Interview with Airman First Class Richard A. Shipp

Richard is a hardworking individual with a "hard headed mindset" as he put it. His favorite achievement was winning the military maintenance professional award during an AEF (time/ date/ number deleted). He says that learning the skills that he has while in the military is a very significant part of his life. Richard believes this because he'll be able to use what he has learned in the civilian sector too.

When asked about how he felt about his job, he stated, "I believe my job is crucial in the mission that the Air Force has to accomplish. The job is stressful.
Well in talking to A1C Shipp, I asked him, "How do you fit into the military global spectrum (What do you feel)?" He responded, "I feel that if you were to compare my job with a job from the Army or the Marines, then I'd be the guy who checked all of the ground troops' weapons and equipment and then fixes the problems that occur."

"Do you realize how important your job is?"

"My job is very important... Without me, pilots would be just guys with cool jackets and sunglasses"

"Do you consider yourself a hero?"

"I don't consider myself a hero, mainly, because it's my job,
"What do you feel about your workplace?"

"Seymour Johnson flightline is honestly the toughest flightline I have worked on. The high ops tempo and low man power makes it both tough and difficult for the supervision to keep the flightline organized and managed. We get through though. I've worked at RAF Lakenheath flightline, and it was great."

"What are your views on you and your job?"

"My views on my job are simple-great skill-terrible job."

"What makes your job hard and easy?"

"My actual job is easy... You run a jet up, locate the problem, and fix it. What makes it hard is all of the extra [deleted] we have to do like forms, CAMS [CAMS is the Core Automated Maintenance System or currently known as IMDS which is the Integrated Maintenance Data System], PRD sheets [information sheet], green tags [status tag], yellow tags [status tag], 2005s [order form],
(I don't want to go into detail explaining all of the forms. I only wanted to give a ball park idea)

"Do you have any advice for others that are would be recruits in the military?"

"My advice for anybody coming into the military would be RESEACH!!! Research before you decide to do anything, and then research [some] more after you decide and before you sign your life away."

He was very honest about his opinions. Without slating his opinion, I would have to say that the military is working hard to protect many. They are trying to do more with less. In such times, more with less is a tough thing to do. As he said though, the people who are working are pulling together as an Air Force team to get through the tough times. In my opinion, all of the men and women serving in the military are heroes. They have stepped outside of what they had to do by serving in the military. My definition of a hero is a person who goes through the little tough pains to get the mission accomplished and do a thankless job. So, when you see a uniformed person walking down the street, thank them for their service. Offer them a gesture of friendship or kindness. Ask them what they do and encourage them. As you see, it is tough to do the job they do.