MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- Senior Airman Khobi Brown is a mobility Air Forces integrated communication, navigation and mission systems specialist with the 908th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. His duties include everything from checking various cockpit indicators that give pilots important inflight information, such as altitude and airspeed, to inspecting and repairing engine transmitters.
He recently traveled to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona for helicopter familiarization training with a field training detachment. During this on the job training, he learned the basics of helicopter maintenance, then traveled to Patrick Space Force Base, Florida to get even more hands-on experience.
Brown, the oldest of four siblings, grew up in Valdosta, Georgia. After a semester of college, he decided to follow his stepfather's advice and join the Air Force Reserve.
“He was the one that was pushing me towards the Air Force,” he said. “I was going to go active, and he was the one saying, ‘I think you should do the Reserves and see if you like it.’”
His stepfather taught him to “Train hard and work hard,” which is exactly what Brown did, volunteering for his first deployment within a week of joining the unit.
It was on that deployment to Kuwait where Brown learned the true impact of his work. He noticed boots hanging inside an aircraft hangar, which for him, symbolized all the people that came before him and the ones that would come behind him. That giving spirit is something he learned from one of his 908th Airlift Wing mentors, Chief Master Sgt. Quincey Hester, 908 AMXS quality assurance superintendent.
“Chief Hester has been one of my biggest influences,” he said, “Anytime I have questions or need anything, he helps point me in the right direction. He inspires me a lot.”
But, for Brown, there is no greater source of inspiration than his mother. As a single mother, she always encouraged him by saying, “shoot for the stars in whatever you do.” And with the guidance of his grandfather, he learned the value of hard work, no matter the task.
“I’m trying to do my best,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if I'm just sweeping up the building; I'm going to sweep the building to the best of my ability because it has my name on it.”
Knowing he has his three younger siblings looking up to him, shooting for the stars is something Brown sees as a calling to help the airmen coming behind him.
“I want to be a chief someday,” he added. “If I’m a chief, I can take care of the people under me. I see it as one big family.”
His determination to reach his goals and help others achieve theirs make him a shooting star Reserve Citizen Airman.