Square D Spotlight: Airman 1st Class Tyler Choiniere

  • Published
  • By 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  Name and Rank: U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Tyler Choiniere

Unit: 100th Maintenance Squadron

Duty Title: Aircraft Fuel Systems Journeyman

Time in Service: 1 year, 8 months

Time at Mildenhall: 1 year, 4 months

Hometown: Glocester, R.I.

Hobbies: I enjoy listening to music of all genres, hiking, swimming, traveling, playing sports, and working out.

Core Value Portrayed: Excellence In All We Do

Why is serving in the Air Force important to you?

The Air Force is bigger than itself. In shops like mine it's a whole new family to serve the people of our country with. In doing what we do, getting aircraft off the ground and into the sky, we indirectly protect and serve the people back home we care about. Ever since 2001, I've felt the need to do something to help and being in the Air Force gives me the privilege of taking the fight to the people who would do harm to our country. It is truly a great honor to be in the military, directly supporting our missions and being a part of the history that is being made all around us. Turning a wrench is in my blood, passed down from my father, and this gives me the chance to take a skill set I learned as a child and implement it in a world where it really means something and is for the good of everyone we know and care for.

What accomplishment during your Air Force career are you most proud of?

I am most proud of achieving my journeyman skill level for fuel systems repair of our aircraft. At my age, there are not many other people who can say they get to go work on multi-million-dollar aircraft without a supervisor looming over your shoulder, and be trusted in your work. To be able to help keep the mission rolling and meeting the aircrew of each jet you work on, and knowing that their lives are potentially in your hands, makes turning that wrench that much more important and gives you a whole new sense of pride you never thought you could achieve in the civilian world.


What are your personal and professional goals?

I want to be fit to fight every day and to secure a future for the immediate family I hope to have one day and provide for the spouse and children I look forward to having. I go to the gym every day, trying to make myself a better and stronger person, always exceeding my limits. I also want to get further in my education than my father, in order to get a good job in the civilian world if I ever choose to separate from the military. Professionally, I'd like to further develop my skills in aviation maintenance and achieve my community college of the Air Force degree to be 100-percent fully competent in my system, and become the mechanic every flight crew wants to see and speak to about the integrity of their aircraft. My ultimate goal before my career is over is to become qualified so I know enough about every system on an aircraft to effectively troubleshoot and fix any problem that can occur.

What is your favorite part of your job?

Responding to an aircraft on a moment's notice, with all tools and personnel needed to resolve the issue, then working with the fire department and production supervision, along with any other mechanics from other shops that may be out there, to fix the problem at hand. The gratitude received from the flight crew and supervision around you is invigorating and pushes you to want to continue on doing what you do, being a vital member to the mission we support and uphold here at RAF Mildenhall. Turning a wrench is in my blood, and I feel that carrying on in this field preserves the long history of military service my family has put forth for decades before me, and more to come.

How does the individual portray that core value?

"Choiniere is a highly motivated individual in all aspects of his career," said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Shaun Comley, 100th MXS NCO in charge of aircraft fuel systems repair. "He continually strives for excellence, whether it is responding to an aircraft, volunteering for squadron or base functions, or taking college courses for his CCAF. Choiniere is always the first to volunteer for any task, and leads his peers from the front."