Photo by David Underwood, Jr.

Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam Public Affairs

Staff Sgt. Barrita Simmons is the 647th Force Support Squadron assistant NCO in charge of force management. She is also the Warrior of the Week.

As a personnel specialist with only five years in the Air Force, Simmons has been at Joint Base Pearl HarborHickam for one year and enjoys hanging out with her son, going to the beach, hiking and sky diving.

“I enjoy interacting with customers on a daily basis because I am a people person,” Simmons said. “My job may seem insignificant to others, but I receive satisfaction in knowing that I ensure the Air Force’s number one asset the Airman is taken care of. I love the Air Force for all the opportunities it has afforded me and my family.”

The junior NCO is the base-level focal point for officer and enlisted performance evaluations and annually builds and manages more than 3,000 evaluation and decoration sites for 32 base-level service delivery model (BLSDM) units. She annually processes more than 8,000 duty updates for the 15th Operations Group, 647th Civil Engineer Squadron, and 747th Communications Squadron. She also manages the unfavorable information file program with more than 50 cases for BLSDM units, and completes additional duties.

“Sgt. Simmons is a hard charger and highly skilled superstar who blends energy and talent with effective leadership,” said her supervisor, Master Sgt. Daren A. Newton Sr., the section superintendent. “She always stands ready to volunteer to fill any duty needed to uphold our mission. She has won the Military Personnel Fight Star Performer Award several times as well as the 647th FSS Star Performer Award, in which she was coined by the group commander.”

The Hinesville, Ga., native said she wants to have a base wide “explore Oahu” day similar to the “Eiffel Week” they had at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, so those stationed here can learn the history of this island.

“My favorite thing about being stationed in Hawaii would be the weather and that my winter wardrobe consists of sandals, swimsuits and shorts,” she said.

Commander Navy Region Hawaii Public Affairs

A Navy diver assigned to Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit

ONE (MDSU-1) is this week’s Joint Base Pearl

Harbor-Hickam Warrior of the Week, Oct 7.

Chief Navy Diver Kevin Chinn has been in the Navy for more than 11 years. During his service, he has travelled to several locations around the world and has served aboard

USS Safeguard (ARS 50) and USS Emory S. Land (AS-39). Chinn was recently promoted to chief petty officer during this year’s promotion cycle.

“I made chief because I have great leadership, great peers and great subordinates who I’ve worked with throughout my career,” Chinn said. “My subordinates have always been great. They’ve worked really hard for me. The leadership has always done what they can to support me, putting me in leadership positions.

I’ve always worked really well with my peers.”

Chinn was one of 29 Navy Divers Navy-wide who advanced to chief petty officer. Chinn said he felt good to make rank as quickly as he did.

“I felt I could use more time as a first class petty officer,” Chinn said. “The only reason I say this is because I have a lot of buddies of mine who are E-6s who have a lot more time in the Navy than I do. If it were really up to me I would rather see them make it now, and me waiting a couple of years just because I think it’s fair. But life’s not fair all the time, and I’m not going to turn down a promotion either.”

Born and raised in Oklahoma, Chinn joined the Navy within a month of graduating from high school.

“I just wanted to get out of the rut,” said Chinn. “I started working when I was 15 years old. I had different jobs growing up, and I didn’t really want to go to college. More than anything, I joined because I was looking for adventure.”

During an assignment in Italy, Chinn was part of the team who performed harbor clearance work in Santo Stefano Island north of Sardinia, Italy. According to Chinn, he and his team extracted more than a million pounds of debris from the harbor floor, successfully clearing the harbor for safe passage.

“There’s absolutely nothing cooler than riding down on the stage in a MK-21 in heavy boots on and hit the bottom, and you start walking across the bottom of the ocean picking up and rigging helicopters, airplanes, ships, sail boats, amphibious assault vehicles,” Chinn said. “Harbor clearances where you’re just walking around with so much stuff you can’t even imagine you can get them all out.”

Despite Chinn’s experiences, he still believes there’s still a lot to learn.

“Even as a new chief, I still have a lot of learning to do,” Chinn said. “Being a chief is completely different, and I haven’t really realized it all yet, but now as a chief we’re responsible for mentoring our junior officers, learning his career path. I have to set him up as well as my junior personnel.

“To be a good Navy diver I think that you just need to believe in the camaraderie of the team that you are a part of. The people who don’t believe in that are … Those are the people who are detrimental to this type of system.”

