CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
Staff Sgt. Christopher Ferrell is a member of the 437th Civil Engineer Squadron Explosives Ordnance Disposal Flight 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 755th Air Expeditionary Squadron.
In his deployed unit, Sergeant Ferrell is an EOD team leader. His primary duties include the exploitation, destruction and rendering safe of improvised explosive devices. Also, he is currently the direct support EOD team leader to the British Special Air Service and the Navy Sea, Air, and Land Forces, commonly known as the Navy SEALs.
"My first mission out here was a route clearance and a vehicle in our convoy was hit by a large IED, which resulted in four U.S. [casualties]. It was a bad day for us, we attempted combat lifesaver [skills], but their injuries were too severe to save them."
While at Charleston AFB, Sergeant Ferrell is the NCO in charge of training for EOD. He contributes to the unit's mission by monitoring and developing training programs for five and seven skill-level upgrade trainees.
According to Sergeant Ferrell, what he likes best about his job is the opportunity to work with high explosives and high-character Airmen.
"It is definitely a mix of the counter IED missions and the camaraderie that is built [within] our career field," he said.
Sergeant Ferrell said he feels his greatest contribution to Team Charleston's mission is by faithfully deploying in support of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom.
"I have spent most of my time at Charleston deployed. This is my third deployment to Afghanistan since 2005, and I returned from Iraq in Nov of 2008. We are pretty busy every deployment I have been on, so it has been extremely hard to do much of anything else," he said.
"I would like to thank my wife and daughter for being as great as they have been. I celebrated my fifth anniversary in June and it was the first one I was home for. My daughter is two years old and I have missed most of her life."
This "warrior of the week" hails from Louisiana and joined the Air Force six years ago.
"I didn't have a real plan on what to do with myself or my life, I wanted to get married and it seemed like the right move for me," he said.
Now, Sergeant Ferrell said his career goal is to be commissioned as an officer.
"Chris is seriously considering a commission and I support him 100 percent in his decision," said Tech. Sgt. Raymond Pomeroy, 437 CES EOD superintendent. "For my own selfish reasons, I hate to give him up. Nobody wants to let their premium talent go, but he has the right character, mindset and motivation to take his career far beyond his expectations.
Sergeant Ferrell is the backbone of the flight, the go to guy. His level of commitment, dedication and selfless service to the flight, as a whole, speaks volumes to his character and is evidenced by the large void those of us left behind must fill. In some way, he touches most every aspect of day-to-day operations and his hard-charging attitude is sorely missed."