A strong desire to serve his country led 2009 Huntsville High graduate Justin Mayo to enlist in the Air Force National Guard.
"My dad was a Huntsville City policeman for many years. He always had respect and admiration for our military forces," Mayo said. "I always looked up to my dad. He instilled that admiration in me, and I became the first in our family in a long time to enlist."
In 2014, Mayo was deployed to Southwest Asia as part of a 20-person team. Trained as a bomb loader, Mayo and his team went three weeks ahead of his regular unit to learn the enemy country and receive the training that could be passed on to the others when they arrived. The unit went on to complete a seven-month deployment.
"They taught us about local population customs to make sure that we did not offend the locals," Mayo said. "That is an important thing."
As a bomb loader, Mayo worked a fast pace with live ammunition. He says at times, the pilots of the fighters would land empty, reload, and take back off to continue the mission. He kept a log, marking every bomb he loaded by tail number.
"By keeping the log, I was able to tally how many of the bombs that I loaded were dropped," Mayo said.
Mayo said the enemy shot rockets and mortars at the base often. A warning system sounded before the rocket’s impact, telling soldiers to lay down to prevent injury from shrapnel.
"My crew was in a hanger working on a jet and just a few minutes after I left, a rocket went right through. Luckily, it was a dud." Mayo said.
There were other close calls as well. Mayo recalls friendly troops engaging with the enemy and the man on the ground coordinating with the aircraft to assist in engaging the target.
"In that kind of situation, everyone plays a part. I loaded that bomb," Mayo said. "We saved some good guys that day."
Because Mayo was deployed during a major time of the war, he saw some changes in the country, including the first democratic election.
"The week of the election was a kinetic week. The Taliban hated the idea of free elections," Mayo said. "I was able to play a small part during a huge shift in their government."
After completing his time in the Guard, Mayo returned to Southwest Asia as a civilian employee with Counter Rocket Artillery and Mortar (CRAM), working with the same alarm system that once warned his unit of impending danger.
“I am proud of the part that I played while in the Air Guard,” Mayo said. “Now, I am the guy that sounds the alarm. I get to play a part in saving people in a different way than my last deployment, and I am humbled by being tasked with that responsibility.”.