Quality assurance Airman turns hardship into strength

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Benjamin Stratton
  • 8th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
KUNSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  [Editors note: This story is part of "Through Airmen's Eyes". These stories and commentaries focus on a single Airman, highlighting their Air Force story.]

Tech. Sgt. Barry Armstrong grew up in a broken home, living with his mother and siblings moving from town to town looking for work just to make ends meet.

After graduating high school, he attended college at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla. He was an Army Reserve Officer Training Corps cadet determined to become an air-attack helicopter pilot. But after a year of study, it was apparent he wasn't ready for college. And so following a great line of mechanics and the support of his Marine Corps uncle, Brian Sampson, Armstrong enlisted in the Air Force in February of 1998 with a guaranteed job as an F-15 Strike Eagle crew chief.

However, while at basic military training, Armstrong received word his uncle and role model had passed away.

"He was my main reason for even going into the service," he said. "I never planned on making a career out of the Air Force, but after hearing of my uncle's death, I wanted to in some way impress him. It was at that point I knew of the man I wanted to become."

It was as if fate had intervened, he said. The young, bright eyed, soon-to-be crew chief was presented with another option during his final weeks of BMT.

"They offered me a six year enlistment contract with the starting rank of airman first class as a weapons troop," Armstrong continued. "Because at that time the Air Force really needed weapons guys and so I couldn't turn down the opportunity."

With his immense background with anything he could put a wrench to and his love for everything involving the up and coming technology of the late 90's, computers, Armstrong trudged forward as he attended a five-month technical training at Shepherd Air Force Base, Texas.

Now, a fully trained weapons war fighter, Armstrong traveled to his first duty assignment at Edwards AFB, Calif. An assignment he said he'll not soon forget.

"Being at Edwards, I learned a lot about the other side of weapons, the electrical side," he said.

According to the career weapons loader, most of what these guys do is directly maintenance related on the flightline. But there's so much more than just turning a wrench for these Airmen, there's also working with the modern computer systems associated with the aircraft of today's Air Force.

"I was directly involved with developing new technical data and troubleshooting electrical issues on the aircraft," Armstrong said. "The great thing about doing what I did at Edwards was we got to see and work with things the rest of the Air Force wouldn't see for 10 years or more."

Edwards AFB is host to the 412th Test Wing. This wing plans, conducts, analyzes and reports on all flight and ground testing of aircraft, weapons systems, software and components as well as modeling and simulation for the Air Force.

"My first supervisor at Edwards fostered an attitude of independence," said Armstrong. "This allowed us to do our own thing and even screw up some times so we could learn from our mistakes. It wasn't quite the leadership style I appreciated though. I'm more of a 'hands-on' learner. So while I learned a lot about my career field and how to accomplish the mission, he showed me how I didn't want to train when my time came."

And his time certainly came. Armstrong has more than 14 years of experience working on the flightline as a weapons loader and a year of that here at Kunsan working as an 8th Maintenance Group weapons quality assurance inspector. But he said this isn't the first time he's come to Kunsan, he's been here before.

"The last time I was here, I met my wife," he said. "She was an American Forces Network broadcaster here. We were on the same Dungeons and Dragons group and when they had contests, I would visit AFN to pickup my prizes. I also volunteered my voice for commercials and such. We became friends quickly, started dating and got married within our one year tour."

This was during his last tour at Kunsan before now from March 2004 to 2005.

He said that was definitely the most memorable experience he's had since joining the Air Force. His last experience at Kunsan moved him so much he jumped at the chance to come back.

"My previous leadership at Shaw AFB, S.C., recommended me for the open position in the quality assurance flight here," he said. "My wife and I both got orders to Korea and the rest is history."

His wife, Genevieve, is serving in the public affairs office at Osan Air Base. They are able to visit as often as their respective missions allow. But for Armstrong, it's a mission he loves doing and even extended a year.

"Being a QA inspector I get to see how everything works, how everything comes together to complete the mission," he said.

Establishing a reputation for being able to "regurgitate" any regulation and always doing the right thing no matter who's looking, earned himself the name, "Business" among his peers.

"I have this uncanny knack for being able to quote regulations verbatim," he said. "This allows me to better mentor our maintenance Airmen as I'm performing evaluations and inspections on their performance. I'm going to let them know what they're doing wrong and teach them how to do it the right way."

This continued attention to detail has served him well as he looks forward to another year at Kunsan as a QA inspector. Armstrong continues in the tradition of mentorship gained from his uncle more than a decade ago, as he continues to extend the same guidance to the Airmen he works with at Kunsan.

"If I wasn't married and didn't have plans for a family, I'd request to stay at Kunsan indefinitely," he said. "There's no other base like the Wolf Pack in the entire Air Force and I'm happy to be here."