Currently, Chinn plans to take the Master Diver written exam.

Navy Region Hawaii Public Affairs

A Hawaii-based petty officer thought he would get out of the Navy because of Perform-to-Serve (PTS), but when he was selected for the next rank he said it felt like something heavy fell off his back.

Damage Controlman 1st Class (SW) Hector Floresdiaz, who is an instructor and course manager assigned to the Center for Naval Engineering Learning Site Pearl Harbor (CNE LS PH), has been in the Navy for more than nine years. During his military career, he has served aboard USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) in Japan and USS Emory S. Land (AS 39) in Italy.

Initially, Floresdiaz did not worry about PTS. He had five consecutive “early promote” recommendations in his evaluation and fitness reports. He recently returned from an individual augmenteed eployment to Iraq.

As one of the top instructors at the CNE LS PH, Floresdiaz earned praise from his chain of command causing him to relax during the PTS process.

According to Naval Personnel Command, PTS is designed to help the Navy keep the best and brightest Sailors while shaping the Navy force to meet future requirements. Sailors E6 and below with less than 14 years in the Navy must apply for a PTS quota to re-enlist. Using Fleet RIDE (Rating Identification Engine), Sailors are given the option to choose to stay in-rate or convert to a different rating. The number of available quotas is different for every rate and rating and changes every month based on needs of the Navy and status of current inventory.

Unfortunately for Floresdiaz, he was not awarded one quota up to his last look on May 2011.

“When they told me no, I was worried,” said Floresdiaz. “I told my career counselor to put me in for whatever rate available, I don’t care, so long as it keeps my foot in the door. So on the last one, the sixth one came in. They said, “‘no,you didn’t get accepted.’ ”

“That’s when it hit me, I’m out,” said Floresdiaz. “It was horrible, man. Nobody expected that. I guess it’s because I don’t have the right NEC (Navy enlisted classification code). I guess I didn’t make first class fast enough. I tried to stay positive, even though I was going to get kicked out.”

Dejected, Floresdiaz began making plans for life outside the military. He opted to join the Reserves so as to keep a foot in the door.

“The hardest part was where we were going to live,” said Floresdiaz. “I was from California, but I didn’t want to go back. If I had a choice, if I knew a year out that I was getting out, I would start a year out to go look for a place, choose a state where I want to stay. But with such short notice, we were scrambling just to get anything, any job anywhere. Unfortunately, for me, even though I have almost nine years of fire fighting experience, it didn’t help me get a job out there as a fire fighter. Anything you do out there, you got to have a degree somehow,” he explained.

Toward the end of May, Floresdiaz’s leading chief petty officer, Chief Damage Controlman Tommy Thompson, encouraged Floresdiaz to look at his profile sheet which contained the results of his last advancement cycle.

“When I saw the word ‘selected,’ I did not understand,” said Floresdiaz. “I was two weeks away from taking terminal leave. Everybody kept telling me to look at my profile sheet. I said I’m not going to look at it. What for? It doesn’t matter. I didn’t want to even pay attention to that.”

After seeing the word ‘selected’ in his profile sheet, Floresdiaz said his chief began calling several people, including at Naval Personnel Command, to confirm the advancement and the possibility for Floresdiaz to stay in the Navy.

Later, Floresdiaz and Thompson received an email with an attached memorandum from Rear Adm. Anthony Kurta, the director of military personnel plans and policy, stating that inrate quotas will be granted to qualified Sailors advanced via Navy-wide advancement exam within 12 months of separation.

“It was like something heavy just fell off my back,” said Floresdiaz. “It was like I was carrying a rock, and then all of a sudden the rock was not there.”

Relieved, Floresdiaz began preparations for his re-enlistment for the maximum of six years in the Navy. He is scheduled to reenlist on July 19.

“Don’t think that just because you’re a great Sailor and you follow all the rules that means you are going to stay in,” said Floresdiaz. “My advice to other personnel is for you to get your ASVAB score higher. Study for the test if you still have that time because it does make a difference.”

Today, Floresdiaz said he hopes to continue his career in the Navy to complete his full 20 years before retiring. He hopes to return to Japan and one day earn a degree.

“I definitely want to thank the top management. If it wasn’t for their support, I would have went crazy during this time. They gave me all the time I needed to take care of the things I needed to take care of. They were behind my back and making sure I was okay. Every Sailor needs that. Every Sailor needs their chain-of-command to be behind them because, if not, it doesn’t work.”

