Tech. Sgt. Ahmad Adi enlisted in the Air Force in 1997 intent on working as a linguist.

The Air Force had other plans for him.

And although Adi has encountered his share of career path detours, speed bumps and roadblocks throughout his 13-year military career, things recently came full circle.

Adi, an aircraft electrical and environmental systems craftsman with the 62nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at McChord Field, was selected Oct. 25 as Air Mobility Command's nominee for the 2010 Air Force Language Professional of the Year award.

"(Adi's) outstanding enthusiasm for the mission and unrivaled professionalism led to his selection as the linguist department noncommissioned officer in charge," stated the announcement for his nomination from AMC headquarters at Scott Air Force Base, Ill.

During a five-month deployment to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba in 2009, Adi managed a 41-member team, coordinating around-the-clock manning support for 2,400 linguist support requests and translated 700 high-priority documents while maintaining 100 percent coverage with five less personnel assigned than previous deployments, according to the announcement.

"I enjoyed it ... I was in my element in that deployment," said Adi, who was shocked when he heard about garnering the nomination.

"I forgot all about it," said the technical sergeant, a Tumwater resident. "I didn't think (the nomination) would even make it anywhere."

Born in Jordan, Adi spent parts of his childhood in Israel and Saudi Arabia before graduating from high school in Qatar. After high school, Adi moved the U.S., living with an uncle in Houston before enlisting in the Air Force.

"I felt it was a duty, plus there was a great need for linguists," he said.

But he was first assigned to be an air traffic controller. Three years later, he cross-trained to be a linguist only to be cross-trained again to aircraft maintenance.

"I've done whatever the Air Force has asked me to do," said Adi, who is fluent in three varieties of Arabic. That includes taking on four straight deployments over the last four years - twice for linguist taskings and twice for maintenance - with often less than five months at a time spent at home. Adi has put his focus on making the best of each situation.

"I called (the linguist deployment) my vacation," said Adi, who turned 39 this week. "It's refreshing to get away from your normal job. It refreshes you and gets you energized." An arm injury suffered on a recent deployment has kept Adi off the flightline, so he's currently overseeing training, promotions and decorations updates for the squadron - in addition to serving as the unit's computer network specialist. "Wherever they put me, I try to improve the environment of where I'm working," he said.