WESTOVER AIR RESERVE BASE, Mass. -- On the southeastern side of Massachusetts, nestled between Boston and Providence, Rhode Island, one can find the city of Attleboro.
Over 40 thousand residents call Attleboro home. One of those residents is Tech. Sgt. Christopher Titus, a 439th Maintenance Squadron airlift and special missions aircraft maintenance specialist and Massachusetts state corrections officer.
Titus followed in his family’s footsteps, enlisting into the military as an Air Force Reservist in June 2011.
“I work in the aero repair shop,” said Titus. “I mostly deal with rigging flight controls, working on the landing gear, fixing aircraft doors and building up wheels among many other repair tasks.”
Titus said going to Ramstein Air Base, Germany on annual tour was one of his most memorable military experiences.
“It was a great experience to see how other bases and the active duty side operates,” he said. “It was also a humbling experience when I caught a C-17 that was returning from an aera of operations that was carrying the remains of fallen soldiers and other soldiers who were accompanying them. It was a sad and humbling reminder that there are still service members giving their lives overseas for our nation.”
When Titus isn’t working in the base’s aero repair shop, he trades in his military camouflage for a dark blue corrections officer uniform for duty at the Massachusetts Corrections Institution-Norfolk.
“I work in an inmate housing unit,” he said. “I am assigned to a group of inmates and it's my duty to monitor them, conduct staggered security rounds, cell phone searches, compliance checks, inmate counts and be a primary responder to any emergency within the unit.”
Titus’ civilian and military careers were impacted by the recent coronavirus pandemic.
MCI-Norfolk closed down visitations, the inmate gym and anything that could lead to large gatherings of inmates to protect themselves and inmates from contracting the virus.
On the military-side, Titus was brought in full-time to help return the wing’s C-5M Super Galaxies to skies after Westover’s flight operations ceased for more than 60 days.
Titus said he enjoys the differences between his military and civilian careers.
“There aren’t many similarities between corrections work and aircraft maintenance, which is why I enjoy the change of pace during drill weekends or when I am called onto orders,” he said. “I enjoy the change of environment and the mental aspect of troubleshooting aircraft compared to the sometimes mentally draining work in corrections.”
Titus still has goals he wants to achieve.
“I still hope to possibly pursue a career in the state police,” said Titus. “I earned an Associates Degree in Criminal Justice and have a seven-year background in corrections to take with me if I went down that avenue. I also want to grow and progress as an aero shop mechanic as well.”