Changi Air Base, Singapore -- Coming from a family of military service often means that children will follow in those footsteps, and Sgt. James D. Schmidt, 26-years-old, is no exception. But his family’s record of service over the past century just might be.
Schmidt’s father was a Marine, his step-mother was in the Air Force, his uncle was in the Army and served in Vietnam, his grandfather was in the Army and his great-grandfather was in the Navy.
“Although it was my recruiter who took the final step of putting me in the Corps, the reason I’m a Marine is really because of the influence of my father,” said Schmidt, of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. “His passion for the Corps, the way he talked about it and the way he carried himself, I just knew that was going to be me too.”
Schmidt now has six years in the Marine Corps, and is currently a Flight-line Quality Assurance Representative at Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 262 stationed in Okinawa, Japan. And he has his commanding officer’s trust.
“Sgt. Schmidt was meritoriously promoted to Corporal and Sergeant,” said Lt. Col. Larry Brown, commanding officer of VMM-262. “Not many Marines can say they have done that, and he shows his dedication and professionalism every day, and we entrust him with the safety of our aircraft.”
To become a Quality Assurance Representative is a long process of tough qualifications, according to squadron members, and requires getting many different certifications along the line. A quality assurance representative is usually a Staff Sergeant, so Schmidt is holding a senior billet.
“My job includes screening technical directives, and I have to see if the directives apply to the aircraft, if something has to be done or fixed,” said Schmidt. “After maintenance is done, the pilots perform the check flights, and I take the download from the aircraft and pull it up on the computer, and it will tell me if I need to make other adjustments. I am the one of only three in the squadron certified to do those particular checks.”
He holds the trust of VMM-262 leadership, something that in his job is very important.
“For most of the check flights, I am the last set of eyes that checks that certain types of maintenance have been completed correctly,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt has six years in Marine Corps, and plans to stay in and possibly pursue a commission, something his leaders encourage him to do.
Because of his love for his country and the Marine Corps, Schmidt joined while in college, so he already has quite a few classes under his belt.
“Sgt. Schmidt's work ethic and attention to detail are second to none and are only surpassed by his enthusiasm and superior leadership skills,” said Brown. “As an important part of our team, he is one of our many Marines that make the Flying Tigers great.”
Although he is very proficient at his job, he wasn’t an aviation enthusiast before the Marine Corps.
“What I initially enlisted out of college in 2008, I had an aviation mechanic contract. But when I found out I would be an Osprey mechanic, and I had no idea what the Osprey was, I had never heard of it.”
But he has risen to the challenge, and found great success in the squadrons he’s been assigned to.
Serving first at Marine Corps Air Station New River in North Carolina, and then at Marine Corps Air Station Mirimar, in Calif., he learned the ropes and now uses his knowledge to train others.
He received orders to Okinawa in June 2013, and moved here with his wife and two-year-old daughter.
“Now that I’m stationed in Okinawa, and I like it,” said Schmidt. “I enjoy the beaches and Okinawan people, they are so nice. Japanese culture is very interesting to me.”
“The main difference between other duty stations and here is that our squadron travels so much and so far out here,” Schmidt continued. “I love traveling; this is an amazing, huge opportunity. I’ve been to the Philippines, Brunei, Singapore, and Japan and will go to Thailand shortly.”
Due to the operational tempo, distances the Osprey operates and the disaggregated nature of the squadron’s operations in the Asia-Pacific region they travel a lot, and his wife is glad to see him when he returns from each trip.
Schmidt says the best part of his job is teaching Marines about the Osprey and developing his Marines in all areas of their professional careers.
“All Marines should do their best in whatever job they are assigned because being a Marine is a high honor,” said Schmidt. “Encourage each other, keep each other accountable, and enjoy the fact that we Marines get to be the best of the best and serve our country every day.”
Schmidt’s squadron, VMM-262, is at the Singapore Air Show, the largest defense exhibition in Asia, in order to showcase the capabilities of the MV-22 Osprey to the gathered international audience, including military and defense officials. The Singapore Air Show promotes interoperability among participating nations, and represents an opportunity to engage nations in the region with military-to-military discussions. The U.S. is the feature nation this year, and this is the first time Ospreys have appeared at the Singapore Air Show.
VMM-262 is part of Marine Air Group 36, 1st Marine Air Wing, III Marine Expeditionary Force.