![]() ![]() With his experience, opportunities and background Chris would have the right to boast of his accomplishments and revel in his war stories. The responsibility he and others carried, although sobering, brought with it a great sense of pride and accomplishment for he and his team, Chris said.ĭespite overwhelming responsibilities and a high operations tempo, the mission satisfaction and professionalism among the individuals with whom he worked made the time worthwhile, Chris said. He and his team were required to schedule their own sorties, maintain their own equipment and track their flight information as aviation resource managers were not available in many locations. Through the challenges, however, his reward has been the many opportunities he has had including flying on board 10 distinctly different airframes, from the Rivet Joint to the Cessna 337 Sky Master Vietnam era relic.Īs a young Airman, Chris had many responsibilities, operating often with a small crew in remote areas throughout the AOR. "Being a husband and a father certainly adds to the layers of responsibility we shoulder in the deployed environment," Chris said. Together with his wife and son, they have endured deployment after deployment. This is no easy feat, but is particularly hard for someone who has been married his whole career. In his just five years of operational service, Chris has deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan, missing four of those five Christmases at home. Quite a bit may be considered an understatement. The linguists are enablers, and as such, they deploy more frequently and are away from home quite a bit, Chris said. "We don't fit into a normal (Air Expeditionary Force) deployment cycle," he said. Because their career field is in high demand, linguists see a lot of deployment time, and not necessarily on a systematic basis. Linguist's unique capabilities allow them to directly support coalition forces by providing an airborne scout, increasing their situational awareness and in turn enhancing their capability to complete the mission. "It's extremely rewarding to know that we're providing support to our ground troops that helps ensure their safety and successful completion of their mission." "Having a chance to do our job and knowing that it matters, makes the deployments easier to manage," Chris said. For this reason, Airmen like him continuously rotate in and out of the U.S. ![]() Unlike many career fields, linguists are unique in the fact that their job on the Rivet Joint can only be accomplished while deployed. The enlisted aviator flew and deployed often because of his unique ability as a linguist on the RC-135 Rivet Joint. While deployed, it was not uncommon for Chris to fly daily operational sorties over extended periods of time. Since the beginning of his operational career, Chris said, "I haven't stopped deploying."Īnd he couldn't be closer to the truth, as he recently served a tour here at the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing. After two years of technical training as a linguist, he was assigned to his first operational flying squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. The Nashville, Tenn., native joined the military in 2006, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, who was an Army artilleryman during the Korean War. Chris has spent nearly 735 days deployed flying more than 2,000 hours with more than 400 combat sorties. Serving as a career enlisted aviator on the RC-135 Rivet Joint, Staff Sgt. Seven deployments in five years is a feat not many Airmen can claim. These stories focus on a single Airman, highlighting their Air Force story.) #Cryptologic linguist air force series(This feature is part of the " Through Airmen's Eyes" series on AF.mil. 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs. ![]()
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