CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
Staff Sgt. Nicholas Burtch is a member of the 437th Logistics Readiness Squadron and has been stationed at Charleston AFB for about two years.
He is currently deployed to the Middle East where he is the NCO in charge of the Provincial Reconstruction Team with the 755th Air Expeditionary Group. Sergeant Burtch's responsibilities include ordering, shipping, tracking, turning in and signing for all supplies under three Department of Defense Activity Address Codes for the PRT. He also handles all the air movement requests for personnel going on emergency leave, rest and relaxation, as well as members traveling to any other underlying forward operation base in the area of responsibility.
While at Charleston AFB, Sergeant Burtch is a storage and issue supervisor. His responsibilities are to store, maintain and safeguard supplies and equipment in accordance with established policies and procedures.
Sergeant Burtch wants his wife and son to know that he loves and misses them so much.
"I'm very proud to have such an understanding and strong wife," Sergeant Burtch said. "I volunteered for this deployment, which included three months of Army training, for a total of 12 months. The military spouse doesn't get enough credit and all this wouldn't be possible if it wasn't for her. I'm really excited to get back to my family, as well as my regular storage and issue job."
According to Sergeant Burtch, what he likes best about his job is knowing he did 110 percent to get his guys the supplies they needed to get the mission done.
"My job allows me to network with a bunch of people, which in turn helped me get supplies that I might have had to wait for or just couldn't get," Sergeant Burtch said. "It is also nice to have 40-plus Army guys coming up to you and telling you that you're the best supply sergeant they ever had. I love my 178th Delta Company 'Joes.' They are a great bunch of guys and I'm honored to have served beside them."
Sergeant Burtch's future goal is to make technical sergeant after his first try and take some college courses toward his Community College of the Air Force degree.
This "warrior of the week" hails from New Paris, Ohio and enlisted in the Air Force seven years ago. Sergeant Burtch joined the Air Force because he wanted to get out of his small mid-west town and follow in family tradition.
"Sergeant Burtch acquisitioned invaluable equipment for the Provincial Reconstruction Team in the Middle East by designing a flawless supply ordering and tracking system that increased mission readiness," said Army Capt. Brian Ramirez, officer in charge of logistics. "This in turn contributes to more than 140 million in reconstruction projects being maintained. His vast array of supply knowledge is a great asset to team success."