Fairchild's Finest: Staff Sgt. Ashley Hurst

Published Aug. 20, 2013
92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs

FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- Name: Staff Sgt. Ashley Hurst

Unit: Personnel Recovery Academy

Duty title: Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape/Personnel Recovery Analyst

What do you do on a daily basis at Fairchild Air Force Base? I support the war-fighter in the Product Development Division of Personnel Recovery Academy. My days are spent drafting, editing and revising Isolated Personnel Case Studies, Oral Histories, Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape Specialized Analysis Products, Isolated Personnel Guides, etc.

What do you enjoy about your job? Working for Joint Personnel Recovery Agency/ Personnel Recovery Academy has enabled me to tie my deployment experience in Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom to the PR mission abroad. It is rewarding to see the efforts CONUS to return members of the US Armed Forces back to friendly control that I've supported OCONUS.

Why did you choose to serve in the military? My enlistment stems from family tradition. My father was a crew chief on F-111's at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho; my oldest brother was Infantry in the US Army, and my other brother was a scout sniper in the USMC.

What goals do you want to achieve or meet while at the Fairchild Air Force Base? I'd like to complete my Bachelor's in Homeland Security through the American Military University. Presently, I'm 39 credit hours from completion. Additionally, I'd like to pin-on TSgt during my tenure at Fairchild Air Force Base.

What is your favorite quote?
Flight is freedom in its purest form,
To dance with the clouds which follow a storm;
To roll and glide, to wheel and spin,
To feel the joy that swells within;
To leave the earth with its troubles and fly,
To know the warmth of a clear spring sky;
Then back to earth at the end of a day,
Released from the tensions which melted away.
Should my end come while I am in flight,
Whether brightest day or darkest night;
Spare me your pity and shrug off the pain,
Secure in the knowledge that I'd do it again;
For each of us is created to die,
And within me I know I was born to fly.
- Gary Claud Stokor

Who is your favorite mentor and what did you learn from him/her? My father has always been a source of inspiration and encouragement. He's taught me the value of hard work, whole-self investment, and the true potential of the love and compassion you can show one another.

If you could spend one hour with any person, who would it be and why? I've always been a bit of a history enthusiast. I would truly enjoy an hour with Franklin D. Roosevelt; an opportunity to pick his brain about his experiences both before and during his presidency.

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Fairchild's Finest: Staff Sgt. Ashley Hurst