ROYAL AIR FORCE MILDENHALL, England -- U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Jake Pineiros is a finance technician assigned to the 100th Air Refueling Wing, who joined the Air Force in August of 2018.
“I joined the Air Force right out of high school to see what I was interested in before I started college,” said Pineiros.
While some of his peers went straight into university, Pineiros wanted to join the Air Force to gain some perspective first. He was uncertain of what to do after graduating, so he explored his options through the military.
“I joined fresh out of high school and enlisted exactly two months after graduation,” said Pineiros. “My family was a little reluctant of me joining so young at first, but ended up being very supportive and very proud of me for this decision.”
As a finance technician, Pineiros could have been stationed at any base in the Air Force. “There were only three people in my class who got stationed overseas. I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to live and work in England,” said Pineiros. “This experience has been awesome!”
“There are unique mission sets at Mildenhall,” Pineiros said, speaking of the different tenant units on base. “Finance services all of the squadrons on base, not just the 100th Air Refueling Wing. A lot of people don’t know that we take care of every single member on this base and that almost every person’s payroll has come across my desk at some point in time.”
The 100th Comptroller Squadron serves the entirety of Team Mildenhall with around 3,522 service members and several geographically separated units. “The finance workload can get hectic sometimes,” said Pineiros, “but if I can help a member fix their pay, and alleviate their worry, then they can go on to do the mission and I take pride in that.”
Pineiros was awarded Senior Airman Below the Zone (BTZ) in January 2021. His extreme diligence to the job and dedication to helping the community earned him the award, which allowed him to be promoted to the rank of E-4 six months ahead of time. “Hard work definitely pays off,” said Pineiros.
Pineiros is currently working on completing his Community College of the Air Force (CCAF) degree, with only two classes left. The CCAF is a federal program offered by the USAF which grants two-year Associates of Applied Science degrees in association with Air University. His goal is to finish his CCAF and then to start taking classes at Trident University to pursue his Bachelor’s degree.
Pineiros and his wife Molly are looking forward to going back to the U.S. after a three-year long tour in England. “We have enjoyed traveling Europe and have loved our time here. Now it’s time to go back Stateside,” Pineiros said.
“I’m going to re-enlist for another four years,” he said, “So far I’ve enjoyed my time in the Air Force and I look forward to what's to come at our next assignment.”