43 Years of dedicated service

  • Published
  • By Terry Higgins
  • 90th Missile Wing Public Affairs.

Mr. Stephen West will be retiring on 4 Aug., 2017 after 43 years of dedicated service to his country. West has served the F.E. Warren community as both an enlisted senior noncommissioned officer and a Department of Defense civilian.

“I will miss the people that I work with more than anything,” West said. “There are a lot of medics within this group that are truly dedicated to helping people.”

West originally enlisted in the Air Force in 1974 and served 17 years as a medic in critical medicine.  Intensive care units and emergency rooms have high operations tempos and West felt that it might be time for a well-deserved break.

He retrained into medical administration as a medical planner in 1992. He spent the remainder of his career in medical readiness as a medical planner and retired as a senior master sergeant. in 1994.  

West was quickly hired back into medical readiness as an emergency manager here. He then spent the next 23 years organizing, training and equipping the 90th Medical Group for disaster situations.

When West was asked about his most memorable accomplishment throughout his 43 years of dedicated service, West said the F.E. Warren hospital was the primary backup facility for the Cheyenne, Wyoming 911 emergency alert system in the ‘90’s. West was most proud of that feat because to his knowledge F.E. Warren was the only medical unit in the DoD that succeeded in this monumental achievement.

“I have known Mr. West for the past seven years and in that time, he has constantly impressed me. He is the best worker I have ever met and he is a very good friend,” said Master Sgt. Jeffery Naughton, 90th MDG NCO in charge of emergency management. “Anytime I have ever needed anything, work or personal, he has been there with a positive attitude and always has the answer.”

West has dedicated most of his life to ensuring that the 90th MDG is prepared for any type of disaster. He ensured that state of the art force protection systems have been installed within the clinic and these systems are certified and accredited to be an intricate part of the buildings antiterrorism program.

“The 90th Medical Group thanks Mr. West for his 43 years of dedicated service and his devotion to his country,” said Col. Cherron Galluzzo, 90th MDG commander. “Our wing and the Medical Group is a better and safer place due to his mentorship. We hope that he has a happy and well deserved retirement.”