Warrior of the Week: Airman 1st Class Steven Merz

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Derek VanHorn
  • 319th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  Name and Rank: Airman 1st Class Steven Merz

Unit: 69th Maintenance Squadron

Duty Title: Ground Systems Technician

Time in Service: 2 years

Time at Grand Forks: 1 year

Hometown: Centreville, Va.

Why is serving in the Air Force important to you?

Serving in the Air Force is important to me because it provided me a job where I can utilize the networking and computer hardware skills I had before I joined, and use them to complete the mission I am given here.

What accomplishment as a Warrior of the North are you most proud of and why?

The accomplishment I am most proud of would be helping to stand up the Global Hawk mission here. When I first got here we weren't flying -- just training -- and it seemed like forever until we would start flying. I took most of the off-time we had to train and be the best I could possibly be and it paid dividends in the long run.

What is your favorite part of the job?

My favorite part of this job would be the satisfaction of knowing how much the Global Hawk program has helped Airmen serving overseas in deployed locations.

Who inspires you and why?

My coworkers inspire me a lot, especially Airman 1st Class Andrew Miller because he always challenges me to do better. They all keep me on my toes and it helps to have that when there's downtime to stay focused.

What's the first thing that made you think Grand Forks Air Force Base was a cool place (other than the weather)?

The first thing that I liked about Grand Forks AFB is that it it's close to the city of Grand Forks, which is a well known hockey town because of the University of North Dakota hockey team. Being a big hockey fan it's cool to still see games and not pay a ridiculous amount of money to go see them.