Top Saber Performer Nov. 13-19

Published Nov. 9, 2009

SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -- Name: Airman 1st Class Jacob L. Cruz
Unit: 606th Air Control Squadron
Duty title: Vehicle and Vehicular Maintenance Apprentice
Hometown: I lived in Riverside, Calif., for 12 years, but Barrigada, Guam, is where my family is from. I consider both my hometowns.
Years in Service: 2 years, 7 months
Why I joined: My family has a history of Air Force members. My father and grandfathers served in the Air Force. With that history, other relatives currently or formerly serving, my father's encouragement, and me looking for something more in life, I decided to enlist. Another reason was to quit smoking. I smoked for 10 years and was finally able to quit after basic training.
Family: I currently have no family of my own, but I keep close ties with my immediate and extended family.
Hobbies: Automotive sports, photography, weight training, snowboarding, body surfing, playing my guitar or ukulele, basketball, softball and other sports.
Favorite aspect of job: Learning. Every day I learn something new, whether it's something mechanical or Air Force related. Everything I learn as far as automotive technology I can take home and apply to my personal vehicle and to my hobby of automotive performance and sports. I also enjoy helping others. I get questions from people about their vehicles and I find it rewarding to be able to help fix the problem or send them in the right direction.
Most memorable Air Force experience: Definitely my deployment to Balad, Iraq. I deployed as a security forces augmentee, doing TCN escorts. I met a lot of good people and made quite a few friends. I was able to do a job outside of my career field, and I found it to be a good and fun experience.