Confessions of a Staff Sergeant
Enrique Roman, United States Air Force
My job in the Air Force was as a Crew chief on the Lockheed Martin C-130. The Crew chief does general maintenance and inspects the planes to get them ready for flight. I started my career in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the inspection section where we brought the planes into the hangar and completed in-depth inspections required after a certain number of calendar days. The process was very repetitive. I was there for two-and-a-half years before being transferred to become a flight line Crew chief.
From being a flight line Crew chief, you really get to see how your work puts planes in the air. Starting from the inspection section and moving to the flight line made me nervous because their daily tasks were ones we didn’t do that often. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with their tempo, but I was dedicated to learning. Every day was a new issue, a new chance to learn. It wasn’t long before I was just as proficient as those around me. Not only that, but my experience in inspection also gave me additional knowledge of the aircraft which some of my peers lacked.
With that proficiency came additional responsibility. Eventually I was made the Dedicated Crew Chief (DCC), the mechanic placed in charge of a specific plane. My job was to know everything going on with the aircraft to keep it well-maintained. Right next to the door was a list of three names in white that contrasted with the skin of the aircraft. First, there was the pilot’s name. Underneath that, my name was in all caps: SRA E. ROMAN. Below that was the name of my Assistant Dedicated Crew Chief. Everyone knew that was our plane, and I took pride, especially when it was chosen to be on display for ceremonies, distinguished visitors, or air shows. To me, there was no better feeling than others seeing just how much pride I took in my plane.
Another amazing feeling was when I was promoted to the rank of Staff sergeant. Because I was recognized as a craftsman in my field, my role in the shop changed. Now, on top of my responsibility to work on the planes in the fleet, I was also responsible for managing the maintenance and the other crew chiefs on my shift. Furthermore I had the responsibility to inspect work that had been accomplished and sign off any major discrepancies that my team had repaired to confirm that the aircraft was ready to fly. As if all the maintenance wasn’t enough, I also had to make sure I was taking care of my subordinates, keeping up to date with their life situations, and guiding them when they were struggling. My role was as much taking care of people as it was taking care of aircraft.
With all the duties that I had to take care of, somewhere along the line I had forgotten that I needed to take care of myself. It seemed as though my life had become a sequence of working and just waiting for work to start again. I found that I was drinking more than I ever had. When I was home, I was lazy and didn’t feel like I had the energy to cook, so all too often I relied on fast-food. I became overweight to the point where I failed a fitness examination. I passed the push-up and sit-up portion of the test, but I failed the mile-and-a-half run. I remember being only a third of the way done and my heart felt like it was about to beat out of my chest. That was my wake-up call. To me, failing the run became symbolic of me hitting rock bottom.
Something needed to change.
When it came time to decide whether I would reenlist or not, I decided that it was not in my best interest to continue my active-duty career. Despite all of the pride that I took in my job, I was exhausted. I made the decision to leave active duty and seek an education while I would continue to serve part-time in the Air Force Reserves and later in the Air National Guard. So far it has been great. My life has more balance and I still get to serve. I am able to attend school as a full-time student and spend more time with my family. I’ve picked up hobbies like working on my old Jeep Cherokee and I take care of my health by lifting weights five days a week and running at least two. I am able to travel to visit friends and for one weekend a month, I get to keep doing the job that filled me with so much pride.
