Charlie West Spotlight: June

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Caleb Vance

The Charlie West Spotlight for the month of June is South Charleston, W.Va. native Tech. Sgt. Bradley Morris, a Fire and Refueling Maintenance Mechanic assigned to the 130th Logistics Readiness Squadron.

Morris joined the unit in 2012. He is a 2008 graduate of South Charleston High School, as well as a Community College of the Air Force graduate in 2017 and is currently finishing his Bachelor’s in Logistics and Transportation Management from American Military University.

Morris is married to his wife of eight years, and is a father of two, his son Caine and daughter Claire.

“It’s hard to say what I’m proudest of in my life,” said Morris. “It’d be either marrying my wife, having my two kids or joining the 130th, I’m incredibly proud of all of those things.”

In his full-time job, Morris is an Active-Guard Reserve (AGR) Airman, working full-time in the same vehicle maintenance shop he does on drill weekends as a Heavy Vehicle Mechanic.

His goals in the military are to either reach the rank of Chief Master Sgt., or possibly commission after completing his degree to become an officer.

“One of the things I like best about the 130th is how tight knit we all are,” explained Morris. “Not only is it a workplace, it’s like a second family. We can talk about work, family, hobbies and help each other when we can, and we always get the mission done so being in a close group makes getting it done a lot easier.”

Morris recently returned from a deployment to Al Udeid, Qatar, where he served as a mechanic, and has also served in various local events like the West Virginia Water Crisis, Operations Sentry Storm and Southern Watch and the 2016 flood.

“Coming home from that six month rotation was the best day of my life,” Morris said. “Just seeing my wife and kids again, and even my coworkers and members of the 130th, was really the best day ever.”

Morris also explained that his favorite moment at the 130th isn’t set into one specific time or place.

“The moments I have enjoyed the most while being here were helping local communities during tragic events,” he said. “It’s the worst time for some people, but when the whole base gets to provide assistance during those tragic times, it gives me a larger perspective of who we are, and just helping any way we can.”

To Morris, being part of the 130th, the West Virginia National Guard and military as a whole means being held to a higher standard. He noted that he always wants to represent all three with the highest standard with anything he does or anywhere he goes.

“Whether I’m in uniform or civilian clothes, I always want to set a positive example for my peers,” he explained.

“He’s a young Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) who recently returned from a six month deployment where he lead a team to multiple theater locations to fix vehicles and he has quickly become a leader in the vehicle maintenance shop while showing no signs of slowing down,” said Chief Master Sgt. Greg Curry, the 130th LRS Superintendent, when asked why Morris was selected.