News

Airmen gain experience quickly when deployed

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Paul Haley
  • 446th Airlift Wing
MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  Two firefighters from the 446th Civil Engineer Squadron deployed to Southwest Asia and got more than they bargained for.
Both airmen volunteered for the deployment to see another culture and to make them more employable as firefighters. It was the first deployment for both Airmen.
They got more than they expected. Each gained experience in the next level of their career path.
Senior Airman Jesse Berg, who deployed as an apprentice, completed training to become a journeyman-level firefighter, while Senior Airman Shawn Walker found himself serving as a crew chief, a position one level higher than his current skill level.
"I deployed expecting to be a driver, but as soon as I got there they told me I was going to be a crew chief," Airman Walker said. The crew chief is the leader of the team running a fire truck.
Airman Berg was able to finish his career development course for his 5-level during the four-month-long deployment by using the down time between shifts. Upgrade training for firefighters can often take as long as 20 months, said Master Sgt. Matt Zweber, firefighter supervisor in the 446th CES. Airman Berg was only out of technical school for three months before he volunteered to deploy.
"It was nice to learn about the job and then immediately turn around and use it," he said.
Airman Walker agreed, saying Reservists don't get the day-to-day experience of being a firefighter during unit training assemblies. The Reservists spend most of their time training to stay current with their skills.
"We don't do shifts like the active-duty guys do, and we don't get real-world calls," he said.
Deployments are different. The Airmen divided their time between lulls in activity, and scrambling to respond to emergencies.
One emergency they responded to was for a pilot whose aircraft lost cabin pressure.
"He had vomited into his mask, so he couldn't use it," said Airman Walker. "We expected him to crash, because he was already hypoxic." Hypoxia is a lack of oxygen that can easily cause a pilot to lose consciousness.
The pilot landed the plane safely, so the story has a happy ending. Even if he hadn't, the fire team was trained and ready to extinguish the fire and extract the pilot, Airman Walker said.
With experiences like that, the two came home with more skills to use in their civilian and military careers.