Warrior of the Week: Tech. Sgt. Mark Hopkins

  • Published
  • By Airman Derek VanHorn
  • 319th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  Tech. Sgt. Mark Hopkins is the non-commisioned officer in charge of the water and fuels system maintenance section of the 319th Civil Engineering Squadron at Grand Forks Air Force Base.

"We get the customer service calls and take it from there," said sergeant Hopkins. "We do it all. We help the base population with problems expanding from backed up sinks to natural gas reports."

It might not sound like fun work to all, but Hopkins enjoys his job for multiple reasons.

"My motivation and favorite part of what I do is working with the guys in the shop," he said. "We have fun working together. Regardless of the size of the job, we have a positive impact in all the work we do."

A history of maintenance runs in the family, as Hopkins's father worked as a civilian engineer in Germany for the U.S. Army. That provided Hopkins an opportunity to travel and experience the world before many others.

"I was a fortunate child, as I was able to travel all over," said Hopkins. "It was cool to take advantage of seeing different parts of the world that most people don't get to see at such a young age."

The overseas experience also provided Hopkins opportunities to take advantage of one of his favorite hobbies, snowboarding.

"I've been snowboarding in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and France," he said. "The mountains are more like hills in North Dakota, but I take advantage of the trips here when I can."

When Hopkins isn't snowboarding in his free time, he enjoys taking his three children riding on his Harley, a 2005 Softail Night Train.

"One at a time of course," Hopkins laughed. "When I retire I really want to become a Harley technician. I'd like to go to the Motorcycle Mechanical Institute, get certified and start working on bikes."

In the meantime, Hopkins is near finishing his Community College of the Air Force degree and intends to pursue a bachelor's degree in either psychology or English. The military has provided him a more affordable route to achieving that degree, but Hopkins is aware that not all Americans have that opportunity.

"It would be good to have free college and health care for all United States citizens," he said. "Too many people skip college because of the price."

Hopkins is also a huge fan of tattoos, and has a personalized approach to getting them done.

"What happens is an idea will come to mind that directly relates to me or has impacted my life in some way," he said. "Then I'll talk to my artist and we get the ideas down on paper and he draws from there. My first tattoo was actually something I drew."

Sergeant Hopkins would also someday like to scuba-dive the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia and complete a Master's Degree.