Mighty Ninety a reflection of excellence Published March 4, 2011 By Col. Greg Tims 90th Missile Wing commander F. E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. -- Vice Admiral Cecil Haney, U.S. Strategic Command deputy commander, came to visit us last week. While we report to Air Force Global Strike Command, our major command, we also report to USSTRATCOM, our combatant command. AFGSC ensures we are properly organized, trained, and equipped. We must be prepared to ensure we are ready to fight by reporting through USSTRATCOM. Once again, this was another first class visit because of the attention to detail provided by the project officer, Lt. Col. Glenn Harris, 90th Operations Support Squadron commander, and Vicki Liles and her protocol team. Admiral Haney attended pre-departure and was expertly briefed by Capt. Chad Redwine, 320th Missile Squadron. We then flew the admiral out to Missile Alert Facility Juliet-01 under the steady hands and watchful eyes of Capt. Matt Konowicz, 1st Lt. Jon Gentri and Staff Sgt. Rich Bartelt, all from the 37th Helicopter Squadron. Senior Airman Penn Phoung, Senior Airman Randi Gibson, and Airman 1st Class Thorne Tayamen, all with the 90th Missile Security Forces Squadron, provided him post briefs. Senior Airman Gibson just sewed on senior airman and is looking forward to upgrading to FSC. I'll make this statement right now, because of her professionalism, confidence and job knowledge, I would expect her to be one of the best flight security controller by summer time! The Mobile Fire Team consisting of Senior Airman Jared Sparks, Airman 1st Class Sara Wimberly, Airman 1st Class Adam Guy, and Airman 1st Class Yaxcel Interian, all with the 790th Missile Security Forces Squadron, provided the admiral a briefing on the their vehicle and weapons capability. Additionally, Staff Sgt. Jared Alfred, facility manager, and Airman 1st Class Armando Avalos, chef, both with the 320th MS, did a super job giving briefs on their job responsibilities. Downstairs, Admiral Haney had a chance to interact with 1st Lt. Nicholas Guidry and 2nd Lt. Austin Winners, 320th MS. Wearing their USSTRATCOM patches and giving the admiral a taste of crew life, they explained to him the level of study and testing expected of our crew members. He only had positive things to say about our mission, and I know he walked away confident that F. E. Warren is ready 24-7-365. I went to the dental clinic last week and just can't say enough about the professional attitude of those who work there. I was greeted by Dr. (Lt. Col.) Robert Beck, 90th Medical Operations Squadron, and Lisa Abreu, 90th Medical Support Squadron, did the cleaning. Every unit within our wing is critical to mission success. My hat is off to the dental clinic for providing superb care. They clearly get it! Many thanks to Missy Cook, Warren Spouses' Club President, and her team for a wonderful evening last Saturday while hosting the annual "Dollars for Scholars" Basket Auction. The theme was "An Evening in Paris," and the club looked great! Julie and I had a blast listening to the auctioneer Sammy Gardner, 90th Security Forces Squadron, and watching Lt. Col. Trevor Flint, 90th Missile Maintenance Squadron commander, Lt. Col. Dave Martinez, 319th Missile Squadron commander, Lt. Col. Don Opperman, 321st Missile Squadron, and Maj. Jerrod Duggan, 15th Munitions Squadron commander, (dressed in the evening's theme) ensure the folks in the room could see all the desserts and baskets up close and personally. The WSC raised more than $11,000 to use for student college scholarships. Last Friday was a very special evening for our wing. We held our wing's annual awards banquet. It started off with a medallion ceremony led by Master Sgt. Jeanette Olive, 90th MDOS. I can't tell you what a thrill it was for myself and Chief Master Sgt. Marty Anderson, 90th Missile Wing command chief, to have presented each nominee with their medallion. It was indeed a room full of superstars! As Airmen, competition is in our DNA. Let me tell you, the competition here is tough. The nominees I got to shake hands with have epitomized our vision statement, "Ready to Fight Anytime, Anywhere" and have lived our mission statement, "Provide Preeminent Combat Capability Across the Spectrum of Conflict." The Chief and I also thanked the spouses, families, and supervisors who have stood by our nominees and helped keep them on a path of success. What a thrill to have Maj. Gen. C. Donald Alston, 20th Air Force commander, and Mrs. Alston as our honored guests. I really enjoyed General Alston's message that he provided to all of us. I also appreciated the community leaders, honorary commanders and sponsors who attended. The theme for the evening was "A Reflection of Excellence." We charted a daily excellence roadmap more than 20 months ago, and it has indeed served us well. General Omar Bradley wrote, "Leadership is intangible, and therefore no weapon ever designed can replace it." While the focus on daily excellence has been our road map, it takes true leadership to ensure it is executed. I congratulate all of our nominees for those who walked through the saber arch, for they have indeed demonstrated superior leadership skills. I also was most appreciative of the hard work by the two primary points of contact responsible for such a fantastic event -- Chief Master Sgt. (sel) Shawn Drinkard, 790th MSFS, and Master Sgt. Stephen Hart, 90th Civil Engineer Squadron, as well as the annual awards committee and the team who converted the Fall Hall Community Center from a family establishment to a gorgeous banquet setting. (On a side note, I remember playing basketball in there in the 80's when I would pass through on a TDY!) Additionally, 1st Lt. Ben Andera, 319th MS, and Master Sgt. Christina Cournoyer, 90th MDOS, did a superb job as the emcees for the evening -- well done to you both! The day before the event, I popped in to Fall Hall to see how it was going. I ran into several groups that were shining up the silverware. This level of detail in everything we do is why we succeed at everything and fail at nothing. Just wanted to thank all the Airmen for taking the time and effort in setting up a memorable evening -- it was just what our wing needed! Go Forth and Conquer!