Airman Spotlight: Staff Sgt. Eric Burks Published Jan. 17, 2011 OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea -- Unit: 51st Fighter Wing Public Affairs Job description and its impact on the overall mission: As NCOIC of Internal, I maintain the Osan public Web site, write articles, update the Commander's Access Channel and Community Channel, and do a little bit of everything else in the PA office. Time in the military: Seven years Time at Osan: 11 months DEROS: February Family: Wife, Deva, and daughter, Nova Hometown: Little Rock, Ark. Hobbies: Travel, photography, music Why did you join the military? To take care of my family, travel, and broaden my career opportunities Where do you see yourself in 10 or 20 years? In ten years, I hope to be approaching retirement from the Air Force Reserve, and teaching on the civilian side. What do you do for fun here? Travel around the country What's your favorite Air Force memory or story? Sitting in the cockpit of a C-17 Globemaster III as it touched down on the Pegasus Ice Runway in Antarctica Who are your role models? Taking a page from our core values, I'd have to list three. When it comes to integrity, my father - Richard W. Burks - has always been an outstanding role model, and I've tried to live up the bar he set. When it comes to service before self, my supervisor at my previous base - Tech. Sgt. Oshawn Jefferson - has no equal. He has a wife and children, and has deployed five or six times over the last four years. Some of these deployments have been short-notice, but he's always answered the call, while managing to keep things together with his family. I really admire his commitment to duty, and his ability to work with whatever cards he's been dealt. Finally, my first real "boss" after I graduated college - G.K. Sellers - taught me a lot about "excellence in all we do." She was the regional office manager of Katz Radio Advertising in Dallas when I began working there in 2000, and to this day I've never met anyone with a stronger work ethic. She really helped me shape and refocus my own - if you weren't committed to excellence on her watch, you'd be looking for another job the following week. I probably wouldn't be worth my salt as an NCO if I hadn't worked there for three years prior to enlisting.