Staff Sgt. Bradley Visitacion, avionics technician with the 154th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, is a Hawaii native, avid photographer and an elite member of the 2011 C-17 Rodeo Team. Visitacion was nominated for this week’s Joint Base Warrior of the Week for his expertise in his career field and dedication to his team and squadron.

15th Wing Public Affairs

Staff Sgt. Bradley Visitacion, avionics technician with the 154th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, is a Hawaii native and avid photographer. He is also an elite member of the 2011 C17 Rodeo Team and this week’s Hickam Warrior.

The rodeo is an Air Force-wide and multinational competition that tests every aspect of the different teams’ career fields. The events are physically and mentally challenging and include an obstacle course, combat challenges, timed air refueling missions and cargo load competitions.

“Sergeant Visitacion was selected to be a member of the rodeo team due to his expertise in his career field,” said 1st Lt. Beau Burkley, the C-17 rodeo team leader. “In preparation for the competition, Sergeant Visitacion has proven to not only be extremely knowledgeable on the C-17 Globemaster III, but has also showed extreme dedication while always having a positive attitude, which has been a benefit for the entire team.”

Visitacion said he enjoys his work and serving his state and country. He is undoubtedly dedicated to his job, only wishing that there were “more jets here to take on more missions in the Pacific.”

“It means a lot to me to know that my supervision and my co-workers feel that I have the ability to do my job as a member of the rodeo team,” he said. “I’ll be representing the total force integration concept between the active duty Air Force and the Hawaii Air National Guard.”

Outside of work, Visitacion’s schedule stays equally busy with projects around the house and his main hobby of photography.

“I got into photography because I wanted to eventually put something up on the walls of my home,” he said. “But the main thing I like about photography is being able to capture the moment when it happens.”

Whether it’s his enthusiasm toward his job or his hobbies, Visitacion’s visible devotion to his team is what makes him this week’s Joint Base Warrior of the Week.

Contributing Writer

U.S. Navy photos by Chris Aguinaldo

Airman, family man, leader, mentor and rodeo team member -these are just some of the many roles taken on by Master Sgt. Timothy R. Ledford, Joint Base Pearl

Harbor-Hickam’s (JBPHH) Warrior of the Week.

That last role, in particular, has been keeping him incredibly busy. He will be among other JBPHH team members from the 15th Wing and 647th

Security Forces Squadron at Hickam who have been selected to compete in the biennial 2011 Air

Mobility Command Rodeo at Joint Base Lewis-McChord next month.

“It’s been hectic,” said the loadmaster from the 535th Airlift Squadron (AS), “but you deal with it just like everybody else, plus I have leadership that is 100 percent supportive.”

Ledford is considered “one of the best we’ve got in the 535th

AS,” said Lt. Col. Patrick Winstead, squadron commander.

“In the office and on the jet, he’s an expert and a leader. He was an easy pick for this year’s rodeo team,” Winstead said. “Master Sgt. Ledford and the rest of the team have been practicing hard for this competition and they will win – no doubt.”

Ledford, a Muskegon, Mich. native, has been in the Air Force for 17 years, with the last year and a half at JBPHH. Not only has he been on the job, but as a husband and father of three girls, he said he has been reaping the benefits of living on an island in paradise.

“The experience my kids are getting from all of the beach activities and doing stuff around the islands is something they’ll remember their whole lives,” Ledford said.

On a daily basis, he not only handles his many duty responsibilities, but he is also a key member of the 535th AS rodeo team, adding practice beyond their usual duties. This is Ledford’s first rodeo, but he said he is used to learning quickly.

This may be because of the real life situations that he has had to train for, train others for, and react to. For example, after the tsunami in Japan the squadron was involved in emergency evacuations.

As a loadmaster, he has been involved in humanitarian aid around the world. And when he sees how he and other Airmen can have a profound impact on people, he knows he picked the right career.

“That’s when it really hits home, when you coordinate airlifting a bridge and see it on the news that night, that’s when you know what you’re doing is worthwhile,” he said.

He also is a firm believer that he would not have gotten where he is today without excellent leadership. He said 535th AS leadership, which includes Senior Master Sgt. Charles Baker and Senior Master Sgt. Terry Topouzoglou, has been vital in his path to success. He added that it has been empowering for him that they trust their men, let them run things, and that they don’t micromanage, and let them get it done.

