Pride of the Pack: Senior Airman Steven Stiehl

  • Published
  • 8th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
KUNSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  

Unit: 8th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron

Duties: Aircraft Electrical and Environmental Systems Journeyman

Hometown: Fallon, Nev.

Hobbies: Snowboarding

Favorite music: Lords of Acid

Follow on: Royal Air Force Lakenheath AFB, England

Last good movie you saw: Transformers 2

Best thing you've done here: Save money

Reason for nomination: "During the 80th Aircraft Maintenance Unit's recent deployment to Operation DISTANT FRONTIER/RED FLAG in Alaska, Senior Airman Steven Stiehl showed courage and dedication to his team while troubleshooting a power failure on an electronic countermeasures pod. When his team applied external electrical power to the aircraft, which was fully loaded with live munitions, a small fire was started at a damaged connector which sent showers of sparks in all directions. Airman Stiehl deftly took charge of the situation, immediately ran over to the external power cart and shut the power off. After the situation was under control, the ground crew noticed the aircraft was also venting fuel. This combination of events could have had devastating results if Airman Stiehl had not taken charge of the situation. His efforts averted a potential loss of lives and aircraft. Airman Stiehl is truly deserving of the title, 'Pride of the Pack'!" - Senior Master Sgt. Paul Julbes, 8th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron