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Show HILLTOP TIMES HJ.'tM TIMES November 6, 2008 Brig. Gen. Cooper praises 309th workforce efforts BY BILL ORNDORFF 309th Maintenance Wing A n appreciation for the military, a heroic Uncle Sam and baseball all helped lead John B. Cooper to a career in the Air Force. Now, 25 years after taking the first oath as a second lieutenant, he pinned on .the rank of brigadier general Oct. 20 in a standing-room only ceremony at Club Hill. Cooper has been the commander of the 309th Maintenance Wing since July 1. Bom in New Jersey, the general was raised by working class parents, John and Marilyn Cooper, who encouraged him and his sister to attend college. "They instilled in me a great work ethic and a love for the military," Cooper said. 'They steered me to do the right thing, steered me to attend a military college. The next thing I know, I was joining the Air Force. I've been around ever since." The general chose to attend the Citadel, also known as the Military College of South Carolina in Charleston, with an , interest in playing baseball. A possible career as a hitter lasted only one year — after that, he focused his attention on Air Forpe Reserve Officer's Iraining Corps.. "I fell in love with the ROTC program over time and was offered a contract to join," he recalled. "I was commissioned in the Air Force in 1983. It's just proof positive that you don't know what's around the next corner, where the path you choose will take you." In addition to his parents, Cooper was guided toward a military career by two family patriarchs — Fred Gannaway, a great-uncle who was wounded in World War I; and Sam Cooper who served in the Navy in World War II. "My Uncle Sam had the dubious pleasure of being sunk twice and survived to tell the stories," he said. "I grew up hearing the stories from veterans. My parents instilled a foundation in me that made the military attractive. I pursued it to hopefully be a good military officer." Cooper describes himself as "matterof-fact" and passionate about what he does. "I try to send a clear message to the people who work for me what I think is important, where I think we need to go, then I try to convince them to go with • me," he said. "Leading is fun, but I'm learning an awful lot. I'm following a lot of leads from a lot of really good leaders in this wing that are helping me out." Throughout his career, Cooper never expected or aspired to be Gen. Cooper. "You don't want to work towards being a general officer — you want to work hard wherever you're at and let the cards fall where they may," he said. "I'm honored the Air Force has given me this opportunity to be a flag officer. I'm especially honored to be given this opportunity while our nation is at war. It's a critical piece of our history to be offered this opportunity. It's very humbling." Cooper began his career as a munitions maintenance officer at Hurlburt Field, Fla., and left there last July as director of logistics for Headquarters Air Force Special Operations Command. In between, he filled assignments in New York, Turkey, Alabama, North Carolina, Virginia, Texas, and Alaska. With his advancements, he's always asserted that his No. 1 priority is his family His wife, Linda, and children Emma, Bethany and Alex, are accompanying him at Hill, while two other sons, Joshua and Benjamin, are attending college in Florida. He considers this assignment at Hill "a maintenance officers' dream." "I'm in Maintenance Country now," he said. "I have not been in AFMC before, I've been in the operational end of maintenance my entire career. It's amazing to see the depth of repair these talented people can deal with — we can fix anything ALEX R. LLOYD/U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. John B. Cooper smiles after the audience applauds his new rank at the Oct. 20 ceremony at which he received his new star. in this wing. You give us some metal and some tools and we'll make it happen. It's a dream come true, a dream job for me." The pride and professionalism of the 8,000-member 309th workforce has impressed the general since he arrived, and he says he's ready to pour his heart and soul into his job as wing commander. "Our employees are so proud of what they do and they're very good at what they do, so it's easy to see them swell with pride when they get the opportunity to tell about their jobs," the general said. He recalled a recent visit where Gen. Bruce Carlson, AFMC commander, deviated from the planned itinerary and talked with an employee working on a battery charger. "Our employee — he wasn't part of the tour or hadn't been asked to give a briefing — gave the most articulate briefing about what he did and how it fit into the mission of missile maintenance," Cooper said. "He made everyone there so proud. It is a great example. I see this all the time when I walk around the wing. Everybody is proud of what they do and eager to share." The general chalked this up to people understanding where they fit in the big picture for defense. "We give our warriors the tools they need to do their job," he said. "I feel like we're the beginning of the 'kill chain.' We put together the commodities, we put together the airplanes, we put together the missiles and missile components, we develop software, all in an effort to get those items back to the warfighter for that critical national asset of combat capability that we provide." Noting that the wing has had some difficulties recently, Cooper says the wing is getting back on track. "We are addressing the issues before us and in the end, we are going to be stronger than we ever have been before," he said. "And despite all the issues that we've been facing, we produced more airplanes than we were supposed to produce this year. We produced those airplanes under expense and under budget and every one of them was a quality airplane. "We've done the same with commodities, software, electronics, and we should take great pride in that. We're going to address some areas, improve our operations and press on with vigor and enthusiasm." SPORTS AUTHORITY. DEDICATED TO THE DEDICATED ifr fit •: * * • -•";;. i-fv_i*# YOUR TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 11™, Special Discount is Valid InStore Only For Active and R&tiretiMilitary Personnel Please bring identification to verify your military status for this offer. VETERANS' DAY MILITARY DISCOUNT ONE DAY ONLY COUPON SPORTS VALID TUESDAY, NOV. 1 V", 2008 ONLY AUTHORITY . Please bring identification to verify your military status for this offer. YOUR ENTIRE PURCHASE** 1 vwn time u °! P rc naset0 "No cash value. No cash back. 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