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Weasel of the Week | Staff Sgt. Ryan Burns

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Isaac Nicholson
  • 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --  Where are you from?
I’m from Wrightsville, Pennsylvania.

Why did you decide to join the Air Force?
I wanted to support my family.

How long have you been at Shaw?
I’ve been at Shaw for five years.

What is one Air Force resource you found that is incredibly beneficial?
I have found the mental health programs to be very beneficial to me and my family as we have adjusted to military life.

What is your favorite part of South Carolina?
I really enjoy the winters here.

What is your favorite part of your hometown?
I love how friendly the locals are back home.

How would you describe a normal day for you?
There are one of two types of shifts that I could be working on any given day. I could be on airfield observation, which mostly consists of me spending the day watching the sky and recording my observations of the clouds and weather patterns throughout my shift, to ultimately come up with a forecast. However, I could also be tasked with a briefing shift which includes me showing up before the brief time of the pilots or a squadron, sharing that weather brief and then preparing the weather brief for the next person on shift.

What is one thing you wish people knew about your job?
I wish people knew that there is a skill that comes with measuring the weather. You can’t simply read off what’s on the screen. There are certain fundamentals to this job that you have to apply to do it well and forecast more accurately.

What is one word that describes how you lead?
I lead by example. I like to be the guy that is early to my shift, making sure that the work that I do is accurate. I don’t want to be seen as lazy.

What is your favorite sport? Team?
To be honest, I don’t really enjoy sports. But I do love playing ultimate frisbee.

What is your least favorite part of your job? How do you make sure it gets done?
I don’t enjoy writing enlisted performance reports. In order to do it well you have to be very specific in your wording and it can be taxing. However, as long as I try to make small progress on my reports each day, rather than putting them off, they’re much easier to handle.

What is your favorite part of the job?
I love how tied we are to the mission. It makes me feel like the work that I’m doing is really valuable.

What would you like to say to the people back home?
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to go out and take care of this country, to defend it and keep it free.