JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. – September 24, 2022. This date might not mean much to the average person, but when that Saturday marks arriving to your first duty station, it’s the day your new life begins.

For Airman 1st Class Ryan Wert, 62d Aircraft Maintenance Squadron heavy aircraft integrated avionics specialist, Washington state was a new and unfamiliar climate, but he quickly grew to appreciate the state and all of the changes.

“I did like the base, even though the weather was already starting to get a little worse for wear, clouds and rain and all of that, but I enjoyed it.” stated Wert. “I liked the base, and I liked the people I was working with at the avionics shop.”

Although Wert had enjoyed a year and half of experience with this new life, when the opportunity for an alternate assignment as the Air Force Better Opportunities for Single Service Members representative was announced at a unit roll call, he seized the chance and quickly submitted his application.

Wert didn’t know at the time, but this role would allow him to assist the BOSS organization with event planning and advocacy for single service members on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, leading Wert further toward his personal goals.

“A big part of why I joined the Air Force was to help people, to make people’s lives better,” said Wert.

The Airman 1st Class explained that within two days of his application, he was interviewing for the BOSS position with Chief Master Sgt. John Marquez Jr., 627th Air Base Group superintendent and senior enlisted advisor to JBLM’s deputy commander. Soon after, he walked into the BOSS office and began meeting his new coworkers.

Wert began to work with his fellow team members on developing events for Airmen and Soldiers, briefing new service members on the value of BOSS and advocating for quality-of-life improvements at McChord dormitories, he said.

After committing to his work and being set up for success by the previous Air Force BOSS representative, Wert started to take on more and more leadership roles in specific events and was able to help increase Airmen awareness of BOSS’s activities and bring more Airmen to their events.

However, the success that Wert felt didn’t come without challenge.

“The hardest part is just staying motivated to do it, because you’re partially your own boss in that position,” said Wert. “There are other people who are over you, but no one is really going to push you every day and tell you, ‘Hey, you need to do this.’ You pretty much go in and have to know what you need to get done and do it.”

Wert worked hard to improve the base day by day and to grow his leadership and critical thinking abilities, a perfect example of this was his participation in the 2024 Easter Dash, only weeks after he joined the team.

The annual event put on by JBLM is a free egg hunt at the Lewis North Athletic Complex. The egg hunts are scheduled and divided by last name and by age group. This makes the logistics of the event with hundreds of children and family members difficult.

“I think the hardest part of that was probably figuring out the actual setup for what we were doing, because the whole team had different ideas of how it was going to be run, and we had to narrow it down, kind of on the spot,” said Wert.

During the whirlwind event, Wert was able to take charge and make decisions on the fly that helped the team pull together and keep the event running smoothly, with minimal hiccups. Wert and the BOSS team rallied together, pulled off the event and were even able to host Exceptional Family Member Program families as a finale.

“Getting to see all of the kids having fun, that’s amazing,” said Wert. “Running around the whole day like that, that’s extremely satisfying work, there’s hardly any better feeling I’ve experience than a day of seeing people happy because of what you’re doing.”

Wert had not only grown as an Airmen, but as a person too, he said.

“It helped me realize how independent I can be when working big things,” Wert said. “It helped me realize how confident I actually am in my own abilities.”

After the thrill, connections, and personal growth that Wert experienced over the six months of acting as the Air Force BOSS representative, it was a bittersweet goodbye when he was set to resume his role at the 62d AMXS. Wert grew in his position and gave back to JBLM, but he also learned about himself and took inspiration from the people he worked with, he said.

“It was awesome to be able to work with senior leaders as well in the BOSS team, getting to see Chief Marquez and Colonel Sokora all the time, it was a great time,” said Wert. “They’re really cool people and I look up to them both a lot because they’ve made it as far as they have for a reason, they really care about what they’re doing, and I like to think I care about as much as they do.”

Although transitioning back to the 62d AMXS took readjustment, Wert is adamant that he is happy to be back and will not forget the people he met, the memories he made, and the lessons he learned.

“Taking advantage of extra opportunities provided to me really helped me improve as an Airman and let me see a new side of the military that I wouldn’t have seen otherwise,” said Wert. “Opportunities like this are a great way to further yourself and your career and often give you a chance to pursue school more actively while in the military.”