WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- An Air Force Reserve member’s career can be an ever-changing path. Some cross-train; some change from Reserve to active duty; some commission; but some Airmen love exactly where they are and exactly where their Air Force careers are heading.
Senior Airman Hailey Bullock, a 445th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron medical technician, said she joined the Air Force three years ago knowing exactly what she wanted to do. She described an AE med tech as the eyes and ears of patient care. They assist nurses but can also do a lot of different things. They are the pinnacle of air transportation healthcare.
“I love it. I love this job so much,” Bullock said. “It provides me an escape sometimes from nursing. I love coming here and doing this. I get such cool opportunities to go places and to help people. My reach is so vast now that I’m in the military.”
Bullock has a degree from The Ohio State University and also attended Central Technical College for her nursing degree. Maj. Nathaniel Copen, 445th AES director of operations, said what makes Bullock unique is that even after completing her college degrees, she has chosen not to commission.
“We’re very fortunate to have members like her because she’s a highly skilled ICU nurse on the outside,” Copen said. “She just brings great wealth to the crew. When you look at a crew, you see three med techs and two nurses. But what I see when I have someone like Bullock in my crew, I now have three nurses and two med techs.”
Copen said something he has always admired about the Air Force Reserve is the people.
“Don’t judge a book by its cover,” Copen explained. “You may see a senior airman but that doesn’t mean that same senior airman on the civilian side isn't doing something big. In fact, most of our enlisted have more degrees than our officers.”
Bullock said rank has its place in AE, but at the end of the day, they’re all taking care of people.
“It’s just people working alongside each other to get the mission done,” she stated. “We are just out there doing what needs to be done.”
She added that although AE is amongst the best jobs in the world, it does have a lengthy training process.
“It is so worth it,” Bullock continued. “At the end of the day, you are out there and you’re genuinely making a difference to not only the people that you’re taking home but to their families, to their loved ones. This is probably my most favorite thing in my life. It has helped me personally, professionally, and financially in so many different ways. It gave me another outlook on life.”
There was nothing but praise from her leadership.
“Like I said, it’s very fortunate for our squadron to have the enlisted core that we have,” Copen said. “They’re very dedicated to their craft and they never stop learning and they always want more. Bullock is a hell of a nurse, a hell of a med tech, and we are very fortunate to have her.”