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ROCK SOLID WARRIOR

  • Published
  • 386th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Staff Sgt. Nathan Eberle

Senior Maintenance Operations coordinator

Home unit/base: 436th Maintenance Operations Squadron, Dover Air Force Base, Del.

How do you support the mission here? I support the mission by monitoring and coordinating all maintenance and transient aircraft at the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing. I work with the C-130, EC-130, C-17 and Transient Alert personnel to ensure the aircraft maintenance and mission requirements are being met. I also coordinate maintenance teams that rapid deploy into the theater to repair aircraft in areas where maintenance support is not available.

How many times have you deployed and what makes this one unique? This is my first deployment. Being my first deployment, I have encountered a lot of unique circumstances. What is really exciting is being able to support the warfighter in a direct sense. With my job, I get to see the big picture of theater operations as well as through the eyes of my fellow Airman, Soldiers and Marines. I've also gotten familiar with working with different countries such as the Japanese, Koreans and the always good-humored Australians. It makes me proud to do what I do as an American representing my country and service.

How does your job differ in a deployed environment vs. home base? Dover AFB has a big mission to accomplish as one of the busiest and largest cargo bases in the Air Force. Seeing such a huge production work as efficiently as it did left me feeling a little bit "too ready" for my deployment, since I felt he mission here was, by scale, smaller. As I found out very quickly, the mission here is in no way small. The amount of personnel, supplies and other war-related cargo that passes through this base is astonishing and requires that everyone be ready for anything at anytime. I am very proud to have received this assignment.