Photo By Airman 1st Class Rebecca Harima | Charlie Garcia, 86th Logistics Readiness Squadron aerial delivery supervisor, poses on...... read more read more
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RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany – The sound of forklifts moving cargo, jets revving up to takeoff and pallets being prepared echo daily throughout the aerial delivery shop at the 86th Logistic Readiness Squadron. In a space once filled with Airmen, chatter and constant movement, one man continues showing up each day determined to keep the mission moving forward.
Charlie Garcia, 86th LRS aerial delivery supervisor, spent the past several months sustaining a workload normally managed by an eight-person team. He has been supporting over 200 airdrop training missions for the 37th Airlift Squadron and helps keep aircrews mission qualified.
“There have been daily moments that I thought to myself, ‘how will I continue this mission and priorities for all the tasks needing to be accomplished in this section?’” Garcia expressed. “But, I maintained a resilient, calm and collected thought process to continue the aircrew training mission.”
Garcia said the responsibility became especially difficult after the shop became suddenly empty, leaving him to balance airdrop cargo preparation, all the while simultaneously managing the entire aerial delivery operation alone.
“I absolutely hate the emptiness of the shop,” Garcia said. “I love taking care of Airmen. I love seeing their faces. Being by myself has been lonely and sad at times.”
Despite the pressure, Garcia continues supporting the flying mission through long hours, late nights and constant availability.
“The sacrifices that I’ve had to make to continue the mission have been nothing short of just being on call nonstop, working late nightly hours just to be able to continue that aircrew training mission,” Garcia said.
Lt. Col. Tyler Comte, 37th AS director of operations, described how Garcia’s consistency and professionalism allows the squadron to maintain readiness during the manpower shortage.
“The 37th AS is responsible for tactical airdrop and air land across two combatant commands, and without Charlie, we would not be able to maintain our mission-ready status.”
Garcia sustains the high operational tempo of an entire shop despite working alone.
“It’s unusual that one person can do what Charlie does,” Comte said. “He individually has kept the entire ops tempo up for his office, completely supporting the entire training mission.”
Garcia’s attitude became contagious throughout the squadron.
“Even if we’re asking him to do something outside the normal workflow, he has a ‘yes sir, can do’ attitude about it,” Comte said. “He shows up everyday and doesn’t leave until the job is done.”
Garcia’s perspective and experience reinforces the importance of resilience, teamwork and dedication civilians play in mission success.
“Although we do not wear the same uniform, we are part of the same organization,” Garcia said. “There are a lot of us that are mission focused and mission driven and we will accomplish the mission regardless of how it is given to us.”
| Date Taken: | 05.31.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 06.01.2026 05:25 |
| Story ID: | 566525 |
| Location: | RAMSTEIN-MIESENBACH, RHEINLAND-PFALZ, DE |
| Web Views: | 21 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, 37th AS: one man, one plan, one mission at hand, by A1C Rebecca Harima, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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