Photo By Sgt. Felicya Adams | Senior Airman William Wilson Jr., a movement control team member with the 37th...... read more read more
SATHER AIR BASE, Iraq – The blazing sun stared down at the airman who stood in formation holding an important flag. He waited for the ceremony to begin as the day got hotter. The young airman remained disciplined as the sun continued to shine in his eyes and produce heat that was almost unbearable. Without hesitation, he snapped his body and flag to attention to show honor and respect.
Finding time to get involved in extra activities in one’s local community at home can be challenging, but finding time while deployed is almost out of the question.
This is not the case for Senior Airman William Wilson Jr., a movement control team member with the 37th Movement Control Team, 53rd Transportation Battalion, 310th Expeditionary Sustainment Command and a Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, native. What sets this airman apart from others is his eagerness to volunteer for activities outside of his daily work schedule.
Wilson goes above and beyond his normal duties by volunteering his free time by participating in the modern army combatives program and by dedicating time as an active member of the honor guard. He also joined the Sather Air Base Eagles soccer team.
“Being involved makes me feel a lot more military, and I like being involved in a little more outside of my career field,” Wilson said.
He takes the most pride in serving as the guardian of the colors by displaying and escorting national flags on ceremonial occasions.
“I like the feeling you get when you do a Veteran’s Day parade or when you do a funeral for a family because they come up to you afterward and they thank you for what you did especially because you might have been standing in that one spot for an hour or an hour and a half and didn’t move, showing complete respect,” Wilson said.
The airman attends all practices after duty hours to help maintain the exceptionally high standards of appearance and conduct that the honor guard demands and to help preserve the ability to show aptitude for all ceremonial duties.
“In honor guard we strive to be the best in everything and still uphold everything else,” Wilson said.
What he is doing now is considered base-level honor guard. Wilson said his goal is to make it on the official honor guard based in Washington D.C., which represents the military as a whole and the United States as a nation.They perform numerous ceremonies on behalf of the president of the United States.
“Personally, you stand out from the crowd in the honor guard; you’re not just another regular airman going to work and going home,” Wilson said.
Additionally, he strives to be a better airman by training in the hard and arduous level-one combatives course. His interest started before he even landed in country.
A curiosity for combatives developed during Wilson’s mandatory one-month combat skills training with the Army he had to attend prior to deployment.
“I took the three-hour-long class, and I stayed interested in it and knew I wanted to do it when I got out here if I got the chance,” he said.
Wilson mentioned that his goal on deployment is to get certified for combatives skill levels one and two.
Not only does he have the motivation to become qualified as an airman, but also he has the desire to complete all combatives levels.
“I’m going to do level two here if they let me and level three and four when I get back to the States,” Wilson added.
He also said he eventually wanted to be one of the first Air Force instructors to work with the Army and teach skill levels three and four.
On top of completing his daily work tasks, combatives, and honor guard practice and ceremonies, Wilson has the desire to play soccer three times a week and in tournaments. He said he’s been playing soccer since he was a child but had no intentions to join a soccer team on deployment.
“I was actually walking past the basketball court on my way to the gym and saw them out there and I just went and started kicking around with them,” Wilson said. “Then they asked me to play in a couple tournaments with them, so I just started playing.”
He said he enjoys playing because the people that come out there are a lively bunch, they like soccer as much as him, and, according to Wilson, it’s hard to find people who like soccer around there.
A portion of Wilson’s motivation comes from his supervisor back at his home station.
“I look up to my supervisor because she doesn’t really take 'no' for an answer, and she can definitely draw the line between [a non-commissioned officer], a supervisor and an open-door policy,” he said. “She usually pushes us to do more, and she’s always right there if we need something or if we want to achieve something.”
Wilson is following in his supervisor’s steps and inspiring other young airman like himself to go above and beyond their regular daily duties.
“I think it’s cool that he does stuff like this, he goes the extra mile and it motivates me and inspires me to do more,” said Senior Airman Sterling Mitchell, a movement control team member with the 37th MCT and a Rosharon, Texas, native.
With all the activities Wilson stays involved with, he is still thinking about future goals he wants to pursue.
“Our home station is sending us a professional development guide so I can start reading up on the Air Force history and things like dress and appearance so I can get ready for that promotion test next year,” he said.
Next on Wilson’s list while he’s deployed is to take college-level examination program courses to take his education further.
“I want to take some CLEP courses when the books come back into rotation and then some classes, but not until I get back to the States, because I’m more of a classroom person; chalkboard and eraser,” he said.
Back to the ceremony: The blazing sun continued to beat down, but Wilson held that heavy flag and pole precisely during the entire time without moving a muscle. As the event came to a conclusion, he was able to walk away from it feeling personally satisfied.
Wilson’s personal quest for self-improvement is an act that he hopes will be an example for others both during deployment and when the unit returns home.
| Date Taken: | 05.06.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 05.08.2011 09:11 |
| Story ID: | 70055 |
| Location: | SATHER AIR BASE, IQ |
| Web Views: | 60 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Airman goes above and beyond during deployment, by SGT Felicya Adams, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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