Professionalism, perfection shines across wing

  • Published
  • By Col. Greg Tims
  • 90th Missile Wing commander
F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. --  I got a note the other day from Maj. Bev Baker, 90th Security Forces commander, I wish to share with you. She had received some great feedback from a retired Air Force master sergeant who recently entered our installation. He wanted to recognize Airman 1st Class Jaimz Andrews, 90th SFS, for the outstanding job he was doing. He said when he arrived at the gate he was greeted by Airman Andrews. Jaimz gave him very precise directions and was extremely courteous. The sergeant has been retired since 1978 and travels from base to base frequently. He went on to say that most bases he goes to, he is greeted by civilian gate guards. He was very pleased to see active-duty Airmen manning the gates. The sergeant told us that Airman Andrews was one of the most professional Airmen he has seen and would have loved to have had a whole flight of troops like him. Wow! I really enjoy receiving feedback like that on our Airmen. Well done Jaimz!

Lifelong friendships are made in the military. Many of us have fond memories of our first base and stay in contact with those who we worked with through our first trials and tribulations. Col. (Ret.) Bruce Hollywood honored us with his presence by speaking at the Asian-Pacific Heritage luncheon. I first met Bruce back in the spring of 1986. His account about meeting his mom for the first time was one of twists and turns, but what a story. I can't thank Bruce enough for coming out here and sharing his thoughts with us. The lunch was catered by the students of Triumph High School. Staff Sgt. Lawrence Vaden, 90th Security Support Squadron, organized the event, and 1st Lt. Kristine Poblete, 90th Operations Group, was our emcee. Well done to you both for executing a very meaningful as well as delicious event.

We also had Lt. Col. (Ret.) Dave Wright come out and speak to the Company Grade Officer Council this past Friday. Dave Wright was my first supervisor in maintenance in 1990 when I took over as the officer in charge of Electro-Mechanical Team (that's what we used to call it back in the day). I still have the notes I took during our first meeting where he provided his leadership philosophy. He instilled early on in me as a young maintenance officer that both maintenance discipline and military discipline were critical to the maintenance group's mission success. It appears some things never change -- and they shouldn't.

Thursday I attended the Army Aviation Support Facility dedication. Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal, Wyoming State Auditor Rita Myers and Maj. Gen. Ed Wright, the adjutant general for the Wyoming Guard, spoke at this event. They also provided me an opportunity to say a few words. Many of the folks in the audience were active-duty or retired Army so I explained to them that F.E. Warren is the Air Force's oldest active duty installation. Before it was Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, it was Fort D.A. Russell, an Army Calvary base established after Congress recognized the need for a military installation to offer protection for Union Pacific's railroad workers. That was 1867. Now, Warren is home to the 90th Missile Wing and Headquarters, 20th Air Force, of Air Force Global Strike Command.

And today, we once again find ourselves in partnership with our Army brothers and sisters, dedicating land and giving a home to this new aviation facility. In a very positive way, our history follows us to this moment in time. We never have nor ever will forget our Army roots and what it means to us. I also emphasized that we have two missions on this base: 1) To engage in the conflict we are in, and 2) Deterrence. While the later is unique to only a few bases, the first one is not. The first one allows us to be intertwined as only those can be in the profession of arms.

I had my "Gait analysis" done by Alison Morrell, 90th Missile Wing Medical Operations Squadron. If you have not done one of these, you need to. These sessions are free. Alison will video record you walking and running, then ensure you are in the best shoe for any issues she might uncover. Additionally, she'll have ideas on strengthening and core work to help keep you injury free.

Last week Col. Don Adams, 90th Maintenance Group commander, and myself attended the pre-departure briefing for Missile Maintenance Team. Master Sgt. Tyler Terrel, 90th Missile Maintenance Squadron, gave the briefing to Senior Airman Leonard Tillman and Senior Airman John Wissler, 90th MMXS. This was Leonard's 104th trip and John's 48th trip. By the end of the day they both added one more notch on their steering wheel. When I see professionals like Tyler, Leonard and John, I know we are going to have perfect mission execution.

Speaking of perfection, the 320th Code Change was absolutely picture perfect. Code change is an annual event to remove and replace key components at the launch facilities and launch control centers. Code change is one of most crucial peacetime missions, as well as one of the busiest. There are so many moving pieces to code change it is rare to associate this event with the word "perfection." However, this was one of those occasions. Well done Mighty Ninety!

Go Forth and Conquer!