Photo By Staff Sgt. Kylee Warren | Senior Airman Morgan Rounds, a hydraulics mechanic with the 153rd Maintenance...... read more read more
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – On a chilly December morning in Cheyenne, the metallic echo of a ratcheting lever cut through the hangar as Senior Airman Morgan Rounds leaned into his work aboard a C-130 Hercules. The aircraft, recently transferred from Peoria, Illinois, to join the 153rd Airlift Wing’s fleet, sat waiting for hydraulic repairs before it could officially take its place on the line.
Rounds, a hydraulics mechanic assigned to the 153rd Maintenance Squadron, worked to position a B-4 stand inside the aircraft so maintainers could remove and replace an aileron boost pack.
“This boost pack is similar to the hydraulics in a vehicle’s power steering pump,” Rounds said. “It’s what helps steer the plane.”
Rounds joined the Wyoming Air National Guard six years ago. As a drill status Guardsman, he reports to the wing one weekend each month.
“We have routine tasks,” Rounds said. “When a plane comes in, there are certain things that need to be completed before it can leave again.”
Outside those routine requirements, no two drill days are the same. “You never know what’s going to happen,” he said.
Rounds has deployed once and supported several temporary duty assignments, including training in Japan, Modular Airborne FireFighting System (MAFFS) missions, and exercises such as Colt Run in Reno.
One of his favorite parts of serving is the opportunity to travel.
“I’ve been just a small-town Wyoming kid,” Rounds said. “I’ve been to a lot of places that people my parents’ age have never been to and never will go. I enjoy the travel and the camaraderie within our shops.”
He recalled a moment in Africa when multiple maintenance shops had to collaborate to fabricate a replacement hydraulic line on-site.
“A line broke in the nose of the aircraft, and you can’t just go find a mechanic shop and order a part,” Rounds said. “It had to be specifically made, so we had several shops working together to manufacture that line.”
While he considers travel — and especially his deployment — to be among the most rewarding aspects of his service, Rounds said it’s the people who keep him motivated.
“Service is why I joined,” he said. “But the camaraderie is what keeps me coming back for drill weekends, training events, missions and deployments.”
Though the travel and hands-on work have shaped his career, Rounds said it’s the people beside him who make the long hours meaningful. In a hangar full of noise, tools and teamwork, he’s found a place, and a purpose, that keeps him returning month after month.
| Date Taken: | 12.06.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 12.11.2025 12:47 |
| Story ID: | 553332 |
| Location: | CHEYENNE, WYOMING, US |
| Web Views: | 12 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Behind the Mission: Senior Airman Morgan, by SSgt Kylee Warren, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
