Tech. Sgt. Khalid Mulazim masters life in the fast lanes Published Dec. 6, 2007 By Senior Airman Ann Wilkins Jefferson 910th Airlift Wing Public Affairs YOUNGSTOWN AIR RESERVE STATION, Ohio -- Editor's Note: This is the second in a series of three feature articles focusing on one of the 910th's own, Tech. Sgt. Khalid Mulazim, winning a national championship in track and field. Sergeant Mulazim is a military pay technician as well as a teacher, coach, father and triathlete. In August 2007, Tech. Sgt. Sergeant Khalid Mulazim, a 910th military pay technician, won the men's 400-meter dash - or one lap around the track - for the 40-44 age group at the 2007 U.S.A. Masters Outdoor Track & Field Championships held at the University of Maine. At 41 years old, he ran a time comparable to guys half his age. But surprisingly, the sergeant didn't even start running competitively until after college graduation. After years of competing in other sports, in 1991 Sergeant Mulazim started running short distance races like 5 Ks (3.1 miles) in local Cleveland-area races. This was the first time he actually ran against a clock. Years passed, and he was running impressive times for his age group. "I ran about an 18-and-a-half-minute time (for a 5K distance). Someone at one of the races said, 'You should come join our running club.' So I did, the Over the Hill Track Club in Solon (Cleveland's east side). Then I was always up front in practices. So someone said I should compete," Sergeant Mulazim explained. He began to enter all-comers track meets after learning about them from the club's newsletter and team members. By this time he was in his mid-30s. "I was doing so well in my age division, that people directed me to local races versus high school kids; the 35-39 age group was no competition for me," he explained, modestly but matter-of-factly. A challenge like that was welcomed by Sergeant Mulazim. In fact, in 1997, he had taken up another challenge: joining the military. "It was always something I wanted to do. I wanted to join Special Forces," he said. So he went to the Army to inquire about becoming a Ranger. But he was told he had to first go active duty first in another MOS (military occupation specialty, equivalent to an AFSC). He didn't want to do that, though. "But I signed up just to get the experience," Sergeant Mulazim said, telling the recruiter he'd still join "if you give me something to do with math." He was given an MOS in finance, working in the field continuously from 1997 through his switch to the Air Force Reserve in 2005. As a military pay technician, Sergeant Mulazim helps see that Airmen's pay issues are addressed. His supervisor, now-retired Senior Master Sgt. Richard Glus, said he knew about the tech sergeant's races, knew he was a good runner. He said Sergeant Mulazim never had to ask off to go to meets, though. "I know he tried to join the Air Force team, but he did that on his own time. I say if you've got the talent, go for it!" Fellow Reservists here are no strangers to the tech sergeant's athletic talents. Aside from stellar fitness test scores, his skills are often on display during intramural sports games, where the only math and running he's doing then is helping run up the score. Finance is not far off what the sergeant does in his civilian occupation. A Lyndhurst resident on Cleveland's east side, he is a math teacher for all grade levels at Shaw High School in East Cleveland. He completed his master's degree in education from Cleveland State University in 2002 through the Army GI bill. Sergeant Mulazim is also an educator outside the classroom, supporting Shaw's Army Junior ROTC program, for instance. "I go to the balls and dining-ins. It's just so students can see my face in a different role, that you have a life, that you're in the military. And they can ask questions." But he even goes a few strides further in mentoring youth ... Next issue: Coach, competitor and father