PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AIR RESERVE STATION, Pa. -- As an aircraft electrical environmental technician, Staff Sgt. Kevin Mulhollen’s duties and responsibilities include pressurization, liquid oxygen, and maintenance of electronic aircraft systems.
Mulhollen is from Johnstown, Pennsylvania. After high school, he tried going to college but found that it wasn’t the right environment for him.
“I was always a real-world focused person,” he said. “I’d rather work hard to impress somebody. I figured college would get me further, but it wasn’t for me.”
Mulhollen then joined the Air Force Reserve at the age of 20. He has remained a member 911th Airlift Wing for the entirety of his 6 years of service.
His job in the electrical and environmental shop was a perfect fit for him, he said. As a child, he often would take apart toys and other items and do his best to put them back together, just to figure out how they worked. As he got older, his technical interests continued to grow more complicated.
“In college, I started really working with electronics, which I’ve always liked,” he said. “I’ve tried to stick with that as much as I could since I started working.”
Mulhollen’s personal mantra is “don’t get stressed out.” This attitude has carried him through multiple trips and a deployment to Southwest Asia last spring with little complications. Tech. Sgt. Glenn Leighty, a fellow aircraft electrical environmental technician and Mulhollen’s former trainer, said that this quality is a valuable one for an Airman to possess.
“To be able to be so casual about stressful situations like that makes it easier on everyone,” said Leighty. “When going around the base and especially in a deployed environment, having that light-hearted mentality makes other people less stressed. It’s honestly a rare quality to find.”
In his civilian life, Mulhollen works as a surface mount technician, making computer boards for gas detectors. There is some crossover between his civilian and military careers, and Mulhollen brings that additional experience to his shop, said Leighty.
In the next five years, Mulhollen hopes to gain his 7-level in his military field and also progress into hardware quality control in his civilian career. Overall, he hopes to stay in the military until he is able to retire.