Photo By Sheila deVera | Air Force Staff Sgt. Jeremy Waters, 962nd Airborne Air Control Squadron, pose inside...... read more read more
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Air Force Staff Sgt. Jeremy Waters, 962nd Airborne Air Control Squadron, was recently selected to commission as a second lieutenant through the Senior Leader Enlisted Commissioning Program – Active Duty Scholarship, Nov. 30.
“When I saw my commander [Lt. Col. Michelle Shicks] drop by while I was conducting a preflight inspection, I knew subconsciously that they were there to tell me if I got accepted or not,” Waters said. “Then I saw Lt. Gen. [Kenneth] Wilsbach [11th Air Force commander], along with Chief Master Sgt. [Gay] Veale, [11th AF command chief], and I could not contain my smile.”
Waters said, when he officially was notified of his selection, he could not contain his excitement. Instead of being on cloud nine, he was floating on cloud 10.
“I never thought I would be an officer when I was a kid, I wanted to be a fireman,” Waters said. “Working in a flying squadron is what pushed me to become an officer. I really look up to them and want to emulate what they do so I can lead troops from a different perspective.”
Master Sgt. Brian Babusch, 962d AACS System Operations superintendent, recognizes Waters as a hard worker with good work ethic.
“When I was his flight chief, (Waters) expressed to me that he wanted to become an officer,” Babusch said. “On his first try, he was just a senior airman with little leadership skill so he was not selected.”
Though the first attempt was not what he expected, he continued to excel. Once he became a noncommissioned officer, the unit gave him more responsibility as an NCO and allowed him to mentor Airmen.
“On his first attempt, senior leadership provided feedback on why he was not selected,” Babusch said. “We told him that if he did all the feedback/goals given to him, we would submit his package. He met all of our expectations and did everything he was supposed to do and this time, it worked.”
While waiting for any news with his recently submitted package, Babush said Waters was constantly checking in at his office for any news.
“I remembered when we told him that his package passed the 11th Air Force, he kept passing my office almost every day,” Babusch said amused. “He was anxious and nervous, but he finally realized there is a process his package had to go through.”
Given his positive outlook and the road blocks he experienced the first time submitting for SLECP, he persevered working toward his goals.
“There is always going to be a road block, there is always going to be set-backs,” Waters said. “Someone is going to tell you no – for instance, my first time I was told no and I did not like that answer. I told myself I’m going to get this one way or another so I just kept putting myself out there.”
As of right now, Waters said his selection to become an officer has not sunk-in.
It’s been more than a year ago since the new initiative allows Air Force senior leaders select exceptionally performing and highly talented enlisted members for commissioning through OTS. There are 14 Airman slots open each year through the SLECP.
| Date Taken: | 12.13.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 12.14.2016 19:32 |
| Story ID: | 217726 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, AK, US |
| Hometown: | STEVENSON, WA, US |
| Web Views: | 104 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, JBER Airman selected through Senior Leader Enlisted Commissioning Program, by Sheila deVera, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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