332nd AIR EXPEDITIONARY WING — One Airman’s path brings him to his sixth deployment with the 332nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron. Here, he leads a squadron of ready Defenders who keep the base and its mission secure.
Hailing most recently from Misawa Air Base, Japan, he will return in a less than two weeks as his six-month deployment winds to a close. Those words convey a sense that things are slowing, that he can take a deep breath and look down the road to his return home. But that is now how Senior Master Sgt. Edward Grant approaches life, instead his last 10 days promise to be at least as busy as the previous 180.
“I almost try to squeeze in a 25th hour in the day,” he says when asked how he manages to pack so many things into his time. “There are so many things to do in the world and such little time to do it in.”
Some of those things include running marathons, presiding over the Top III association for the wing, commissioning a month-long leadership seminar called Carnivore Leadership, writing a book, and the list goes on. Nonetheless, it’s still a little surprising that the 16-year E-8 recently took the stage for a base talent show.
“Thanks for coming,” he said to the audience. “I am a singer/songwriter and a filmmaker,” he said to the MC when she asked him how he came to be standing on the stage before performing his most recent song.
“I started making music young in my teenage years and as I got older I got into videography and photography,” he said.
He performed his song “RONA” in conjunction with a music video he created. The interesting thing about the video was that he shot and edited the whole thing while in quarantine before coming to the 332nd in the Middle East.
“I had my music equipment, I had my film equipment and I had myself,” he said “The song, the recording, the editing, everything was done inside that 14-day window.”
He planned the project as a way to remain productive while confined to a single room, saying that being cooped up is one of his least favorite things in life.
It seems to have paid off, he emerged from quarantine mentally healthy and with a creative product to show for it.
He says the best part is sharing it with an audience “When you know that your energy is being received and returned by your audience that’s the ultimate high.”
And now that he’s nearly done with his deployment he does take a moment to think about the past six months saying, “I’ve really enjoyed every day of it, I absolutely love what I do, I’m very fortunate to have been a part of this team.”
By Master Sgt. Jefferson Thompson, 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing
Published April 12, 2021
