Photo By Tech. Sgt. Shelby Thurman | Staff Sgt. Joshua Douthit, a crew chief with the 908th Maintenance Squadron at Maxwell...... read more read more
Staff Sgt. Joshua Douthit is a crew chief with the 908th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron here. The role of a crew chief is to ensure the proper function of the various systems and components of an aircraft that keep it flight ready and mission capable. The crew chiefs also use their aircraft expertise to determine what maintenance is required and then communicate what repairs are needed to the maintenance technicians.
Douthit joined the Air Force Reserve a month after graduating from highschool right outside of Birmingham, Alabama in 2017.
On his civilian side, Douthit is a full-time student who studies supply chain management at Auburn University. For this degree he combines logistics and operations management training in order to provide a practical understanding of procurement, operations, and logistics. All of these skills come together to help him succeed in overall business management.
Although Douthit is currently a crew chief, he hopes to get his private pilot license for recreational flying. He recalled his sister giving him a birthday gift of riding in an aircraft one year.
“From then on I knew I wanted to be a pilot,” said Douthit. “So, being a crew chief is the perfect job because I get to dive into airplanes and also work with my hands.”
Douthit returned back from his first deployment this past November. He described it as the best, worst time.
“It was horribly hot but I was blessed to be with the best people possible who were incredibly hard working,” he said.
He goes on to mention that he was especially grateful that they were joined by members of the 116th Airlift Wing with the Delaware Air National Guard.
He recalled that Tech. Sgt. Jerome Rulewicz, a crew chief with the 116th AW, was a huge mentor to him.
“He was very knowledgeable and super patient with me,” said Douthit. “I’m very grateful for him teaching me how to change the window for the first time on the flight deck of our C-130 [Hercules].”
He said that being surrounded by such kind and hard-working people in his career field, regardless of what unit they belong to, makes him feel happy to have chosen this path for his life.
| Date Taken: | 02.02.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 02.02.2022 15:32 |
| Story ID: | 413882 |
| Location: | MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA, US |
| Web Views: | 47 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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