If there was an opportunity, Lt. Col. Steven Kurpius was crawling into an airplane.

There was little doubt in his mind about entering the Air Force and learning to operate an airplane. What may have come as a surprise, however, is his leadership role upon entering the Air Force Reserve.

Earlier this month, Kurpius, 46, was selected as the 728th Airlift Squadron commander, a step up from his previous position as deputy commander of the 446th Operations Group.

"I'd thought I'd be more of an operator my entire career and flying the airplanes," Kurpius said. "Not in a leadership role like this."

Kurpius' life is centered on airplanes. With an important inspection around the corner, he's splitting his time on base with his full-time job as a commercial airline pilot for United Airlines, flying the equivalent of a Boeing 737.

The inspection exercise begins in September, and it didn't take long before his leadership ability would be challenged.

"This is a big group task," he said about the readiness exercise. "It's a big test for our wing, but I don't see it as an individual test for our wing."

Kurpius took a leave of absence from United Airlines to work the entire month of August at McChord to prepare.

Kurpius was raised in Bloomington, Ind., and attended Indiana University, where both his parents worked, with the Air Force ROTC program. He graduated with a degree in telecommunications in 1988 and attended pilot training in Lubbox, Texas for six months after college.

He spent eight years on active-duty with the 4th Airlift Squadron, and in the early 1990s served in Operation Desert Shield delivering cargo and critical parts.

He came into the Air Force Reserve in 1996 with the 313th Airlift Squadron and has served a variety of roles, including instructor pilot, evaluator pilot and chief pilot in the 313th.

He's been married for 18 years to his wife, Kerry, and has a 12-year-old daughter, Sarah, who attends school in the Puyallup School District and plays several different sports.

Through it all, Kurpius said that listening to people has been a key to taking command of the 728th.  

"What's more important is what's wrong, not who's wrong," he said. "It's what the right thing (is), not who is the right person. It's not saving face. It's fixing the issue."