News

Through Airmen's Eyes: Safe, Swift, Sure

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jared Duhon
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
Senior Airman Valerie Stephens, 3rd Airlift Squadron loadmaster instructor, was chosen to be Airman of the Month for the 436th Operations Group here.

When not on a mission, Stephens works as a scheduler ensuring loadmasters have their health and training records up-to-date.

"I enjoy scheduling, but I really like being on missions," said the Caldwell, Texas native.

Master Sgt. Arcenio Santiago, 3rd AS flight chief and Stephens' supervisor, said Stephens has provided support throughout the world for many important missions.

"This year alone she has gone on a deployment to Southwest Asia and transported Marine One to Topeka, Kansas, for the President's economic briefing tour," Santiago said. "She has also test loaded highly classified special operations cargo that will later be validated by the Air Transportability Test Loading Agency."

Santiago said Stephens was selected for Airman of the Month because of her hard work and dedication to the job.

"Her hard charging work ethic and dedication to the job is the epitome of the 3rd AS motto, 'Safe, Swift, Sure,'" Santiago said. "This was highlighted when she was able to make the cutoff for E-5 her first time testing."

Stephens said she was relieved when she found out she was selected for staff sergeant, which she will put on some time next year.

"I studied for six months straight," said Stephens. "I am not sure what I would have done if I had not made it."

Lt. Col. Erin Meinders, 3rd AS director of operations, said Stephens' contributions do not go unnoticed and the fact she made staff sergeant the first time proves it.

"I think she will do great things with her promotion," Meinders said. "She does an awesome job and is very thorough with her work."

Meinders noted Stephens is able to handle a high workload.

"Stephens is able to handle multiple tasks at once and is constantly juggling a lot of balls in the air," said Meinders. "She tries to schedule people for missions while also considering how they feel. But, she shows no favoritism. She has also helped streamline the scheduling process."

Stephens said she recently returned from loadmaster instructor school and is eager to teach.

"I hope am a very effective trainer," she said. "Getting the job done safely is very important, so whoever I train they will always need to keep safety in the forefront of their mind."