JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas –
Ever since he was a boy growing up in a Kansas City, Mo.,
suburb, Staff Sgt. Adam Nichols has enjoyed the great outdoors.
His days of Boy Scout campouts are behind him, but now
Nichols is serving his country in a job that allows him to spend much of his
time outdoors.
Nichols, who joined the Air Force eight years ago, is a
cable and antenna systems craftsman with the 502nd Communications Squadron at
Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston.
“I like being out in the sun,” he said. “I couldn’t imagine
a job where you sit in a room behind a desk all day. I like doing physical
work.”
One of Nichols’ tasks is climbing antenna support structures
and wooden poles to maintain and install cable and antenna systems. He said
it’s his favorite part of the job.
“I like working out and climbing is probably one of the best
workouts you can get,” he said.
Nichols said he considered a military career at an early age
because he wanted to serve his country and help people, and he followed his
mother’s advice to enlist in the Air Force. Pursuing his career field choice,
he studied electronic principles at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., and attended
technical school at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, before applying his skills
at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey; Yokota Air Base, Japan; JBSA-Lackland and
JBSA-Fort Sam Houston.
Nichols said 502nd CS members at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston serve
more than 40,000 joint military and civilian customers and more than 600
buildings at their home location as well as JBSA-Camp Bullis and JBSA-Camp
Stanley, attending to duties that include installing telephones on people’s
desks and local area network connections on the walls, installing and
maintaining antennas, and maintaining communications towers. They’re
responsible for thousands of miles of copper, fiber-optic cable and
infrastructure.
“We also trouble-shoot cable inside manholes, test fiber
optics inside buildings and do a lot of LAN category-6 installations,” he said.
“Most of our work is preventive maintenance and repair.”
Nichols’ supervisor, Tech. Sgt. Kristofer Canales, 502nd CS
NCO in charge of cable and antenna systems at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, JBSA-Camp
Bullis and JBSA-Camp Stanley, called him a “very skilled and knowledgeable
cable and antenna technician.”
“Words can’t explain how much of an asset Staff Sgt. Nichols
is to this work center,” he said. “He’s not afraid to step up and get dirty.
Whether it’s climbing a 200-foot communications tower or splicing cable in a
manhole, he’s always ready to go.
“He has very strong communication skills and I haven't
received one negative feedback from our customers or supervisors,” Canales
said.
Nichols, who was the 502nd CS NCO of the third quarter, said
his squadron’s work affects everyone – “anyone who depends on a computer or
phone.”
“You enable so many different people,” he said. “You touch
everything. Without us, nobody would be able to do their jobs.”
(Editor's note: Joint Base San Antonio Front and Center is a
series of stories highlighting outstanding members of the community while
showcasing their impact on the missions that take place at JBSA.)