GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Who: Tech. Sgt. Aimee Thomas
Unit: 17 Training Wing Command Post
Duty Title: Noncommissioned officer in charge, Command and Control Operations
This spotlight features Tech Sgt. Aimee L. Thomas, 17th Training Wing command post noncommissioned officer in charge. She hails from Houston, Texas, and some of her additional duties include being a Sexual Assault Prevention and Response victim's advocate and the unit deployment manager for Wing Staff Agencies.
1. How does your job support the 17th Training Wing's mission?
We provide 24/7 command and control support to the commanders by disseminating orders, information, and emergency messages. We ensure that higher headquarters and headquarters Air Force are kept informed of situations that warrant their attention. The command post is also responsible for activating Giant Voice and AtHoc notification systems to ensure the safety of base personnel.
2. What do you find most rewarding about your work?
Knowing that if, and when an emergency situation occurs I am able to keep the base and its personnel safe.
3. What has been your biggest challenge in the military, and how did you overcome that challenge?
I would say it was working in an extremely low morale unit due to leadership at the time. Overcoming it took time, but I leaned heavily on teammates and mentors in order to ensure I was controlling what I could control. For example; my attitude and morale, I took care of my people, I did my job to the best of my ability.
4. What has been your most memorable experience in the military?
My most memorable experience was definitely my deployment to Iraq. I was deployed in a position for command post supporting the Combined Joint Special Operations Air Component, working 12-hour nights and then on standby for the other 12 hours. It was my first deployment and I was nervous, but the team I worked with was fantastic. We all supported each other, regardless of branch of service, and took the time to get to know what each other did. It was very rewarding seeing firsthand what our special operations members do in combat and just how important my role as a command post controller was. I will never forget one night having to send an operational report to the CSAF after a particularly difficult mission and having his secretary call the CJSOAC commander the next day saying thank you for the timely and detailed report, he in turn relayed that message to me. I got to see and experience some amazing things working with the special operations teams and would do it again in a heartbeat if I could.
5. What is one piece of information or advice you would like to pass on?
I would say stay true to yourself and your leadership style. A chief I admire once told me that we need to lead people not Airmen, meaning get to know them not just on a job level but on a personal level. Airmen are people first, you cannot lead them effectively without knowing what makes them tick.