CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
Airman 1st Class Spencer Keeley is a member of the 14th Airlift Squadron and has been stationed at Charleston AFB for six months.
She is currently on a deployment to Southwest Asia where she serves as a C-17 loadmaster with the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron. As a C-17 loadmaster, her duties include preparing the jet, supervising the uploads and downloads of the jet, and taking care of passengers during the flight. Airman Keeley said she contributes to Team Charleston's mobility mission with "sweat and a smile."
"While deployed, we pretty much fly every day," said Airman Keeley. "We always have more than one stop so the days are very long and it's incredibly hot. I also like the amount of responsibility we are given so soon in my career field. I'm only an airman 1st class and so many people come to me looking for answers along with help.
"I also enjoy the people in my squadron and working with them. If it wasn't for them, it would probably be a lot tougher to do my job. Being able to travel all over the world is a plus, as well," she added. "Every day is an interesting experience, starting with the locals to the people I work with every day."
This "warrior of the week" hails from Pittsburgh and enlisted in the Air Force more than a year ago to travel and to finish college. Her future career goals are to finish school and to continue to be a loadmaster until she decides to do something different.
She volunteers her services to Habitat for Humanity, national HIV/AIDS program and the Multiple Sclerosis program when not deployed.
"Even though Airman Keeley has only been with us since January of this year, she has made a huge Global War on Terrorism impact," said Master Sgt. William Lesage, 14 AS loadmaster section supervisor. "She has transported almost 4 million pounds of cargo and more than 3,000 passengers in the first 90 days of our current deployment. She handles challenging situations very well."