Goodfellow hosts Leadership Tour Published April 16, 2013 By Airman 1st Class Breonna Fields 17th Training Wing Public Affairs GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Members of the Leadership San Angelo tour, hosted by the city Chamber of Commerce visited Goodfellow Air Force Base during their yearly tour, April 12. The members of Leadership San Angelo, a nine-month program designed to help develop future business and civic leadership for the city of San Angelo, visited Goodfellow to better understand the relationship between the base and the local community. "The base has always been important to San Angelo," said Janis Baucom, Walls and Windows owner. "As we developed and got to be business owners we realized what the impact the base has with our city. We don't want to lose the base because it is an intricate part of San Angelo." The tour started with a luncheon at the Western Winds Dining Facility with military base leadership including Col. Paul Bugenske, 17th Mission Support Group Commander, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Cornell Woods, Navy Center for Information Dominance Detachment Officer in Charge, and Chief Master Sgt. Raymond Irizarry, 17th Training Group superintendent. After the luncheon, the group was greeted by Col. Thomas Schmidt, 17th Training Wing Vice Commander, in the headquarters conference room where they received a wing mission brief. The breif covered the history of Goodfellow as well as the wing mission, which is to train world-class firefighting and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance warriors. The group then went to the Louis F. Garland Department of Defense Fire Academy, where they were greeted by Lt. Col. Derek Ferland, 312th Training Squadron Commander. The group experienced how fire academy instructors train student and watched students use the confined space trainer, which teaches students how to rescue people in confined areas. "I'm amazed," said Pamela Miller, San Angelo Convention and Visitors Bureau vice president, commenting on what she saw on the fire academy portion of the tour. "It's great to see what the students go through. The instructors make the scenarios real." After the fire academy tour, the group was briefed by Col. Brendon Harris, 17th Training Group Commander, who explained the mission of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. "We follow a targeting cycle," said Harris as he described what the students at Goodfellow are learning. "Find, fix, target, track, engage, assess." The tour concluded with a question and answer forum led by Harris. "We are in awe," said Baucom. "We knew a lot of the things the base does and I have been out here before but never have I seen the intimate details that we got to see today. It was amazing ... I feel as though my tax dollars are going to a good cause."
