Air Commando highlight: Resilient radar tech

Editor’s note: This feature is the 15th in a series of Air Commando spotlights at Cannon. The Airmen being highlighted are recent Diamond Sharp and Hard Charger Award winners.

link U.S. Air Force graphic: Airman 1st Class Shelby Kay-Fantozzi

U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Patrick Harris, 27th Special Operations Communications Squadron ground radar technician, was selected for the Diamond Sharp Award because of his outstanding leader and followership traits.

From facilitating everyday occurrences like aircraft takeoffs and landings, to detecting rare events like storms and tornados, radar technicians play a key role in the workings of Cannon Air Force Base.

Airman 1st Class Patrick Harris, 27th Special Operations Communications Squadron ground radar technician, and one of the 27th Special Operations Wing’s Diamond Sharp Award recipients, helps keep Cannon’s radar systems up and running. The young airman inspects, troubleshoots, repairs and maintains Cannon’s Air Traffic Control and Landing Systems, as well as the Next Generation Weather Radar system near Melrose Air Force Range, New Mexico.

“What we do is important for ATC,” said Harris, explaining how his work connects to Cannon’s mission. “We are responsible for ensuring everything is working the way it’s supposed to.”

Harris approaches his work fully aware of the importance of the systems he maintains.

“If radar capabilities were down, planes wouldn’t be able to fly and air traffic controllers and operators couldn’t do their jobs,” he said. “The weather element is important too. If there were no weather imaging available, we wouldn’t have advanced warning for events like tornados.”

Approaching his third year in the Air Force, the Tucson, Arizona, native graduated with honors from Basic Military Training in 2012.

Continuing to embody the Air Force core value of excellence in all we do, Harris made quick work of his upgrade training after arriving at Cannon, completing his Career Development Course and upgrade tasks ahead of his peers to earn his journeyman skill level.

In addition to achieving at work, he also volunteers inside and outside his shop, maintaining their one-mile stretch of Llano Estacado in Clovis’ Adopt-a-Highway program and coaching 29 drum line students for the award-winning Clovis High School Wildcat Band.

“That was a lot of fun,” said Harris. “I’ve been playing drums since the second grade and my dad is a private percussion teacher, so I almost had to do this. I reached out to the marching band’s booster club and was able to help them out during the marching season with their halftime show for football games and their competitions.”

In spite of his dedication to his job and his community, Harris was surprised to be awarded Diamond Sharp on top of being selected as the second quarter 27 SOCS Senior Airman Below the Zone winner.

“I didn’t even know I was up for it,” he said. “One day I was just called into the first sergeant’s office and invited to breakfast.”

Harris’ surprise was compounded by the fact that he takes a matter-of-fact approach to his work, keeping three straightforward standards in mind while he’s on the job.

“I just show up, I do what I’m supposed to do, and I exercise common sense,” he said.