318th SOS Airman engineers life of success Published Sept. 22, 2015 By Staff Sgt. Whitney Amstutz 27th Special Operations Wing Public Affairs CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a series of spotlight interviews featuring various Cannon Commandos. When writing great works of literature, many authors prefer to start from the end and work their way to the beginning, finding it easier to pen the journey once the destination has been determined. One member of the 318th Special Operations Squadron here has taken a similar approach to writing the story of his life. Airman 1st Class Michael Walker, 318th SOS aviation resource manager, has always known where the journey of his life would lead him – straight to success. “I come from a military family,” the Baltimore, Maryland native said. “My mother was in the Army for 12 years and my father was a Marine. I’ve always known that I wanted to stand up and make a difference; that I wanted to be different than everyone else, so I chose the military as my path.” After completing four years of JROTC in high school, Walker decided to become a member of the world’s greatest Air Force. Though originally slated to be a Tactical Air Control Party member, he was reassigned during Basic Military Training and went on to complete technical training in the field of Aviation Resource Management. Members of the ARM community work to make sure personnel and assets are ready to carry out the mission. They are responsible for maintaining flight records, validating aircrew safety and physical requirements, monitoring daily flight mission data and inputting flying and ground training for aircrews. Having been a part of Team Cannon for 18 months, Walker has amassed experience both in conducting home station ARM operations working alongside a team of colleagues, as well as deployed operations functioning in a primarily independent capacity. “This job has allowed me to learn so much about the aviation community as well as enabled me to improve my public speaking and communication skills,” Walker said. “Here at Cannon we work as a five-person team comprised of an NCO in-charge, a staff sergeant, and three ARM airmen. While I was deployed, it was just me and my supervisor. I worked 12 hours daily, making orders, inputting training and flying and double checking our work. It was a completely new experience and I genuinely enjoyed it.” In addition to the attitude of excellence Walker applies to his professional commitments, the airman 1st class exercises a similar approach toward volunteerism and positively impacting the community in which he resides. “I volunteer at the Lighthouse Mission and I’ve worked with organizations such as Helping Hands of Cannon and Hearts Apart,” Walker said. Walker attributes his dogged dedication to providing a helping hand to a desire to satisfy needs that weren’t always fulfilled in his own life. “I know what it feels like to not be able to help my family out when they need it and I know what it feels like to struggle and have no one help you,” Walker said. “It’s for that reason that I’m the guy who will volunteer to be the designated driver for my friends and it’s for that reason that I’m the guy who will help someone carry their groceries to their car at the store. I don’t like to see people struggle when it’s within my power to help.” Known throughout his squadron as an Airman of exceptional dedication to duty, Walker had this to say about engineering success in one’s life and career. “Stand out,” he said. “Don’t think just because you’re new you don’t have any power. You can still show initiative and make it known that you’re working for a purpose. The hours you come to work shouldn’t be a countdown; they should be spent actively working toward goals that you’ve set for yourself. Don’t get complacent in your work, in your life, in anything. Always be a person who adds value.”