Rock Solid Warrior: Senior Airman Brian Stanyer

Published Aug. 9, 2013
38th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Rank/First & Last Name: Senior Airman Brian Stanyer

Deployed Unit: 386th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron

Duty Title: Heating, ventilation and air conditioning/refrigeration (HVAC/R) journeyman

Home unit/station: 2nd Civil Engineer Squadron, Barksdale Air Force Base, La.

Family's military heritage:
Father, Danny R. Stanyer--U.S. Navy
Grandfather, William R. Stanyer--U.S. Navy,WWII veteran
Step-father, Paul Bax--U.S. Army,Vietnam veteran

What is your mission here?
My mission here is to make sure all heating equipment such as reversing valves and electronic heat strips are able to give warmth when needed. All ventilation components such as exhaust fans, indoor fans, motors, belts and pulleys are operating at maximum efficiency to move air throughout needed facilities. To know all air conditioning or cooling units are maintaining proper temperatures throughout the base by keeping outside condenser coils clear of sand and debris or making sure all components such as contactors, capacitors and/or proper wiring is achieved, while also monitoring the amount of refrigerant is in each unit for the required temperatures and pressures for proper operation. Finally, the mission here also needs me to be able to make sure all 150 boxes or ADR's are able to keep great amounts of food refrigerated.

What are some of the best parts of your mission?
Some of the best parts of my mission are having the ability as a civil engineer to be able to meet and help people from all over the base and from different fields. As an HVAC technician you get to see why your job is needed so much, be it for services to be able to have the food required to make sure everyone is properly fed or to make sure the communications squadron is able to have their server rooms maintained at proper operating temperatures. Although these are very mission-essential jobs, one of the best parts of my mission is getting that dorm call from someone who has been sleeping and living in miserable heat, and then being able to give them the cooling needed so they are able to get rest so they may be able to go out and get their mission done with full energy and commitment. This also relates directly to the personnel who have to have proper temperatures in their tents for when they forward deploy and won't get the same comforts provided here.

What are some of the challenges you face while conducting your mission, and how do you overcome them?
One of the challenges out here is the amount of time it takes to get new units or equipment. For example, we have been out of new electrical cooling units(ECU) for a few weeks now, but with a determined crew we were able to bring back to operating standards over 15 ECUs that were deemed unfixable by the previous rotation. Another challenge I have faced is when one of the hangars needed A/C capabilities and somehow the wrong units arrived. We spent countless hours getting these units piped, brazed and set so they were able to operate in a timely manner. All these challenges have shown me how to use my abilities as a HVAC technician to make a lot out of a little, no matter the supplies you have or the extreme conditions you are put in.

How does your job differ in a deployed environment vs. home base?
My job at home station is close but not exactly the same as it is here. At home we have large chillers and air handlers to move cool air throughout larger buildings. Here we have more packaged units that have all their major components in a general area for quicker diagnoses. All of the smaller buildings at home also have larger split units while here we have smaller versions of these we call "mini" splits, that use less refrigerant but are able to be transported easier and quicker but have the same general components and operation of a normal split unit. In the states we have no ECU units to work on, so we get minimal hands on with these units. The ECU units here have all their components with them, like a packaged unit, but are smaller and are able to be moved with a bobcat/10k loader giving me the opportunity to get better with heavy machinery and the ability to use them in my everyday mission. Biggest difference is my shop is made up of Airmen from all over the country, all from different bases and from active duty, national guard and reserve units. As an active duty Airman I get to learn how the many different backgrounds of my fellow Airmen have been able to produce different and even better answers for problems we encounter in the desert. This experience has given me more "tools" in my Air Force "tool bag" to complete whatever mission, at home or overseas, comes my way.

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

What makes this deployment unique?
This is my first deployment; I had volunteered for other deployments before this but finally got my opportunity in April. This deployment, so far, has been unique because I have finally gotten to use the expeditionary skills that I have been trained on at home station. Since I have been here I have been able to be on Mat Team for a night exercise to show my knowledge of what I have learned from my heavy shop during our monthly Prime Base Engineer Emergency Force training at home station, and have also been on the Post Attack Reconnaissance Team twice since I have been here, showing my abilities to read a grid layout on a map and successfully identify different types of unexploded ordnance and other potentially harmful situations within a small group and confidently by myself. Something else that has made this deployment unique is knowing that although we may not be in a directly hostile area, my job here at "The Rock" is in direct support of the men and women who pass through the base. I even have had the chance to get an American flag flown by an Army sergeant first class who works on Apache helicopters. Being deployed half way across the world is unique enough, but being pulled away from friends and family for half a year, knowing you are directly impacting how the world will be for those loved ones is the most uniquely rewarding feeling you can experience.

Why did you join the Air Force?
Back in 2009 I was going to college in Seattle, Wash. I was seeing how education could put me further ahead of others in my career field and how I could get a "leg up" on life. When I was talking to my father one day about the current condition of my grandfather and his health, we were talking about the sacrifices he made for his country and our family. Looking at my life, I wanted my future daughter or son to be able to talk to their children the same way we were talking about the accomplishments my grandfather had achieved. I decided to join the United States Air Force and to be able to help my country with my service and also help my wife and myself be financially stable, while also getting the experience and life-long memories and friends that I could only achieve through my military enlistment. Now not only do I have a career, I have also learned why it is so important to not live your life for yourself, but to achieve goals with your fellow Airmen, Soldiers, Marines and Sailors to better the future of our country.