Hurlburt POTFF “Truly Gives A Crap”

FORT WALTON BEACH, FL, UNITED STATES

10.22.2021

Story by Staff Sgt. Tarelle Walker 

1st Special Operations Wing

HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. --He sits tucked away in a relatively tiny corner of a relatively tucked away building on Hurlburt Field.
The Cincinnati, Ohio native, carved out this cozy little niche where Airmen are encouraged to come and chat about whatever is on their mind. As a former U.S. Air Force First Sergeant, he is leading by example in the fight against suicide and other issues affecting the Air Force, one conversation...one Airman at a time.
His name is Mr. Brian Huber, 1st Special Operations Mission Support Group, Preservation of the Force and Family (POTFF) representative.
“I just came in to be a Communications guy,” Huber said. “I never thought the [business of people] is what I was going to dive into.”
As a POTFF representative, he is responsible for helping military members achieve and maintain balance within the four pillars of the Comprehensive Airmen Fitness program. The components of CAF are social, psychological, spiritual and physical. POTFF personnel are embedded directly into certain units, giving them the opportunity to help Airmen boost their level of personal resilience, and distribute tools for promoting well-being and the achievement of optimal performance.
Huber served in many capacities before retiring from the United States Air Force. He has been a radio operator, Airman Leadership School instructor and a commandant, just to name a few. Many of his past jobs were centered around taking care of people, which helped him gain experience for his current position in the POTFF office.
One of his most notable duty positions led him to discover his ultimate purpose. During his time filling in as an additional duty first sergeant, he encountered a situation where he was called to help a young woman and her children exit an extremely violent domestic abuse situation.
“It was the first time I ever dealt with something like that; she was bruised from head to toe and her two kids came up to me and said, “‘Thank you for saving mommy,”’ Huber said. “That was it. I was like, I’m going to be a shirt.”
Huber’s passion for supporting Airmen covers a wide range of experiences. Beyond domestic violence situations, he has also witnessed the many ways suicide affects Airmen and their families. During his military career, one of his former Airmen lost a child to suicide.
“Utopia for me would be zero suicides in the Air Force,” Huber said. “Is it naïve to think that people will stop having life issues, because they won’t, so the question we’re all asking is, ‘can we actually get to zero suicides?’ I don’t know, but I know we have to try. When you bury an Airman, you don’t want to bury another one.”
Huber also gives learned insight for Airmen who may be struggling with mental health, overall resiliency or other complexities.
“Come to us when it’s still a grass fire,” said Huber. “We can help prevent a lot of stress if you come to us in the beginning.”
Huber also had advice for military members who want to know how to take care of their team without neglecting the mission .
“As leaders, we tend to be reactive, but it’s time for us to get into proactive mode,” said Huber. “You also have to build trust and respect so they will come talk to you. If you take care of people, you get better output and you get better products.”
The POTFF team at Hurlburt work together to ensure they are visible and accessible resources for Airmen on base.
“All of us here in the POTFF office are focused on taking care of Airmen and their families, so people skills are very important,” said Huber. “You literally have to care about people. If you’re not passionate about that, you’re probably in the wrong line of work.
“ In more simple terms, you have to truly give a crap,” he added.

• Date Taken: 10.22.2021
• Date Posted: 11.01.2021 10:42
• Story ID: 408404
• Location: FORT WALTON BEACH, FL, US