, rescue, and hazardous materials response mitigation. The structure of the deployed environment allows for me to fix my total efforts into the success of the flying mission. I am very thankful to have the outstanding support of my family and my civilian employer for this. How many times have you deployed? This is my seventh deployment. One previous to Operation SOUTHERN WATCH, three to Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, and two to Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. What makes this deployment unique? My previous deployments have been conducted in operations where the majority of flying has occurred within the boundaries of one single nation. This deployment has given me the opportunity to operate within multiple nations across a very expansive theater. Additionally, this base has a very wide range of activities and opportunities for self-improvement and morale. The facilities and people are both first class with a great community spirit. Why did you join the Air Force? I established a love for military aviation at a very young age. Fortunately for me, my family was very supportive of this. The Guard was an easy sell as I found out that after high school I could serve in my hometown, have college completely paid for, and eventually fly Air Force aircraft. I enlisted in the Nevada Air National Guard and achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant before being selected to attend Undergraduate Pilot Training. The rest is history.