Photo By Master Sgt. Steph Sawyer | Senior Airman Perry Johnston, an avionics technician with the 142nd Aircraft...... read more read more
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PORTLAND, Ore.--Senior Airman Perry Johnston is a drill status avionics technician with the 142nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron.
Johnston has had an interest in aviation since he was a kid. That interest, coupled with an ambition to pursue a college education, led him to enlist in the Oregon Air National Guard in 2022.
“After touring the base and looking around for different jobs, I really found a love for the electrical systems and the maintenance within [flight line integrated avionics],” said Johnston. “I love doing hands-on work and here I really get to do that…I get to work on a lot of really cool and interesting systems.”
As an avionics technician, Johnston plays an important role in maintaining the electrical systems in the F-15 Cs and EXs. Essentially, Johnston explained, anything a pilot would interact with in a jet that falls within the category of electrical systems is what he’s responsible for maintaining, troubleshooting, and repairing.
One of the things that makes the National Guard unique is that most guardsmen perform their jobs only two days per month, typically. These guardsmen are often referred to as “traditional guardsmen,” and many service members who fall into this category have civilian careers outside of the military.
Johnston, for the most part, is no exception to this rule, though his civilian career is a little unusual. Outside of his military service, Johnston is an ensemble skater for "Disney On Ice". Due to his touring schedule with Disney, Johnston drills on a quarterly basis, that is, once every three months.
For several years out of high school, Johnston worked at an ice rink, operating a Zamboni. During his time there, he spent a lot of time on the ice, playing hockey, ice skating, and figure skating. He applied to "Disney On Ice" after one of his coaches, seeing Johnston’s ability on the ice, encouraged him to do so.
Johnston is currently on tour, living on the road and performing in a new town every week. As an ensemble skater, he primarily performs in large group numbers. He’s also an understudy for the role of the host, a very vocally demanding part in the performance.
Shows typically run around two hours long and skaters can do up to three shows per day, making a total of up to six hours of skating in a day.
Johnston says the days can be long and very physically demanding, but the enthusiasm of the crowd makes it worthwhile.
“As performers, we draw a lot of our motivation from the crowds,” said Johnston. “So when you get a crowd that’s super loud, you skate just phenomenally. You can pull energy out and…really give it your all.”
Johnston explained that within the world of skating there are a lot of high stress environments, but his military training and experience help him keep a level head in those situations.
Military related qualities such as discipline and dedication also come into play when Johnston is training. Skating for "Disney On Ice" requires a lot of hard work and diligence to ensure skaters are ready to perform at their peak.
To be successful in the numerous shows they put on every week during the tour season, which is roughly nine months long, skaters train and rehearse their parts for about five weeks before they go on tour. Johnston’s work doesn’t stop there.
When he’s not on tour and it’s time to report for duty, he has a lot to look after to make sure he’s ready to meet the demands of his work.
“As a [drill status guardsman], the hard part is being able to maintain that proficiency over long periods of time,” said Johnston. “Avionics is a pretty technical job. There’s a lot of jargon and small technical things that you need to remember, so it’s up to me to be able to keep that proficiency over those time periods.”
The reward for his hard work comes with playing a role in maintaining the aircraft and being around the jets he’s admired since he was a kid.
“Every time I’m standing out there, wrenching on a jet, every once in a while I’ll stand back and take a look and say, 'wow. I’m really standing on an F-15 right now,’” said Johnston. “Whenever they go to taxi, to take off, to land, I sit back, watch, and I just soak it in because I truly love watching the jets.”
In addition to his military and civilian careers, Johnston is taking online classes at Oregon State University where he’s majoring in mechanical engineering.
One of Johnston’s long term goals is to commission out of college and eventually step into a pilot role.
As for "Disney On Ice", Johnston says he loves it and he hopes to stay as long as he can.
| Date Taken: | 10.17.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 10.18.2024 09:43 |
| Story ID: | 483343 |
| Location: | PORTLAND AIR GUARD STATION, OREGON, US |
| Web Views: | 44 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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