“For enlisted folks it starts with excellent leadership,” said Ledford. “It’s great to sit back and watch them do what they do.”

Learning from them, and others, has proved instrumental in Ledford’s style of leadership today. He explained that it is gratifying for him to be able to take a brand new loadmaster out of technical school and mold him or her into the loadmaster (and Airman), he wants them to be. Watching them excel and upgrade is rewarding and a testament to his leadership, he said.

“I’m training people to take my place because no one will be here forever,” said Ledford.

Navy Region Hawaii Public Affairs

A Navy Airman found himself in a unique position when he opted to take on a special duty billet at the Naval Consolidated Brig Miramar (NCBM) Detachment Pearl Harbor at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH).

Aviation Electronics Technician 2nd Class Christopher Morgan is one of seven qualified corrections counselors who manages independent program plans for individual prisoners residing in NCBM.

The mission of the Detachment Pearl Harbor Brig is to provide safe, legal, secure and professional confinement of prisoners from all branches of service in Hawaii and to provide a comprehensive corrections program of evaluation, work, training and opportunities for self-improvement.

Morgan said that the goals of the brig programs are to better prepare confined personnel for return to duty, or to the civilian community as productive, offense-free individuals when released from the brig.

“We’re not licensed psychologists or anything,” said Morgan. “We’re considered like a social service case worker. A lot of our work is to guide prisoners through the different levels of confinement to the steps involved needed to resume day-to-day life – the initial 72 hours that they spend in in-processing, all the way up to release.”

As a corrections counselor, Morgan offers more than a guidance process through the brig program. Prisoners can request counseling with any issue they want. According to Morgan, while many of the prisoners come in with minor financial issues, others come in with complex issues that might delve into the prisoner’s life experiences.

“It’s our opportunity to gain a lot of insight for what our prisoners are into,” said Morgan. “We help them with any training they might want to attend. We can get them books or references to help them, build them post-military and just get them set up so they are not going back out there and re-offend. Sometimes it involves getting deep into their family history, and we try to address problems thereon. What had happened in the past might have affected what their offense was,” Morgan explained.

He said the most common problem he sees is drugs.

“There is … a lot of ‘Spice’ going around,” said Morgan. “A lot of people are getting confined for that – just drugs in general, it can be meth, Spice or marijuana. We have seen very few alcohol-related problems, actually.”

Before arriving at NCBM, Morgan was assigned to Fleet Readiness Center Southwest in San Diego where he met his wife who was also serving in the U.S. Navy. When Morgan’s wife, decided to take an assignment in Hawaii, Morgan turned in a request to co-locate with his spouse. The only set of orders available for him was brig duty at NCBM.

“It wasn’t exactly a first choice but it turned out to be a really awesome thing,” said Morgan.

Morgan was a corrections specialist for more than two years when his assistant officer in charge asked him if he wanted to go to corrections counselor school at Naval Technical Training Center, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.

“It was awesome fun,” said Morgan. “The instructors were very experienced, and we worked through the worst and easiest prisoners. It’s interesting running through all the scenarios.”

Since 2008, Morgan has handled more than 80 prisoners with varying levels of difficulties.

“You get to work with some interesting people when it’s like the bottom end of the military,” said Morgan. “They are on an extreme low.

It’s harder in a lot of ways than the transitioning between recruits to military. A lot of these guys are seasoned. They’ve been in for awhile. When they come in the brig, a lot of them just don’t care.”

Morgan said it has always a challenge to build his counselees from the ground up, but that the high point of the job is finally seeing them out in town.

“You can’t live here on base without running into priors,” said Morgan. “I never had a violent run-in when I see them out in town. I won’t immediately tell anybody that they are prior offenders, like that’s how I know them. It is nice when they tell me, they have a job, they are doing well, they’re staying on island, or they got this awesome job back Seattle.”

Morgan hopes that he would get approval to attend Navy Counselor School.

“I’m counseling the worst now, so it would be rewarding, to say the least, to be counseling other Sailors in the Navy outside the brig,” said Morgan.

Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam Public Affairs Senior Airman Christopher Menefee, a 647th Security Forces Squadron fire team member, is not only this week’s Hickam Warrior but also an elite member of the team chosen for the 2011 Air Mobility Command Rodeo.

The AMC Rodeo is a biennial, international airlift competition.

The competition tests the flight and ground skills of security forces, aerial port operations, aeromedical evacuation and maintenance team members.

