Temerity Jane

What did I miss, Part 3

See this post to play along.

So, awlbiste had a second question left in the comments:

Okay how about…. Question 2: What exactly does Phil do all day?

As I said yesterday, I had to wait to continue until Phil actually wrote it, because if you asked me what he does, I would tell you that he eats bacon rolls, something about a bat penis, and bombs. I’m pretty sure the bombs are the significant part, but I don’t like to think about that.

So, he has come through with his post and Internet, you get to read it at the same time that I do. I don’t really know what he does all day and have really just been content as long as he comes home with diet soda at the end of the day.

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As most of you know I am a SSgt in the USAF, but that is just my title. My actual job is AMMO, or munitions system specialist. In my career field there are eight to ten different functional areas. They all center on dealing with bombs, missiles, projectiles, and any and all other explosives. My current duty section is called munitions storage. Our job is to bring explosive components to other sections for them to assemble or inspect. We also maintain the buildings that the explosives are housed in and ensure that all items are fully accounted for.

The question is what do I do all day? Well that can vary quite a bit from day to day, so I will just tell you what I do for the most part. I described what my job is above, but really that is only a small part of what I do.

0700: the start of the duty day. Monday we have PT (physical Training), now that can vary from running a 5K to doing timed running along with push-ups, sit-ups, leg lifts, crunches, and whatever else they can think of to make me feel like I am dying. Tuesday thru Friday we start the day with a morning meeting. We get information on things that are happing around the flight and the base in general, find out if we have any training coming up, and find out the work load for the day.

0730: The work for the day is divided up among 4 different crews, one of which I am in charge of. It is handed out in the form of work orders, which have all the information we need to do a job. The location of the assets we need to pull, where it is going and how much of it they want. We also have to find out all of the hazards for the items in question. The item can go BOOM, but we need to know how likely that is and how bad it can be if it did.

0731: I go smoke

0800: depending on the size of the job or the complexity I may go with my crew, however I usually have other things to do. All of my Airman are fully qualified to do whatever task is required, I know because I trained them all. So I have no worries when it comes to letting them do jobs on their own. Most jobs we get take around an hour to do, but it can vary widely. Sometimes we are out there for half the day down loading a semi-truck, other times we are picking up a single box and delivering it to a person like we are Fed-ex.

1030-1200: Lunch. Now depending on the month my lunch is 1030-1200 or 1200-1330. We split the lunch times in my shop to insure that there is someone here at all times, just in case we need to do something that was unscheduled.

1200-1430: I look to see what, if any, work still needs to be done and get it done. Now most of the time all of the work for the day has been completed, so I will send my Airman out to pull weeds around buildings, sweep the inside of the buildings and, just general cleaning. We have standards to maintain when it come to cleanliness.

1430-1600: On Wednesday and Thursday I go to the gym and work out. Yes, the Air Force gives us time to work out during duty hours. The other days it’s a lot of trying to find things to do. However, the fact is that sometimes there is nothing to do.

Now in between all of that time I also have a lot of other things to do. I have to get to know my Airman on a personal level. The reason for this is to know if things are off with them and to help them. I also have to play the part of counselor for them, if it is beyond my skills I have to direct them to other resources on base. I have to inspect their Dorm rooms if they are single to insure they are living hygienically. I have to write performance reports on all of them, and write awards packages for them as well.

I need to check my E-mail constantly to see what new appointments I have or they have and set up reminders for them and me. I spend a lot of time with E-mail and on the computer in general. There is also a lot of research that needs to be done sometimes, whether on a regulation or getting information for one of my Airman.

There can be a lot of down time too, and that can lead to trouble sometimes. For instance; the boss catching you (me) throwing a stress ball at a peer, or spending half the day looking for sites that are not blocked by IT.

This is in no means all I do, but it’s mostly what I do.

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You know, Internet… just because I wear pajamas all day doesn’t mean I don’t do stuff, too!