Customer support journeyman displays "Service Before Self" Published May 3, 2012 By Senior Airman Tiffany M. Deuel 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England -- Name and Rank: Airman 1st Class William Merkel Unit: 48th Force Support Squadron Duty Title: Customer support journeyman Time in Service: 2 years Time at Lakenheath: 7 months Hometown: Middletown, R.I. Hobbies: Visiting with friends and family, traveling, reading, listening to music, watching movies, swimming and running Core Value Portrayed: "Service Before Self" How does the individual portray that core value? Merkel accomplishes up to 300 common access aard and dependent ID cards, 50 Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System updates/print outs and validates 100 leave requests each month for the 48th Fighter Wing. He is always professional, helps wherever needed and goes above and beyond to accommodate customers and their families. Merkel strives to provide outstanding customer service. Why is serving in the Air Force important to you? Serving in the Air Force is important to me because it gave me the chance to prove myself capable of accomplishing a duty that many people in the civilian world will never have the ambition or opportunity to complete. It is an honor to serve my country and to serve alongside the many great people who I have met in the time that I have served. My father was a Soldier and none of my siblings have served so I consider it a great honor to follow in the footsteps of his service and sacrifice regardless of the difference in branch. What accomplishment during your Air Force career are you most proud of? I would have to say that so far, my greatest accomplishment would have to be my tour in South Korea. Many people have accomplished this tour but not many have accomplished it as their first duty station and I consider it a very good experience. I met a lot of great people while I was over there and will keep in touch with all of them throughout my time in the Air Force. I believe serving in South Korea also prepared me mentally to meet any challenge that I may have to face in the future. What are your personal and/or professional goals? My personal goals are to become a high school social studies or english teacher at an inner-city public school and to earn my Bachelors Degree. My professional goals are to earn the highest rank necessary to make the lives of the Airmen whom I work with better. As long as I can make a positive difference in the time that I spend in any given career, I will be content. What is your favorite part of your job? My favorite aspect of being a personnel journeyman in the AF is the people that I get to work with and meet on a daily basis. The opportunity to affect the lives of almost every single Airman on base is rewarding because you can make their lives easier and less stressful when we as personnelists are able to provide our support.