Wingman Day 2014: Academy Airmen serve their community, embrace wingman concept

  • Published
  • By Amber Baillie
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  The 10th Air Base Wing hosted its Wingman Day here Oct. 9 to strengthen the Academy team and encourage Airmen to get to know each other better through community service.

The day included team-building activities across the Academy and recognized the impact each 10th ABW squadron and staff agency has made on 11 Colorado Springs non-profit organizations through different service projects. The projects totaled 439 volunteers and 1,503 service hours.

"It was brilliant to watch the team come together for these service projects," said 10th ABW Commander Col. Stacey Hawkins. "It's about doing simple good for others, and we're culminating that today with a Wingman Day celebration. It's a celebration of service, with this year's theme of 'Connections Through Service,' that really embraces the wingman concept."

Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Michelle D. Johnson said the day was an opportunity for Airmen to reflect and recognize how they each fit in at the Academy.
"We all have a part in developing character and leadership here," she said. "Each one of your voices is important, and we must help each other live up to the standards in order to maintain a culture of commitment and a climate of respect. Today is a chance to say, 'How can we do this better?' It's about having servant hearts and the difference we make for our country.'"

Airmen and representatives from the nonprofits gave presentations on the projects completed Aug. 23-Sept. 20 which included fire and flood mitigation, fixing bikes for children, packing food for struggling families and cleaning up a community park.

"This isn't something that has been done before on this scale by the 10th AB W," said Master Sgt. Angie Prada of the 10th Communications Squadron. "We wanted to find a tangible and meaningful way to give back to the local community because they give the military so much support. We wanted to reciprocate that."

When each squadron was informed about a service project idea, they embraced the plan and immediately took ownership, Prada said.

"Each and every one of them started working right away on what they wanted to do as a unit for their service project," she said. "Everything fell into place quickly and all service projects were flawlessly executed. Every volunteer enjoyed the experience and learned something about themselves or someone else during the service project."
Guest speaker Nicole Green, an Academy grad and former intelligence officer, spoke to Airmen on how pursuing her passion for service changed her life. Green is a division administrator for Team Rubicon, a non-profit organization geared toward linking the skills and experiences of military veterans with first responders to deploy emergency response teams.

"The service I have participated in has made me more effective as a leader and has made me a stronger a person," she said. "When you're working with volunteers, you have to know how to inspire them. You have to be good at identifying where people fit best. When someone is unhappy, you need to be able to identify a place where they can succeed. You have to be able to work with someone and say, 'What do you really care about?' I find myself asking that question more and more, not only within Team Rubicon, but in other contexts of my life."

The 10th Medical Support Squadron volunteered with the Community Partnership for Child Development, a non-profit providing early childhood education to at-risk families.

The squadron recruited 47 volunteers and helped with landscaping, painting and cleanup at one of the organization's centers.

"Without groups like the 10th MSS helping us with our projects, we probably wouldn't have the budget to do everything that we do," said Delberta Uvalle, a CPCD coordinator. "One of the things they did was clean out an area near one of our playgrounds. For some of the families we help, they will tell us, 'My child doesn't get to play outside at home because the park isn't safe and we live in an apartment and there isn't a yard.' For these families to be able to come into a warm and welcoming place that the volunteers can provide for them is amazing."

Airman Cassidy Hazelett, 10th MDSS, volunteered with CPCD. She said knowing her fellow Airmen better is an example of wingmanship.

"This event definitely pushed our team and got us out of the office," she said. "Being able to interact and meet other people's families was neat. It was really great to get to know everyone better."