I spent 12 years in the United States Air Force as a Radio Engineer and Network Technician. The first shop I ran was “Missile Radio Maintenance” at Malmstrom AFB Montana. I supervised and trained Airmen fresh out of technical school and oversaw the maintenance of 20 Missile Alert Facilities, across a territory the size of West Virginia.

From there a graduated to Lackland AFB Texas and worked in Depot Repair Center. This was a joint venture with the United States ARMY, Air Force, and DoD Civilian Personnel. Together we repaired and maintained legacy equipment that had no more replacement parts; most equipment had limited support material, and/or no wiring diagrams. It was not usually to repair parts the component level and work with suppliers to reinvent the wheel.

After three years I was promoted to become a Quality Assurance Agent. Quality Assurance Agents are the “eyes and ears” of the Squadron Commander; to ensure work-center’s training, reference material, safety programs, and supervision are up to date and in order. Agents are also tasked with staying up to date with all new technical data and procedures for the entire squadron.

When I completed my tour of Lackand AFB I was sent the Oson AFB South Korea to setup a Quality Assurance Workcenter from scratch. I used this opportunity to create a workcenter, with my own flair, that raised the bar for coworker trust and collaboration. This program hardened followership, leadership, and team cohesion; by helping coworker understand the responsibilities of their coworkers.

After 12 years of service I left to become a full time student at UTSA to become a mechanical engineer. Two years in my wife needed help to start her own business and I took a leave of absence from school to help out with income. Working on cars in the driveway was always a hobby passion and I started as Lube Tech at a Lincoln Dealership. It was only supposed to last a year. My exposure to the repair industry gas lit my obsession with automotive repair.

Two years later I was recruited by Subaru of America and my passion grew. I was fast tracked for Subaru school and within a year became a Subaru Certified Technician; a year later I was given a team. After running a team for two years I volunteered to help run a sister Subaru Dealership.

At my current location I now work side by side with the Service Drive Manager, Parts Department Manager, and General Manager. I collaborate with field service engineers and Subaru of America tech support to figure new model update problems. Three years ago I purchased my first scope and taught myself how to read waveforms, perform relative compression tests, and diagnose engines with transducers.

I get pleasure figuring out problems no one else can and finding new ways to diagnose problems.