Where it all began: Lt. Col. Victoria Bobo’s return to Keesler
KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. - Lt. Col. Victoria Bobo vividly remembers walking into the classroom at Keesler Air Force Base in 2010 as a brand-new second lieutenant, unsure of what the “real Air Force” would look like beyond textbooks and theory.
“This was my first experience in the actual Air Force after commissioning,” she said. “Everything about it was new.”
More than a decade later, Bobo stands at the front of those same classrooms, not as a student, but as commander of the 335th Training Squadron, leading a unit responsible for shaping Airmen at the very start of their careers.
“It’s very full circle,” she said. “This was my first experience in the Air Force, and now what I consider the pinnacle of my career is being right back here, in command.”
Bobo commissioned through the Air Force ROTC program at Mississippi State University and attended the Weather Officer Course at Keesler shortly after graduation. While much has changed since then, some things feel strikingly familiar.
“My instructor from 2010 still teaches in the same building,” she said. “I graduate my students in the same room I graduated in.”
After leaving Keesler, Bobo’s career took her to Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, and later Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, where she served as a weather flight commander. Along the way, she built lasting professional relationships that mirrored her own journey.
“One of the women in my class and I ended up at the same first duty station, then later both came back here to the schoolhouse,” Bobo said. “Now her husband works in my squadron. It’s funny how those connections come back around.”
That sense of connection to people, to place and to purpose, ultimately drew Bobo back to Keesler as an instructor.
“I’ve always loved teaching,” she said. “I taught dance through college, I taught CPR classes as an officer, and I love the idea of imparting knowledge and setting people up for success.”
Her time as an instructor from 2015 to 2018 became one of the most formative periods of her career. During that assignment, Bobo not only taught new Airmen and officers but also served in wing-level leadership roles, including as a command action group member and later as an executive officer at Second Air Force.
“In that three-year span, I probably grew more as an officer than at any other point in my career,” she said. “Not a single day felt like work.”
Bobo credits mentorship during that time, especially from senior leaders, for expanding how she viewed leadership and the Air Force mission.
“They gave me creative freedom, trusted me and showed me how to connect strategy to people,” she said. “That changed everything for me.”
Now, as a squadron commander, Bobo draws directly from those lessons as she leads Airmen who are often just weeks post graduation from basic military training.
“There aren’t many jobs where you get to shape someone’s first experience in the Air Force,” she said. “You’re not just teaching them a skill, you’re teaching them who they are in this organization.”
During weekly in-processing briefings, Bobo makes it a point to address Airmen from every career field, emphasizing the value of roles that are often misunderstood.
“I tell them, ‘You matter,’” she said. “Every job here supports the mission, whether people see it or not.”
Bobo said her recent academic experience at the School of Advanced Aerospace Studies further strengthened her ability to connect day-to-day training with the Air Force’s broader mission.
“I can now explain to the youngest Airmen how they fit into the big picture,” she said. “How what they do supports defending the Constitution and protecting the future, not just for the country, but for my kids and grandkids.”
That ability to articulate purpose, she said, is central to her leadership philosophy.
“When people understand why their job matters, they take ownership of it,” Bobo said. “That’s when they start making a real impact.”
As a Mississippi native and daughter of an Air Force maintainer, returning to Keesler also feels deeply personal. The slower pace of the Gulf Coast and the sense of community resonate with her upbringing.
“This place feels like home,” she said. “I think that’s why so many people find their way back here.”
For Bobo, commanding the squadron that once trained her is more than a career milestone, it is a responsibility she does not take lightly.
“This is the job I wanted,” she said. “To teach, to lead and to give Airmen the best possible start to their careers.”
And every time she stands before a new class of Airmen, Bobo sees a reflection of herself, standing where she once stood, ready to begin.
