Warrior of the Week: Tech. Sgt. Ryan Bacskai

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. David Dobrydney
  • 319th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
Name: Tech. Sgt. Ryan Bacskai

Unit: 372nd Training Squadron, Detachment 27

Duty title: RQ-4 Maintenance Instructor

Time in service: 11 years

Time on station: 3 years, 4 months

Hometown:  Aurora, Colo.

Why is serving in the Air Force important to you?
Security for my family, and a sense of serving something greater than myself.

What moment or accomplishment as a Warrior of the North are you most proud of and why?
Assisting with the stand-up of the 69th Reconnaissance Group, I learned a ton. For example, what goes in to building a HAZMAT program from scratch as well as what it takes to establish an aircraft crash recovery program; the experience was invaluable.

What is your favorite part of your job?
The "Ah Ha" moment. The students' reaction when they start to understand and grasp the concept that you are trying to teach them.

How do you apply the wing commander's principles of 'passion, proficiency and professionalism'?
As an AETC instructor you have to apply these principles every day. Students can tell when you're not passionate, if you are not interested in what you have to teach them then you'll lose your audience. As far as proficiency, if you don't know what you're talking about then you lose credibility. As an instructor you have to set and exceed the standard as a professional.

Who or what inspires you and why?
My family. My wife has stuck by me through three deployments and two short tours to Korea, one of those short tours coming after we'd only been married seven months. Also my three boys for being so resilient and understanding when daddy has to get on an airplane. At the end of the day, they're the reason I do what I do.

What's the first thing that made you think Grand Forks Air Force Base was a cool place other than the temperature or weather?
I am a huge hockey fan, I played growing up and still play in a men's league in town. Coming to a place where the sport plays such a huge role in the community was awesome.

Do you have any military service or anyone close to you? If so when and where did they serve?
My Dad retired from the Air Force in 1989 after 21 years, and my cousin Jeff recently retired from the Army after almost 30 years.