Warrior of the Week: Senior Airman Casey Dale

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Derek VanHorn
  • 319th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  His Southern accent may be thicker than summer air back home in Mississippi, but it's his Southern hospitality that best depicts him.

Senior Airman Casey Dale is a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning technician with the 319th Civil Engineering Squadron, and he puts that hospitality to work every day on the job.

"We make sure you have cool air on a hot summer day," said Dale, whose two years of HVAC technical training at Mississippi's Pearl River Community College made the transition to the Air Force an easy one. "And more importantly, that you have warm air during these cold North Dakota winters."

The 24-hour drive north from his hometown of Prentiss was a total climate change for Dale, his wife, Ricki, and 1-year-old daughter, Lainey, but it was made much warmer by his family back home.

"My entire family has been a big inspiration to me during my military career," he said. "They've been there for me 100 percent of the way; family always comes first."

It's a support that will grow even stronger as he and Ricki anxiously await the birth of son, Lenix, who is expected to arrive in late November.

If he's not with his family, it won't take you long to track him down.

"I love the game of golf," said the mellow Airman. "I spend as much free time as I can on the course, it's my home away from home.

"When I retire I would love to work in that career field. As a player, owner - anything, I'd just love to spend my time around the game," Dale said.

Dale plans to wait awhile to chase the golf dream as he joked he plans to serve in the Air Force "until they kick me out." He added he would like to climb the enlisted ranks and someday earn the chevron of a chief master sergeant.

For now, Dale's three stripes keep him busy on jobs with the other nine Airmen in the HVAC shop.

"You got to have thick skin and tough blood to survive in this shop," Dale laughed. "We're always hard on each other, but at the same time we help each other out."

After his hard work and career comes to an end, Dale plans to take his family to warmer and more familiar weather.

"Someday down the road I'd like to wrap up my career with my toes in the sand and a cold drink in my hand."