Grand Forks AFB, ND -- In the middle of the desert is a Warrior of the North who does his job with the hope that the equipment he works on will never be used. 

“Basically if the aircrew has to use our stuff, they are having a really bad day,” said Tech. Sgt. Rodney Coy (NCO in charge of the 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron aircrew life support section, deployed from Grand Forks Air Force Base). 

Sergeant Coy’s section is responsible for the maintenance of helmets, parachutes, survival vests, “anything a crewmember would need in the event of a crash landing or bail out.” Life support also ensures the aircrews are trained on how to properly use the equipment in an emergency. 

“If you listen to the general (Brig. Gen. Ted Kresge, 379th AEW commander) speak, we are the sole-source of this war,” said Sergeant Coy. “Tankers are refueling almost all the aircraft in the theater (of operations) so we stay very busy.” 

This is the second deployment to Southwest Asia in six months for the 912th Air Refueling Squadron member. 

“There is not a lot of difference for us whether we are deployed or not,” said the 15-year veteran. “The environment here plays a huge factor in the process though. The heat means we do in-shop activities during the day and flightline activities at night.” 

The third-generation war fighter is well prepared to use his home station training for the Global War on Terror. 

“My grandfather was in the Army Air Corps in World War II, my father was in the Air Force in Vietnam, and I joined the Air Force during the first Gulf War,” he said. “It can be less stressful to deploy because we prepare for it all the time. It seems to me that the training to do our job is harder than actually doing our job. When we deploy, we pack our bags, get here and do the mission. It’s what we train to do.” 

“The life support professionals in the 340 EARS inspect, repair and maintain equipment that we hope we never have to use,” said Grand Forks Air Force Base’s Lt. Col. Patrick Sullivan, 340th EARS commander. “But in an emergency situation, that equipment must perform perfectly - the first time. There are no second chances and no backup systems. Our people do a fantastic job of meeting that challenge every day.” 

Deploying is not without challenges, however. Sergeant Coy has deployed several times to places like Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Spain, Italy, and here and each time leaves behind his wife and two sons. 

“One challenge of deploying is that the troops are separated from their families, just like I am, so supervising them is harder,” he said. “It’s my job to make sure they don’t let the troubles from home and being separated from home come into the workplace. I also have to stay positive for the troops and not let them see me getting down about being away from family.” 

Another challenge of deploying is the increased operations tempo. With nearly 24-hour flying operations, life support has a significant increase in inspections and gear preparations. Even with more work, Sergeant Coy is confident his team is contributing positively to the war without sacrificing quality. 

“If it came right down to it and the crew had to use our equipment, they’d know how to use it” he said, “and it’s guaranteed to work.”