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U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Aaron Coffey, 424th Air Base Squadron emergency team leader, grew up enjoying history and mixed martial arts.
He had limited options when it came to entertainment as a kid living in a rural town. His love for history began when his grandmother introduced him to the Bible.
“The earliest memory I have is when my grandma bought me a Bible,” Coffey said. As I flipped through the pages and saw the inside cover, before Genesis even started, there was a map of the Middle East. It had a map of the Hittites, Babylon and Egypt. As a kid, my mind was blown. I kept wondering ‘How far back does history go?’”
Ever since that, Coffey became fascinated with history and has had a love for maps.
“I have maps from long ago posted all over my walls of Europe, China and the Middle East,” said Coffey. “It’s really the maps that fascinate me and make me want to learn more about history.”
While stationed at Chièvres Air Base, Belgium, Coffey hopes to travel and visit many historical landmarks.
“My goal in life is to be able to spin a globe and randomly point to any landmass on it and be able to give a rundown from as far back as we have evidence of civilization — a generalized idea of their history all the way up to present day,” said Coffey. “That basically gives you a perspective that makes you realize that no matter how different human beings from different places may appear, we end up doing the same things.”
Not only does Coffey love a nice history lesson, but he also is a MMA fanatic.
“There’s just something about squaring off with another human being. It’s beautiful in a weirdly violent way,” said Coffey.
In addition to watching Ultimate Fighting Championship matches, Coffey also participates in them.
“I am an all-around average person when it comes to my height and physique, but, when it comes to MMA and jiu-jitsu that is highly irrelevant,” Coffey said. “If you have enough training you will always be able to defend yourself, no matter how big the other person is.”
Learning MMA is a detail-oriented sport requiring commitment, diligence, hard work and humility to prosper. These are the same qualities that make Coffey the Airman he is now.
“Due to us having such a small shop and people taking leave, a lot of responsibilities have fallen on me and I have had to do the job of a staff sergeant, or even a technical sergeant would normally do,” said Coffey. “Leadership saw I was doing a good job and chose me to be Airlifter of The Week, which makes me really happy.”
Coffey was awarded AOTW for his commitment to excellence for his shop. Coffey assisted in overseeing the unit’s leave, duty schedules, additional duties, individual medical readiness and 24-hour operations, Nov. 24.
“Coffey is a hard worker and if anything needs to get done, he is your guy,” said Senior Airman Timon Richardson, 424 ABS emergency response security forces. “I can call him at any hour of the day and he’ll be out and ready to help in just a few minutes.”
When COVID-19 restrictions loosen, Coffey has now made it his goal to see all of Europe and visit each and every historical landmark.
