My 2023 as the operations chief of the 908th Airlift Wing Public Affairs Office has been a rollercoaster year full of ebbs and flows.
2023 was the first full year for our unit to not have an aircraft or a flying mission. That makes the job of public affairs for an airlift wing just crazy.
We went from a six-person team for the majority of 2022 down to a three-person team by the end of 2023, between members completing their terms of enlistment, transferring to other military components, and even moving for their civilian careers to a distance that would make staying in the wing unreasonable for a junior Airman.
When we lost half of our team, we lost amazing experience and leadership in our NCOIC, an all-star imagery specialists and former Airman of the Year for the wing, and the reigning best new videographer of the year for the entire Air Force Reserve Command, we had no idea how we would keep our heads above water, let alone continue to be successful.
Looking back now, it seems like a blessing that we had no aircraft with our shop down to one content creator, Senior Airman Juliana Todd, who put in a ton of work throughout this year.
She was able to focus on our aerial port squadron requesting other units fly an aircraft to us so that our air transportation specialists could continue to train and keep proficiency in their skills.
She was able to spend a large amount of time with our security forces squadron, getting in depth coverage of their specialized skills training, dismounted tactics, expandable baton training and small arms qualifications.
She was able to spend time with our maintainers, who came up with an innovative approach to block training that kept their members current on individual medical readiness and training requirements when the unit had no aircraft to maintain.
She was able to do all of this while completing her five-skill level training and continuing to build upon the foundation she set after being named the 2022 AFRC Military Graphic Designer of the Year and Best New Writer of the Year in March of 2023.
Todd has been one of the largest sources of inspiration for me this year. Even with her content creation preferences being writing and graphics, she has stepped up and improved her photography and videography because she believes in telling the unit and Airman’s stories.
She has excelled so much that she was named the Outstanding Communication Airman for the Air Force Reserve Command in their Public Affairs Communication Excellence Awards for fiscal year 2023.
I am not sure we could have survived this crazy year without the support and leadership from our Chief of PA, Maj. John Stamm. He has fought hard all year for us to have a seat at the table and continues to point out that PA has a vital role in what has been dubbed the most difficult mission change in Air Force history. His innovation has kept the wing in the news cycle and has continued to keep our reach and engagement within the community and civic leaders on the rise, which isn’t easy when we have to compete with the active-duty Air University or the Alabama Air National Guard fighter wing that is receiving the F-35. Trust me, the 908th could easily be forgotten in its own city.
Stamm reached out to other units to cover down on our members training at their locations and with their units. This should be something all PAs do to help each other out, but every time he reached out to a new unit, they were shocked and had never had someone ask for help like this and had no clue that their units were helping our members train.
We had opportunities to tell new stories instead of the normal mission-type features. We split focus on highlighting outstanding members with our award-winning “I am The 908th” spotlight feature series, and covering down on the innovative ways our members are training; not just our deployable members, but our Operations and Maintenance Groups who will have a new training mission.
Our members have created a unique relationship with the 23rd Flying Training Squadron at Fort Novosel. Not only have 908th pilots and special mission aviators trained under the 23rd FTS in preparation for the new mission with the MH-139, but in anticipation of being instructors for the Grey Wolf, have served as instructors with the unit after their training.
Back in January our maintainers started a relationship with the Chevron Corporation in Picayune, Mississippi, where more than 20 maintainers have spent more than 30 days at their maintenance facilities learning how they maintain their fleet of AW-139 helicopters, the civilian variant of the Grey Wolf.
Looking forward, I am sure 2024 is going to present challenges and difficult times that our office and I will have to face; but I am also sure that we will achieve success and reach new peaks.
We already have two new members identified and, in our development and training flight awaiting dates for basic military training and technical school, both of whom are sure to bring new life to the office and reinvigorate my love for this career.
Arguably, the thing I look forward to the most is the arrival of our first MH-139A Grey Wolf. I can’t wait to begin telling the story of this amazing new aircraft and the remarkable Airmen that will crew and maintain it on a daily basis, training the aircrew of the future.
It has truly been a crazy year, and I expect nothing but the same for 2024, in the best job in the Air Force.
| Date Taken: | 12.11.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 12.21.2023 16:47 |
| Story ID: | 460610 |
| Location: | MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA, US |
| Web Views: | 150 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, My Crazy Year in a Wing PA Shop, by Bradley Clark, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
