Rock Solid Warrior: Staff Sgt. Cory Smith

Published Dec. 28, 2012
386 Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron

SOUTHWEST ASIA- -- Rank/First & Last Name: SSgt Cory Smith - 121228-F-YS647-073

Deployed Unit: 386 EMXS, Munitions Flight (AMMO)

Duty Title: Munitions Crew Chief

Home unit/station: 305 MXS/MXMW McGuire AFB, New Jersey

Family's military heritage: Grandfather was in the Army for 6 years and is a Korean War Veteran.

What is your mission here? My mission is to provide munitions support to the deployed aircraft. We also provide storage and security for munitions being transported to and from other locations within the AOR.

What are some of the best parts of your mission? Knowing I'm providing munitions support to the war fighters.

What are some of the challenges you face while conducting your mission, and how do you overcome them? Complying with host nation restrictions on where and how many munitions can be stored in an area. We coordinate with Weapons Safety and our sister service counter-parts to ensure we are in compliance with directives and regulations.

How does your job differ in a deployed environment vs. home base? The job here at the deployed location differs from home station because we are responsible for all aspects of the entire Munitions Flight as opposed to jobs/tasks in a specific element of our Munitions career field. At home station we are more specialized where here you have to know all aspects of the job.

How many times have you deployed? This is my fifth deployment.

What makes this deployment unique? Not only are we responsible to store and maintain munitions at the 386 AEW but also munitions stored at another geographically separated location. We must coordinate with host nation military personnel and travel to there at least once a month to inventory and maintain munitions stored in that Munitions Storage Area.

Why did you join the Air Force? I had come to a crossroads in my life where I had to choose between continuing down a rough path leading nowhere or head down a path out of my current situation. I chose the path towards the military after a friend told me about serving in the Army, however, he told me the Air Force was the way to go.