Rock Solid Warrior: Airman 1st Class Michael Amerson

Published Oct. 18, 2013
737th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Rank/First & Last Name:
Airman 1st Class Michael Amerson

Deployed Unit:
737th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron

Duty Title:
C-130H Flight Engineer

Home unit/station:
144th Airlift Squadron, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska

Family's military heritage:
Father: Retired Chief Warrant Officer 4 in the Army
Brother: United States Coast Guard

What is your mission here?
My mission here is to maintain operational and physical readiness at all times in an effort to support Operation ENDURING FREEDOM.

What are some of the best parts of your mission?
Some of the best parts of my mission would have to be getting to apply the things I have trained for and learned into the real world environment to help people and see the mission accomplished. Also getting to travel and see parts of the world many will never get the chance to.

What are some of the challenges you face while conducting your mission, and how do you overcome them?
The challenges I face operating in this environment would have to be using far more caution concerning things such as the engines on the aircraft due to the high temperatures as well as the altitudes and the harsh environment as a whole. Many things change in the desert compared to home station and the only way to overcome them is to continuously be in the books trying to further better one's self and always be learning in this ever changing environment.

How does your job differ in a deployed environment vs. home base?
In the deployed environment the time crunch to accomplish things is felt more then compared to back home, as well as the feeling of being in the real world mission scenario and not the training environment we all know so well. A lot of things change with how we operate the aircraft such as certain systems being turned on at different times than normal and constantly watching the engines to not flame one out.

How many times have you deployed?
This is my first deployment

What makes this deployment unique?
Since this is my first deployment it gives me a first-hand opportunity to see how all of the bases and units around the Air Force can come together to accomplish the mission and support one another as well as see places around the world many will not be able to say they have seen in their lifetime.

Why did you join the Air Force?
I joined the Air Force to further myself as a whole and accomplish something worth meaning, as well as get an education and work towards the future.