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ROCK SOLID WARRIOR

  • Published
  • 386th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Senior Airman Roger Yurko

Duty Title:  Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning technician

Home Unit: 154th Civil Engineer Squadron, Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii

How do you support the mission here?
I support the mission here by properly maintaining air conditioning and heating units, providing 386th Air Expeditionary Wing personnel with a comfortable environment in their work and living areas. I also maintain the food storage freezer units that keep our food rations refrigerated.

How many times have you deployed and what makes this one unique?
This is my second time deployed here. The thing that makes this deployment unique is that the first time I was here there were only a few individuals from my unit deployed with me. This time I am here with 95 percent of my unit. It has made for better morale and teamwork.

How does your job differ in a deployed environment vs. home base?
At home, the HVAC units we maintain are not exposed to the hot, sandy and dusty conditions of this deployed environment. At home, I work the standard eight hour day, five days a week, whereas, here I work 12 hour days, six days a week and can end up working as much as 16-20 hours during an emergency. The weather at home is very nice most of the time but here it is hot and dusty. The work here is much more challenging because the poor weather conditions make proper preventive maintenance nearly impossible. Replacement parts for outdated AC units add another challenge that occasionally requires us to be creative with repairs while ensuring safe operation for both the equipment and personnel.