CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
Senior Airman Wayne Ouellette is a member of the 437th Communications Squadron and has been stationed at Charleston AFB for more than five years.
He is currently deployed to the Middle East, where he is assigned to the 451st Expeditionary Communications Squadron.
In his deployed unit, Airman Ouellette is a help desk technician. His primary duty is to provide user-level computer support to more than 1,000 Air Force personnel at his deployed location.
"Our main priority is keeping communications up in support of the mission. From e-mail issues, to connectivity problems, we troubleshoot and resolve any computer issues our customers send our way," said Airman Ouellette. "If the problem isn't something we can resolve at our help desk, we create trouble tickets for our more specialized shops to handle for the customer."
During a six month rotation, Airman Ouellette, along with six other technicians, received more than 13,000 phone calls, 9,000 of which required assistance to resolve a problem.
While at Charleston AFB, Airman Ouellette is assigned to the 437 CS Network Control Center.
"My work-center is a more specialized shop handling the trouble tickets our communications focal point can't solve at their level."
According to Airman Ouellette, what he likes best about his job is the opportunity to work with computers and computer networking.
"I don't know everything there is to know about the subject, but there is always something new to learn. A big benefit of doing this job is I can apply things I learn at work to my computers at home," he said. "I can troubleshoot and fix things the average person usually has to pay to get fixed. It's also really nice to fix a problem that's been a headache for someone and it feels great to be appreciated. The benefit of resolving some of the harder issues is you will never forget what the problem was or how to fix it."
Airman Ouellette said he feels his greatest contribution to Team Charleston's mission is helping ensure communications are up and running 24 hours-a-day, seven days-a-week for Charleston AFB.
This "warrior of the week" hails from Grey's Creek, N.C., and joined the Air Force five years ago.
"I'm really looking forward to coming home and supporting Team Charleston. I want to do my part in making Charleston AFB the best base in Air Mobility Command," he said.
Airman Ouellette said his goals are to continue his career progression by pursing higher education and receiving more computer networking certifications.
"Airman Ouellette is driven to succeed," said Master Sgt. Joel Culbreth, 437 CS NCO in charge of network operations. "Since day one, I have been impressed with his eagerness to learn and his adaptability to new situations. I am proud to hear of his successes in his deployed location and look forward to him returning to share his experiences with the rest of the crew. Airman Ouellette epitomizes the Team Charleston 'can do' attitude in everything he tackles."