Airman Spotlight:Staff Sgt. Matthugh Crosby

Published Nov. 12, 2013
By staff reports
51st Fighter Wing Public Affairs

OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea -- -- Unit: 51st Fighter Wing

Job title: Ground safety technician

Job description and its impact on the overall mission: By using our training in safety and risk management, we are able to quickly assess and eliminate hazards to the equipment and people. This ensures we have as many resources available to complete the mission and "Fight Tonight". One of the tools we have is inspections of facilities, equipment, and mission processes. Another tool we use is mishap investigations. This allows us to dive deep into the culture to determine root causes of actions that lead to the unfortunate event of a mishap.

Time in the military: Nine years

Time at Osan: One year

DEROS: Nov 2013

Family: My wife and four kids

Hometown: Spokane, Wash.

Hobbies: My hobbies include hiking, kayaking, fishing and boating

Why did you join the military? I joined the military for the job security.

Where do you see yourself in 10 or 20 years? My plan is to retire and enjoy the rest of my time with my family. Hopefully this will include a lot of traveling. My wife has always wanted to see the castles in England, the churches in Spain, and the remains of concentration camps in Germany.

What do you do for fun here? Currently, I am enrolled in college and spend my time reading and studying. The rest of the time is spent with the kids through video chat.

What's your favorite Air Force memory or story? Before safety, I was an aircraft maintainer and worked on the tankers at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. Once in a while I would get to fly with these jets during TDYs. One of these trips landed me in Alaska and our jet broke. I remember sitting on the wing waiting for a replacement part to be delivered. As I was watching the sun set over the flight line, a mama moose and her calf walked from the brush to the fence. This was the first time I saw these creatures and thought how magnificent this was and that I had the best job anyone could ever have.

What accomplishment are you most proud of? I'm most proud of being able to explain values and morals to my children. My son comes home from school one day and asks if he can install a game on his computer called Minecraft. He then tells me that his friends gave him a website that he can download it for free. I sit down with him and have him show me both websites. The primary site which you have to pay for the game and the one his friends gave him. I ask him if he's ever stolen anything before and he replied back to me with a quick, "No!" He seemed confused as to why I would ask him such a thing. I explained that by using the website his friends gave him, he would be stealing the game. I then explained that stealing doesn't just include tangible things and whenever you take something that isn't yours, whether you can touch it or not, is stealing.

Who are your role models? My role model is George Washington because he did what he felt was right when everything was stacked against him. His ability to not only continue himself but to lead others is inspiring. No matter the outcome, if I do what I feel is right, then I will never lose.