Rock Solid Warrior: Captain Jake Johnson Published Aug. 24, 2011 SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Name: Capt. Jake Johnson Deployed Unit: 386th Expeditionary Maintenance Group Duty Title: Depot Liaison Engineer Home unit/station: 416th Supply Chain Management Squadron, Hill Air Force Base, Utah How do you support the mission here? My job is to expedite the flow of information between the maintenance units in the AOR, which is almost always the 386 EMXG, and the depot engineers back in the states (depots are our major aircraft repair centers). When MX needs engineering expertise or approval to repair an aircraft or support equipment, I am here to make sure the request is directed to the right engineers and that they know it is coming. I know what kind of information the engineers need to make an educated decision and I know how to reach those engineers after hours or on weekends if it necessary to accomplish the mission. Favorite movie: It's probably a toss-up between Braveheart and The Shawshank Redemption, though I'm sure I could list at least 20 more that I thought were amazing. I love watching a good movie. Favorite restaurant: For chain restaurants, probably Texas Roadhouse; I can't resist a good steak. Most enjoyable dining experience overall; this place called Takashi in Salt Lake City. The Sushi is unbelievable, the service is great, and the atmosphere is even better. Favorite superhero: I have to go with Captain America since I just watched it and thought it was awesome. Humble kid from Brooklyn kicking butt and taking names for the good old USA? Heck yeah. Plus I want to be as jacked as he is before I go home. Place you would most like to vacation to or visit: This is a tough one. There are so many places I want to check out. I guess if I only had the chance to make one trip, I would probably pick Australia. Coral reef, beaches, sweet looking animals, city dining and night life, and you can even go snowboarding there; what's not to love? Favorite actor/actress: I don't really favor any specific actor or actress, but several awesome performances come to mind: Mel Gibson in Braveheart, Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins in The Shawshank Redemption, almost the whole dang cast in Apollo 13, Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby, Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight, Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino (who is pretty much my idol in that movie), and Hailee Steinfeld and Jeff Bridges in True Grit, just to name a few. Favorite food: This may seem like a strange response, but I am a sucker for pickles; always have been since I was a kid. I could eat a whole jar in one sitting. Favorite musical group/musician/singer: I can't say I have one particular favorite artist. I like a lot of different music; anything from Hip Hop to Country to Rock. I've liked a lot of Linkin Park/Fort Minor and Eminem songs, and I have to give props to Toby Keith for his messages of patriotism, but those are by no means exclusive favorites. I'm usually pretty happy with anything that has a solid beat, a smooth melody, and inspiring lyrics. How many times have you deployed and what makes this deployment unique? This is actually my first deployment. Developmental engineers get very little opportunity to deploy to perform work within their career field. Our jobs primarily involve working with the U.S. defense industry to develop and sustain our nation's war fighting technology, which is almost always stateside work. This deployment is unique in the sense that I am lucky enough to actually be on one. I must have submitted my name for this particular position at least five times before I finally got the chance to go. How does your job differ in a deployed environment vs. home base? I deal with a lot of the same technical issues here that I do at home station. The difference is that here I am more of a facilitator; while at home station I am the actual technical authority making the engineering decisions. Both are great jobs. A benefit here is that I get to be closer to the action.