” Airman Menefee is a dedicated professional full of potential who was absolutely the right addition to the security forces team for AMC Rodeo,” said Tech. Sgt. Michael Skonetski, Menefee’s supervisor. “His vast experience in his short time in the Air Force is impressive and serves to motivate his peers. Airman Menefee deserves this chance to represent the (unit), and it is a privilege to see our junior enlisted members so motivated.”

Menefee, a native of Cedar Springs, Mich., said he was surprised when he first learned he was chosen to be part of the rodeo.

“I did not know what the AMC Rodeo was, but once I was briefed I was very grateful that I get a chance to be part of a team that represents the squadron and

Hickam to the rest of the Air Force,” he said.

The thing he loves most about being stationed at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii is enjoying the year-round good weather, he said. He has been here for twoand-a-half years.

His hobbies include participating in the squadron softball team, hanging out with friends, watching movies and being as physically active as possible.

On the job, his responsibilities consist of enforcing and reporting violations of federal and state statutes and traffic ordinances, base ordinances, and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

“I am also responsible for providing security to the base population and protecting multi-million dollar Defense Department assets and resources,” Menefee explained. “I also have to be ready to deploy anywhere in the world at a moment’s notice.”

In that capacity, he has deployed twice in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn during the three short years he has been in the Air Force.

He said he looks forward to his upcoming trip to the rodeo. “The part of the rodeo I look forward most to is the competition from other teams that we will be competing against. I get to take the training and experience that I have received from my time in the military and compare it to the rest of the Air Force,” he said.

15th Wing Public Affairs

Senior Airman Shane Williams, KC-135 boom operator with the 96th Air Refueling Squadron (96 ARS), is not only this week’s Hickam Warrior but also an elite member of the 2011 KC-135 Aircrew Rodeo Team.

“I’m excited to participate in rodeo,” said Williams. “It means that others believe that I can get the job done.”

The rodeo is an Air Force-wide and multinational competition that tests every aspect of the different teams’ career fields. The events are physically and mentally challenging and include an obstacle course, combat challenges, timed air refueling missions and cargo load competitions.

“It’s a timed competition. So it’s a combination between the pilot’s expertise, the way they execute, and me,” he said. “You have to make contact with the receiving plane at an exact moment, and you’re graded on how you do. It takes a lot of work.”

He will also have to put his sharp skills to use when it comes to the cargo load competition portion of the exercise.

“We load anywhere from three to five pallets and we’re judged on how quickly, safely and accurately we can load them into the aircraft,” he explained.

According to Williams, the aspect that he is looking forward to the most at rodeo is the competition.

“I’m excited to see how we stack up against other squadrons. I’m interested to see how well they execute,” he said. “But I’m very confident in my team, especially our team leader.”

However, given the choice between cargo loading and operating the boom, Williams claimed he would rather be refueling any day.

“His professionalism and job knowledge got him the job, but his likeable personality cemented his position as a member of the team,” said Church.”

Williams’ dedication to his career and his team has earned him the respect of his fellow members. It is these qualities that landed him a position on the 2011 Rodeo Team as well as this week’s Hickam Warrior.

Williams is an avid outdoorsman who enjoys the beach, hanging out with friends and baseball.

Navy Region Hawaii Public Affairs

Hospital Corpsman 1st Class (FMF) Benjamin Bernhardt is this week’s Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH) Warrior of the Week.

“It’s a rewarding rate to be a corpsman,” said Bernhardt, who has been in the Navy for 12 years. Assigned to Makalapa Naval Health Clinic located at JBPHH, he is the leading petty officer, serving with about 100 Sailors and civilians working at the facility.

Before being stationed in Hawaii, Bernhardt was assigned to two Marine battalions and one Army company, two of them as an individual augmentee to Iraq and Afghanistan. While in Afghanistan, Bernhardt was assigned at forward-operating base Ripley in Tarin Kowt working with Army Soldiers as part of the forward surgical team for the Army Special Forces. At Ripley, he provided medical care to both Soldiers and local civilians in the area.

“If you save one person, even though you might lose some, you’ve made a difference,” said Bernhardt. “I’ve had fatal accidents during a lot of our training. Being the person who steps up and being able to save that person’s life-that always makes you feel good at the end of the day.”

Bernhardt has also served at Naval Health Sewells Point in Norfolk, Va. and at Navy Cargo Handling Battalion (NCHB) 1 at Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, Cheatham Annex. While assigned to NCHB 1, Bernhardt was able to travel to all seven continents.

