Saluting the Dirt Boyz

It’s one of the most unforgiving jobs in the U.S. Air Force: serving with the “Dirt Boyz,” the name given for airmen working in the pavement and equipment shops at Air Force bases around the world. They’re known as “Dirt Boyz” because of their close relationship with grimy terrain and messy construction materials. As experts in all types of heavy machinery, such as road graders, bulldozers, dump trucks, excavators and front end loaders, they put in long, arduous hours in often brutal weather to maintain base airfields, roads, fences and drainage systems. This is their story. (All photos courtesy of the U.S. Air Force)