Sergeant selected for OTS

  • Published
  • By Nick DeCicco
  • 60th Air Mobiltiy Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  In order to have his wife, Rachel, present at the unit's announcement, Staff Sgt. Joseph Hymel's betrothed knew he was chosen for Officer Training School 48 hours before he did.

Hymel, 60th Maintenance Squadron Maintenance Qualifications and Training Program NCO in charge of the KC-10 Extender element, said he noticed something was different, but Rachel remained elusive.

"She didn't let it slip," he said. "She did a good job."

When the announcement did come, Hymel said he was flooded with relief, excitement and surprise. He looked to the back of the crowd and saw Rachel's face.

"She was beaming at me," he said.

Family's important to Hymel, a Louisiana-born maintainer who joined the Air Force not long after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf of Mexico in 2005. Creating a better life for his wife and child as well as himself was part of his motivation to apply for OTS.

Hymel has been an integral part of the KC-10 cadre of eight instructors at Travis. Hymel has overseen a crew which has taught a total of 6,273 hours, certified 6,784 KC-10 tasks in six different Air Force specialty codes and graduated 59 fully qualified five-level maintainers this year.

Before Hymel joined the MQTP unit at Travis and the Air Force, he spent two years at Louisiana State University before halting his education.

"I figured I would never get back to it," Hymel said.

After a stint as a welder and electrician, Hymel joined the Air Force, where he later finished his Bachelor of Arts degree in organizational management from Ashford University in Clinton, Iowa. He said his time as a welder and electrician came in handy when he joined the Air Force as a maintainer.

"I came in to the career field that deals a lot with wires and electricity," he said. "I'm doing the same thing as outside, just on an aircraft."

Master Sgt. Shawn DeLong, 60th MXG MQTP section chief for development and instructor, Hymel's supervisor, said although he hasn't been with the unit long, he's come to see Hymel as a reliable asset.

"He's one of my go-to guys for KC-10 (training)," DeLong said. "He's a very sharp troop, a go-getter and an excellent individual. ... I think he'll make a very good officer."

DeLong said he's seen many friends and co-workers apply for OTS throughout his career, but Hymel is the first he has seen who was chosen, a selection he emphasized was doubly impressive in a selective, competitive Air Force which is conscious about its strength going forward.

DeLong was there during the announcement when Hymel got the information.

"I was a little shocked," DeLong said. "Not because he didn't deserve it, but because I didn't see a lot of people picked up for this opportunity."

With a line number for technical sergeant, Hymel expects to sew on a new stripe next summer before heading to OTS in late 2015.

Hymel encouraged others who consider applying for OTS to pursue their dreams.

"Don't let it be a daunting task, although it is," he said. "It feels amazing. I'm happy I stuck with it."