“I think it was awesome,” said Bernhardt who had the opportunity to go to Antarctica while deployed with NCHB 1. “I can say I’ve been to all seven continents. Not many people can say that.”

Back at Makalapa Clinic, Bernhardt encourages his junior enlisted Sailors to stay focused on being in the Navy despite the difficulties.

“When you make that third class petty officer, everything changes,” said Bernhardt. “You start having that different outlook in the Navy. The Navy gets better.”

Bernhardt said he plans to pursue instructor duty for his next duty station.

“It might be difficult to get back-to-back shore duty, but I’ll try to go to corps school and be an instructor there,” said Bernhardt. “If I can’t do instructor duty, I’ll try a Riverine command or a Seabee battalion. When you try to make chief, they look at your diversity in your orders. I try and put a check in all the boxes.”

Airman 1st Class Andrew Rhoades

Contributing Writer

Forget the notion that contracting is only about sitting at a desk, shuffling papers and typing out email. Because that’s not the case for Airman 1st Class Andrew Rhoades, contract specialist, 647th Contracting Squadron (647 CONS), our Warrior of the Week.

The Brimfield, Ohio native recently hit the road for a site visit at the 15th Medical Group, exercising his interview skills (with an O-6, no less) and documenting a work area by taking photos.

“He is always willing to go the extra mile to ensure that every customer’s needs are met, on time and on budget,” said Master Sgt. Noel E. Ramirez, acting superintendent, 647 CONS, of Rhoades.

Rhoades is among the many junior Hickam Airmen successfully taking on the demanding, important job of contracting, Ramirez said. Last fiscal year, the squadron – responsible for all commodity and service requirements for the 15th Wing (15 WG) , 15th Medical Group (15 MDG), 15th Maintenance Group (15 MXG), 15th Operations Group (15 OG) and tenant units – oversaw $40.2 million worth of contract expenditures.

“As a contract specialist, my duties and responsibilities include creating and administrating contracts for commodities and services needed to support the mission,” Rhoades explained. “This includes purchasing anything from something as small as a couple thousand dollars worth of books to a couple hundred thousand dollars worth of items needed by tactical air control parties, all the way up to a couple million dollars worth of services for doctors and physicians.”

Ramirez and the squadron depend on Airmen like Rhoades to accurately take care of these contracts, especially when every dollar counts and the federal budget is scrutinized. Ramirez is grateful for Rhoades’ dedication and willingness to improve himself through education and training.

“He consistently strives to be the best at all he does,” Ramirez said. He expects great things from this young Airman, especially as Rhoades gears up for a deployment within the next six months and his skills will be put the test.

“When deployed, my duties will include purchasing anything from life support items to runways and buildings at a forward-operating base. I will be required to go out among the locals of the area and purchase these items by utilizing competition among local vendors as much as possible,” Rhoades said. “One of the more interesting and fun aspects of my duties is that I directly impact and affect the economy not only here in the United States, but also wherever I deploy.”

But Rhoades isn’t only committed to his job.

“If I ever need to get a hold of him, I know he will be in one of two places, the gym or at work,” Ramirez said.

“Personally, I’m big on fitness. That’s my outlet,” said Rhoades, who enjoys power lifting and football. “I encourage everyone to do the same.”

By keeping in shape, you’re not only ready physically but also mentally, he shared. “It lets you blow off steam.”

In fact, he’d like to see the Air Force improve its physical training requirements, he said.

“Due to the recent necessary cutbacks, the one thing that I would change is the PT. I would increase the minimum standards and make healthy living more of a necessity, further bettering the greatest Air Force the world has ever known,” he explained.

He is even helping a dozen young athletes have an appreciation for fitness by coaching the Double Stuffed Oreos pee wee volleyball team.

“I’m very proud of them. They show remarkable sportsmanship,” he said of his team, made up of 11-12 year olds.

He remembers seeing one girl having trouble hitting the ball over the net. But through hard work and perseverance, she recently got one over the net during practice.

“She went, ‘Coach Rhoades! Coach Rhoades! I hit the ball over the net!” he said, proudly. “The kids are awesome and full of energy.”

Apparently, his supervisors feel the same way for the Warrior of the Week.

“Airman 1st Class Rhoades truly represents the values of the Air Force,” Ramirez said. “He is a great asset to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam and to the U.S. Air Force.”