SSgt Anthony 'AJ' Joseph USAF

SSgt Anthony "AJ" Joseph was born on December 28, 1969 in Brooklyn New York. However he grew up with his grandparents in Diego Martin, Trinidad, a small town in northwestern part of the capital Port of Spain. He lived there until the age of 7 when he and his grandmother immigrated to the United States in 1978 to live with his mother. From early child-hood aviation and airplanes have always been fascinating to him. He graduated from Aviation High School, Long Island City, New York in 1987 and earned a Federal Aviation Administration Airframe & Powerplant license. Following his graduation, Sergeant Joseph entered US Air Force active duty in April 1988 under the Delayed Enlistment Program. Upon his successful completion of Basic Military Training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, he attended technical training as a Jet Engine Apprentice at Chanute AFB, Illinois.

Sergeant Joseph arrived at his first duty station at RAF Alconbury, United Kingdom as a U-2 Jet Engine Apprentice. I le quickly completed his on-the-job training and became qualified as a Jet Engine Mechanic. Throughout his career as a Jet Engine Specialist, SSgt Joseph worked on a diverse assortment of aircraft engines to include U-2s, F-16s, C-20Bs, C-20Hs, C-37As, C-I37s and VC-9Cs. Sergeant Joseph's vast knowledge of the F-16 and F110 engine directly impacted on the unit's ability to achieve a 100 percent rating on all assigned spare jet engines for the 86lh Wing, Ramstein Air Base, Germany. As a U-2 Aircraft Jet Engine Journeyman his meticulous dedication toward training newly assigned personnel resulted in an excellent rating from the 9th Operation Group, 9th Reconnaissance Wing Quality Air Force assessment evaluators, Osan Air Base, Korea.

After his one-year assignment to Osan AB, Korea as U-2 Aircraft Jet Engine Journeyman in 1997 Sergeant Joseph returned to Andrews AFB in 1998 and applied for cross training to become a C-20B Flight Mechanic. He was assigned to the 99th Airlift Squadron, Andrews AFB in January 1999 and attended the Flight Safety international Gulfstream G-III/C-20B initial course in Savannah Georgia at Flight Safety. Sergeant Joseph quickly upgraded as a qualified C-20B Flight Mechanic and later became dual qualified after successful completion of his C-20H (G-IV) upgrade.

In September 2000, the Air Force converted the Flight Mechanic positions at Andrews to Flight Engineers. Sergeant Joseph completed the initial Flight Engineer training requirements and was certified as a Gulfstream G-III (C-20B) Special Air Missions Flight Engineer. He upgraded to the Gulfstream G-IV/ C-20H aircraft and later became qualified on the G-V/C-37A aircraft in 2005. Staff Sergeant Joseph is currently the NCOIC of the 99th AS Flight Engineer Mission Qualification Training Flight. In 2003, Sergeant Joseph spearheaded the planning for the 99th Airlift Squadron's 380,000 accident-free flying hour ceremony; a task that involved months of coordination with multiple agencies, including offices of the Chief of Staff of the Air Force and the White House. His direct supervision of every aspect of the ceremony was highlighted by an award presentation from the Vice President of the United States. He was awarded HQ AMC Flight Safety NCO of the Year in 2004 and in 2008 he was awarded 89th Operations Group Flight Engineer Instructor of the Year.

Staff Sergeant Anthony Joseph is an Instructor Flight Engineer assigned to the 99th Airlift Squadron, with over 3,000 flight hours logged in various Gulfstream aircraft, including the G-III/C-20B, G-IV/C-20H, G-V/C-37A and G-550/C-37B. His military decorations include the Aerial Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters, and the Air Force Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters among many others. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Professional Aeronautics from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and Associate degrees in Aviation Operations and Aviation Maintenance from the Community College of the Air Force. SSgt Joseph is the son of Jamilah-Gomez and has two sisters Osa Gomez and Olajah Gomez.