KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- The 403rd Wing held its biannual commander’s call at the Roberts Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Facility auditorium Sept. 11 during the Unit Training Assembly.
Col. Stuart Rubio, 403rd Wing commander, opened the commander’s calls with a moment of silence to show respect for those lost during the 9/11 attacks.
He then presented awards to the 2022 first and second quarterly award winners.
The following Airmen were recognized:
First Quarter
Airman of the Quarter: Senior Airman Colby Bellais, 403rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
Non-commissioned Officer of the Quarter: Tech. Sgt. Darrell Sheppard, 403rd Maintenance Squadron
Senior Non-commissioned Officer of the Quarter: Senior Master Sgt. Joshua Finkelstein, 5th Operational Weather Flight
First Sgt. of the Quarter: Master Sgt. Jared Bryant, 403rd Force Support Squadron
Company Grade Officer of the Quarter: Capt. Christine Manson, 803rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
Field Grade Officer of the Quarter: Maj. Jesse Rosal, 403rd Operations Group
Second Quarter
Airman of the Quarter: Senior Airman Vincent Lanclos, 403rd Mission Support Group
Non-commissioned Officer of the Quarter: Tech. Sgt. Amanda Copeland, 403rd OG
Senior Non-commissioned Officer of the Quarter: Master Sgt. Damian Hebert, 403rd Maintenance Group
First Sgt. of the Quarter: Senior Master Sgt. Crystal Jones, 403rd MXS
Company Grade Officer of the Quarter: 2nd Lt. Ariel Crawford, 403rd MXG
Field Grade Officer of the Quarter: Maj. Linda McCullough, 403rd Wing Staff Agencies
After the recognition portion of the event, the commander discussed some of the wing’s current events. The discussion included the revision of the wing’s vision and mission statements, the upcoming wing’s Unit Effectiveness Inspection, and the new Air Force Reserve commander’s task orders for Reserve Citizen Airmen.
Col. Shawn Mattingly, 403rd Wing vice commander, briefed the new 403rd MVPs: mission, vision, and priorities, which were developed at the June strategic alignment.
The new 403rd Wing mission is: “Provide mission-ready Airmen to execute diverse C-130J and combat support operations,” and the new vision is: “Wing of Choice: Agile, Innovative, Disciplined.” The priorities are as follows: prepare and equip mission ready Airmen; develop and retain resilient Airmen; and create a compliant, disciplined and lean organization.
“The Mission Statement should reflect who we are, what we do, and what makes us unique. Our ability to execute both tactical airlift as well as weather reconnaissance is amazing, and to combine that with our full wing of combat support operations makes us unique,” said Mattingly. “Every one of us should be proud to have a uniform in the closet with a 403rd patch on it.”
Mattingly went on to explain that our vision is where we are headed, and the priorities are how we get there. He continued saying that each should be simple, direct, and relatable to every Airman so anyone can see where they can jump in and help.
He also introduced his selection for the 403rd Diversity and Inclusion Council Chief, Lt. Col. Costau Bastien, who is also the 403rd Force Support Squadron commander.
Speakers from the Inspector General Inspector’s office, the Operations Security Office, Air Force Office of Special Investigations, the Equal Opportunity Office, and others addressed the wing members for annual briefings and the upcoming inspection.
Rubio addressed the new task orders from the new Air Force Reserve commander.
“We were given the top two priorities of the AFRC, to be ‘Ready Now’ and ‘Transforming for the Future,’” said Rubio. “What that means for you is to be proficient at your job and be ready to go at a moment’s notice. As leaders it is our job to make sure that we have the best processes in place for you to get the job done. So we are finding, and making changes to, those that are not efficient and creating a plan for the future.”
At the end of the commander’s call, the commander answered some of the wing members’ questions. He also encouraged Airmen to submit any suggestions or questions through their leadership.