96th Test Wing Public Affairs
6/5/2013 - EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- A day in the life of an Air Force jet maintainer reached Mach speed while deployed overseas, earning him the Bronze Star Medal.
Senior Master Sgt. Jamie Jordan, 33rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron assistant superintendent, was awarded the honor during an official ceremony at his unit June 4, 2013.
"A lot of people sacrificed more than I did," said Jordan who was a part of a team of military members from a variety of backgrounds that became "family" during the deployment.
From March 2012 to February 2013, Jordan generated more than 8,000 combat missions and the collection of 250,000 intelligence images supporting U.S. Central Command combat operations in the Horn of Africa. Missions he played a major supporting role in varied; offload 344 million pounds of fuel to 30,000 coalition aircraft, support 2,100 troops in contact events, execute 500 strike missions against Al Qaeda insurgents and beddown of 1 million net explosive weight pounds of combat-ready munitions.
"This is not something that is awarded to everyone," said Lt. Col. Maurice Lee, 33 AMXS commander, who explained how medal packages from deployed theatre operations are scrutinized highly. "Jamie's recognition transcends time. Not every commander gets the privilege to award the Bronze Star."
According to the history of the military tradition, the decoration was designed as an equivalent to an Air Medal for ground units that are the backbone of the flying operations, he said.
Jordan was also recognized by his unit for being there to set up its shop at the 33rd Fighter Wing.
"He was one of the very first in the squadron, hand-picked to stand up F-35 maintenance," said Lee.
This included preparing hangar space, scheduling tasks and training Airmen which he will continue to do a few more years.
"We learned as we went and now we are helping other bases learn so they can be ready for this jet as well," said Jordan who has an extensive background in F-16 avionics, something that makes one "seasoned" in a platform.
The newness of the F-35 means there are no "seasoned" maintainers for the fifth generation aircraft, so his crew is it for the Air Force.
Similarly, while deployed, Jordan watched his overseas unit grow to 1,400 personnel from more than eight platforms. It supported a "composite wing" of approximately 100 aircraft charged with a variety of missions like refueling, reconnaissance, fighter plus supporting command and control.
"As with other weapons' platforms, we have setbacks but we stay with it and learn every day," said Jordan.
Managing the second largest munitions storage capability in the area of responsibility overseas added to his deployed responsibilities of supporting a variety of daily air tasking.
"Our biggest challenge was resource management," said Jordan. "The wing grew nearly 250 percent in the first three months of my deployment. The growth of resources lagged compared to personnel and aircraft growth. To meet mission requirements, units had to think outside standard ops -- we shared everything from personnel, to support equipment, to aircraft parking spaces."
Throughout his career he credits his parents for the foundation of strength and perseverance. While deployed, he leaned on encouraging leadership for support.
Jordan's parents were present for the ceremony along with his brother and other guests. In honor of their support, the squadron gave them appreciation gifts as well.
"For him to serve as a group superintendent there was at a level higher than he was here," said Lee. "It is an awesome accomplishment for him to be chosen -- a tremendous opportunity for someone like Jamie."
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