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Passion for teaching drives military training instructor

  • Published
  • By Senior Master Sgt. Trish Freeland
  • U.S. Air Forces Central
AL TAJI AIR BASE, Iraq (AFNS) --  When an Airman graduated from Air Force Basic Military Training six years ago, he always knew he'd be back one day "pushing" his own flight.

Little did Staff Sgt. Matthew Coltrin know that not only would he push Air Force basic trainees as a military training instructor, but also he would go to Iraq and help Iraqi BMT instructors push their flights. 

Two years into his MTI tour at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, Sergeant Coltrin is deployed to the 370th Expeditionary Training Squadron as an air adviser to Iraqi BMT instructors at Al Taji Air Base.

"I love discipline. I love drill. I love the extreme passion for being the best you can possibly be," said the native of Lake Charles, La. "I knew it would be tough to come back, but I always knew I'd end up back at Lackland.

"We interact with our Iraqi instructor teams here the same we would young MTIs back at Lackland," he said. "We advise them of the best way to operate and then let them do things their way. Then if things don't go right, we help them make fixes."

Sergeant Coltrin has taken advising the Iraqis full throttle by learning not only the Queen's drill that Iraqi airmen use, but also Arabic drill commands.

"I messed up a few times while calling commands, but they covered for me," said the A.M. Barbe High School graduate.

Teaching is Sergeant Coltrin's passion. One could even say it's a family affair. His mother Tama Ray, is an assistant principal at J.I. Watson Middle School in Iowa, La. His sister is a teacher and his wife, Renee, also teaches.

"For me, teaching and being able to work with people is about being able to mentor and influence someone's life," he said. "It's about making them better than they were before you met them. That's what I get out of this job more than anything."

Before becoming an MTI, Sergeant Coltrin spent four years as an F-15 Eagle avionics technician. But since earning his MTI hat, he has excelled, earning special recognition as a blue rope; an honor bestowed on the top 10 percent of the MTI corps.

"When you put that blue rope on your hat, you are the walking example of the MTI. You have to be on your best behavior at all times," Sergeant Coltrin said. "You've got to lead by example and you become more focused on the betterment of the corps itself, not just the trainees. I always set my standards extremely high, but any way the Air Force wants to use me would be outstanding. I just really love the Air Force."

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