Through Airmen's Eyes: The Stoks standard

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Joel Mease
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFNS) --  (This feature is part of the "Through Airmen's Eyes" series on AF.mil. These stories focus on a single Airman, highlighting their Air Force story.)

In six months Staff Sgt. Ryan Stoks expedited more than 413 missions and moved more than 18 million pounds of cargo to set new aerial port expeditor records for Air Mobility Command and the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing.

What began as a simple challenge with his fellow 8th Expeditionary Air Mobility Squadron aerial port expeditors became a drive for perfection during the rest of his deployment.

"It really started off with the first two guys I was deployed with here to see who could get the most done before they left," Stoks said. "After a while I realized I could break the record here, and it became sort of a personal motivation for me."

Stoks' drive to get the mission done in record-setting fashion did not go unnoticed by supervision.

"Around here we call it the Stoks standard," said Senior Master Sgt. Brandon Mudery, 8th EAMS air terminal manager. "He really has set the new standard; if you don't walk out of here with at least 300 loads then you're not doing your job."

The APEX program here allows C-17 flight crews to save one and a half hours for each load. The expeditors can take over the aircraft once it has landed and handle all the details for the aircraft to be loaded or unloaded without the need for aircrew to be present. Mudery said the program facilitated an average of two and a half more missions to be completed each month.

"Stoks really is the cornerstone of our program," Mudery said. "When he walks in here for work, he has already planned tomorrow's missions. The younger guys feed off of what he does."

It's the small things the Porter, Minn.-native does, like being an instructor to the Airmen who work for him, who have contributed to the air terminal's success, Mudery said.

"He is always explaining to them why he is doing something, which is something he doesn't have to do," Mudery said. "But now that extra work in explaining things has paid off for him, because he can give an Airman his load plan and five minutes later they are already working it.

"We get Airmen who are a little green when they get here, and we grow them to be Airmen other people want to hire," Mudery said. "Stoks has been a big part of that."

While putting a lot of hard work and long hours contributed to setting the record, Stoks believes it wouldn't have been possible without the Airmen who worked for him.

"It's really important to have a good crew," Stoks said. "I have been extremely lucky to have a great group of guys to accomplish this. They've put in a lot of work, and they haven't complained once."

Now his time is coming to a close and a trip home to his wife and daughter at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., is just a few days away, Stoks says he will miss the guys and getting beans and bullets downrange.

"This has been my favorite deployment, because of the people I've worked with," Stoks said. "Which is weird because we're probably the busiest."

Just in case Stoks decides to sneak in an extra load before he leaves Mudery said, "I'm going to be there to make sure he gets on that plane. He's earned that seat home."