PELLSTON — Eareckson Myers is the building and facilities supervisor at the University of Michigan Biological Station, a 10,000-acre research and teaching campus in northern Michigan.

In honor of Veterans Day, we are proud to highlight his six years of service in the U.S. Air Force.

What military unit were you in?

I was in three different units:
325th Logistics Readiness Squadron (LRS) Tyndall AFB, FL
8th LRS Kunsan AB, Republic of Korea
And the 820th REDHORSE Squadron Las Vegas, NV was where I spent most of my time.

What was your role?

I was a vehicle mechanic/service technician.

What was your impetus for joining the military?

I knew from a very early age that I wanted to join the military. I was raised in a household that holds traditional American values and service to country and community in very high regard, so that played a large part in my decision. There is also a long history of military service on my dad's side of the family.

What was the most interesting station you had?

The most interesting job I had was at my last duty station, the 820th RHS. That was a combat engineering squadron that focused on heavy construction and a high deployment tempo. I was working on mostly construction equipment and road tractors. In addition to the daily work, I was attached to a well drilling team. I deployed twice to drill wells where that was my primary role, switching back to a mechanic when things broke (which happened a LOT).

What were your responsibilities?

My responsibilities in the military changed with time and rank. Starting out, your only responsibility is doing your job. As I made rank, I also became responsible for junior airmen and their training, supervision, and professional development. As well as leading shops/job sites and maintaining millions of dollars worth of equipment. At my last duty station a responsibility I found unique was to maintain readiness to deploy within 72 hours.

How does it inform the work that you do now at UMBS?

My time in the military taught me more lessons than I can count. The things I use most here at UMBS are the importance of being on time, schedule flexibility, task switching, and the ability to work and communicate with diverse groups of people.