
Dobbins Maintainer
sk anyone what they wanted to be when they grew up
a military member. Senior Airman Damian Dillett, a 94th
Aircraft Maintenance Squadron aircraft engine technician,
decided early on to pursue both dreams.
military,” said Dillett.
What drew him to both jobs was the sense of being a part of
something bigger than himself, not to mention the teamwork
aspect.
“You have people counting on you to do a job,” Dillett said. “If
it doesn’t get done, it’s going to affect a lot of people.”
Reserve Base (Dobbins), where he works with fellow mechanics
to ensure the aircraft engines are properly maintained. As a
Reserve Citizen Airman, he works full-time for the Cobb County
2 | January 2019 | Real Hero Report
Police Department and then at Dobbins one weekend each month.
Before he attended the academy, Dillet was working on a
temporary basis at Dobbins while completing his training in
his next step.
days for the next six months at the Cobb County Police Academy.
Additionally, as an Air Force reservist, he’d be away from home
for one weekend each month. He knew it would be a lot of time
away from his family.
“It’s not easy working 10-hour shifts a day, traveling often
and having drill weekend,” Dillett said. “I was worried about
my family and whether they would support my decision. I didn’t
know how they were going to take it.”
He talked to his wife and explained it was his lifelong dream to
his dream.
“Once I crossed that hurdle of worrying what my family would
became easier. It just became about the process of becoming a
His military experience helped him move seamlessly through
the process, particularly basic training as there were many
parallels between basic and the academy. The daily routine at the
police academy was very similar to boot camp: early mornings,
followed by physical training such as calisthenics, and lots of
running.
“Some people weren’t used to that,” said Dillett. “They were
used to doing whatever job they were doing before, where there
wasn’t that type of structure. It wasn’t new to me, which made it
a lot easier.”
For the academic portion of the academy, cadets learned about
laws, policies and procedures, and worked through different
scenarios to be expected when responding to a call.
having to make a split-second decision that’s going to affect my
life or somebody else’s, so I have to be able to make that decision
very quickly,” Dillett said.
Now that he’s graduated and working for the Cobb County
Police Department, he has noticed his two different careers
people daily at the local level, but with the Air Force Reserve, his
help reaches people at an international level.
people in Cobb County, doing what I can and helping people who
supports people on a larger scale, whether it’s here domestically
or getting planes ready to go overseas or cross country.”
He plans to continue using both jobs to assist as many people
as possible, whether it’s mentoring a new Airman in the shop or
assisting a Cobb County resident while on patrol.
“I want to do as much as I can and help as many as I can.
Obviously I can’t help everyone, but if I can help one person a
day, it’ll all be worth it,” Dillett concluded.
Senior Airman Damian Dillett, a 94th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
aircraft engine technician, poses for a photo in a maintenance hangar
at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia on December 9, 2018. Dillett
recently graduated from the Cobb County Police Academy in Georgia.