100th CES Airman lays foundations of career

  • Published
  • By Gina Randall
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  A 100th Civil Engineer Squadron Airman turned a challenging time in his life into a career he is proud of.

"I joined the military for the education opportunities," said Airman 1st Class Gregory Myers, 100th CES Pavements and Equipment journeyman from Bakersfield, California. "I had no money or job, I couldn't go to school anymore and had tough times and family troubles."

So he began a career that would put him stationed thousands of miles from home. As he embarked on a new life, he let fate decide which career he would end up in.

"I came in as open mechanical," Myers explained. "When you go through basic training they have jobs available and you create a dream sheet of what you want out of that list."

Myers listed a career very different from his background.

"This was my first choice because I thought it sounded cool," he explained. "I went to school for computer science with a focus on ethical hacking which is kind of opposite of the career I am in now, but I wouldn't change it for anything."

The work he does now is very hands-on, ensuring the base grounds and airfield are taken care of.

"I'm pretty much a construction worker," the journeyman said. "In the Air Force, it's a little different than on the outside. Here we focus more on airfield sweeping, but on bases back home in the states we get more involved in runway repairs as well to ensure aircraft can fly."

The pavement and equipment Airman carries out a number of tasks often unnoticed by those on base who use the surroundings and buildings they spend their work days in.

"A typical day is pouring concrete, fixing signs, doing little things around the base. We are like the little gnomes that go around and fix things while people are sleeping and try to be unseen," he laughed. "We do so many different things on a daily basis. It's never consistent day-to-day."

Myers gets the most out of learning many tasks each day.

"There are so many opportunities to learn and train," he said. "When you go to this job in another branch they are specific for one thing they do but here we are running equipment, repairing pavements and much more. We have a lot of awesome opportunities that other people don't get."

As well as learning his job in general, he also is exposed to how U.S. Air Force bases operate overseas and he is learning the rules and restrictions.

"I would love to be able to acquire more knowledge working on the airfield like most bases in the states get," he said. "For a lot of us this is our first base so we don't get that much on the job training with airfield repairs; however we get more experience in other areas that other bases don't get, like block pavers (pathways)."

The Airmen undergo continuous training, and learn from others in the work center. Even Myers' coworkers agree that this is a special career field.

"Due to the differences of overseas bases compared to stateside bases, when airmen first arrive here to England they are shown the ropes and how work is done through on-the-job training which is executed by the vast wealth and knowledge of our NCO's and our civilians," said Senior Airman Stephen Beasley, 100th CES Pavements and Equipment journeymen from Wakeforest, North Carolina.

Beasley is proud of how Myers and his team operates and functions daily.

"In our shop we are a family who is always looking out for each other and pushing each other to achieve the full potential we all carry within us," Beasley added. "That extends out farther to our squadron, we would not have the tools or guidance without the excellent leadership that stands behind us daily."