Civilian answers AF call, gets dream job

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Devante Williams
  • 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  There are many reasons why people join the Air Force. Some do it for the educational benefits, while some join to travel the world and find adventure.

For Kristina Inocencio, 56th Civil Engineer Squadron engineer technician, the Air Force is her calling.

Inocencio worked as a pharmacy technician and as an assistant manager for her local doctor's office before she joined the Air Force. She was working full time while going to school to pursue a degree in chemical engineering, but realized she didn't have time to handle both school and work. She kept seeing Air Force ads in her workplace and decided to make a fresh start and joined.

"At first I was scared," she said. "No one has ever joined the military in my family. The Air Force was a calling for me. It was hard trying to go to school and focus on my full-time job, so I signed up for the Air Force, which eventually remotivated me to pursue another college degree."

Joining the Air Force was an easy decision for her, she said. However, telling her parents she joined was not easy at all.

"My parents didn't want me to join, especially my father," she said. "I'm his only daughter, so I can see why he didn't like the idea. Ultimately, he knew it would be best for me, so he supported me."

When choosing her job for the Air Force, Inocencio was fortunate enough to receive her preference of engineer technician. During her time in the Air Force as an engineer technician, Inocencio has decided to change her degree and pursue an engineer technician degree.

"I change my mind after working in my career field for a year," she said. "I love my job and it definitely persuaded me to earn my degree in this career field."

While being stationed at Luke Air Force Base, Inocencio found a new activity to make her experience in the Air Force "golden." 

"My squadron did a hike at the White Tank Mountain Range, and I was instantly hooked," she said.

It was her first hike, and she began regularly hiking after that. Inocencio has been hiking many times since being stationed in Arizona, but there's one particular mountain that keeps her coming back.

"Piestewa Peak is probably one of the best hikes I've been on," she said. "The trail is set up as more of a fast-paced hike, and it's very steep. It's a worthy challenge."

When she's not hiking all over Arizona, she's busy mapping out the entire base. Her job description requires her to map out any new space that gets occupied on base.

"My shop uses special data to update all the maps on base," she said. "With the arrival of the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter, we go out and update all the new buildings and hangars and ensure they show up correctly on the maps."

Her job requires teamwork, and with teamwork comes trust.  What Inocencio loves the most about the Air Force and her job is the fact that everyone treats each other as family.

"There's nothing like being in the Air Force," she said. "The people you meet in the Air Force are your second family. In civil engineering, it's all about family. The fact that we look out for each other is awesome. You can't find that connection anywhere else in the civilian world."