Taking care of E-4 and Below; a year of dedication, growth

Photo By Senior Airman Stephanie Gelardo | U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Chanese Hall, an 8th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Precision and Measurement Equipment Lab technician, trains Senior Airman Antonio Tejeda, an 8th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Precision and Measurement Equipment Lab technician, on a 5700A multifunction calibrator at Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea, February 5, 2021. PMEL technicians are responsible for calibrating equipment used in nearly every piece of equipment the U.S. Air Force operates. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Stephanie Gelardo)  

KUNSAN AIR BASE, SOUTH KOREA

02.22.2021

Story by Senior Airman Stephanie Gelardo 

AFN Kaiserslautern

KUNSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea –Leading a group of your peers can seem like a daunting task. Senior Airman Chanese Hall, an 8th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Precision and Measurement Equipment Lab technician, arrived in Korea ready to explore. However, during her one-year tour, she took on leadership roles that involved her in the Wolf Pack’s ever-changing community.
Encouraged by others, Hall attended elections for the Joint Force 4 council and was elected president. Along the way, she coached two teams as the 8th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron sports representative and completed classes toward her master’s degree, overlapping time to relax with friends while completing assignments.
“It was rough,” she said. “But being out here, I have this mentality that you don’t know what’s going to happen in life. So you have to take the opportunities that you’re given.”
By making time to sleep, work and execute her duties as JF4 president, coach volleyball and complete homework, Hall said her routine helped her to stay on top of her busy schedule. The leadership positions she took on at Kunsan let her develop skills she will take with her to her next duty location.
“I honestly surprised myself with what I was able to do,” she said. “I feel like being here in Kunsan was definitely the perfect place to open up my eyes to a lot of different things. I found that exact potion that I needed to help grow myself, so now when I leave here, I know I can carry that to my next base and keep going.”
She said being on the lower tier of the enlisted force structure, Airmen and Soldiers may feel like they don’t have a say in what goes on around base. As a voice for junior enlisted at Kunsan, Hall was able to widen her view to the changes Airmen wanted, and facilitate conversations for the Airmen on base.
“At the end of the day, I never wanted to feel like I let them down,” Hall said. “If anything goes wrong, if anything goes right, they’re [Joint Force 4] going to look to me and expect a yay, nay or hurray, we did it!”
She said she was able to grow as a person and it brought her joy to help the people around her. Hall left Kunsan better than she found it, mentoring the next JF4 class and leaving her knowledge behind with Kunsan’s PMEL.

• Date Taken: 02.22.2021
• Date Posted: 10.17.2021 07:40
• Story ID: 407414
• Location: KUNSAN AIR BASE, KR