Robins Airman of the Year wears many hats Published May 29, 2009 By Wayne Crenshaw 78th Air Base Wing Public Affairs ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- The 78th Communications Group seems to have a knack for attracting the multi-talented. In the past two years it has provided two technicians and a performer to the Air Force's traveling entertainment group Tops in Blue. Then there is Senior Airman Jarhid Brown, the 2008 Airman of the Year at Robins. He is a former emergency medical technician, a recording artist, an expert whitewater rafter, a history buff, and author of a very unique book. His job in the 78th CS is to work on information technology systems, but he has branched out into other specialized assignments, including developing the DARCON splash page that appears on computer monitors on base. He has also done work in relation to the base's energy-saving initiatives. "In the IT world, it is sort of a unique situation because you are able to get a lot of access and implement ideas," he said. "I've done a lot of different projects." A native of Alaska, he joined the Air Force at the age of 27 after working as an EMT and touring the country as a member of the musical duo Gravity & Henry. He played drums while his partner played guitar and sang. They had some modest success, performing what he called a form of jazz music augmented by computers. They released two albums, but in the end, he decided it was time to move on. "I gave myself a deadline that if we weren't able to completely live off it by the age of 25, I was going to walk away from it," he said. Now 30, he is in his third year in the Air Force. He won Airman of the Quarter twice before taking the Airman of the Year honor. He was nominated for it by Staff Sergeant Craig Hindley. "He goes above and beyond, working way outside of his realm," Sergeant Hindley said. On a shelf in his cubicle is the award, and near it is a book that he recently completed. The book is Pi calculated to the billionth digit. The entire book, aside from a few pages about the history of Pi, is one long number on page after page. The title is "Pi, A Languid Epic of Dominant Irrational." It's not a gag book; he actually hopes to sell some copies, although he sees why it would be pretty hard for non-math geeks to understand why anyone would want such a book. "I figure some math major might get it as a graduation present or something," he said. "I fully realize how ridiculous it is. I don't think there is going to be a book tour." He has submitted it to the Guinness Book of World Records as the record for the longest published calculation of Pi. Although final approval is still pending, he said early indications are that it will be recognized as a world record. The book is scheduled to become available for purchase online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble on June 15. He plans to give any profits from the book to an education charity. He holds a bachelor's degree in information technology from Touro College in Cypress, Calif., via distance learning, he is working on a master's in computer information systems at Boston University. He is married and has one child. Although Georgia is a big culture change from Alaska, he said he has enjoyed his stint at Robins. "It's really a nice place to raise a family," he said. "Everyone is super sweet and supportive of our mission."