TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Meet Lt. Col. Andrew Hoisington, Tyndall Program Management Office Execution Division chief, Air Force Civil Engineer Center, Tyndall AFB, Fla.
What are your main responsibilities?
Leading the team rebuilding Tyndall Air Force Base after it was destroyed by Category 5 Hurricane Michael. Our focus is on carrying out the $3.2 billion military construction program.
What is the best thing about your job?
I enjoy my job because it presents new and unique challenges every day. Rebuilding a base after a devastating hurricane is a unique opportunity in and of itself. Added to that is the complex undertaking of rebuilding the base into an Installation of the Future, along with a mandate to maintain the current Tyndall AFB mission. Nearly every day I leave my office feeling like I made a difference for Tyndall AFB and the Air Force.
As a child, what job did you want to have when you grew up?
I really thought I would be an architect until I later learned I was neither a good artist nor as creative as I probably would need to be to pursue that career.
What made you pursue engineering as a career?
When I was a freshman in high school, I spoke with a recruiter during lunch who was wearing a red hat. He explained what RED HORSE was, followed by a story about a trip he took to install drinking water wells in South America. That night, I told my parents I wanted to be an environmental engineer and join the Air Force … that was 29 years ago!
What is your favorite part about being an Air Force CE?
I have been fortunate to have a unique Air Force CE career. For six years, I taught undergraduate students at the U.S. Air Force Academy and instructed masters students at the Air Force Institute of Technology for three years. Far and away, my favorite part of being an Air Force CE officer is educating and mentoring our next generation of leaders.
Why is your job important to the Air Force mission?
In the last few years there has been more strategic focus on equipping installations with the ability to serve as power projection platforms within the Air Force. I have enjoyed working with amazing CE teammates to ensure our bases are ready to support base operations.
What advice do you have for someone new to the engineering field?
Keep an inquisitive mind. Learning and striving to improve does not stop at the end of school, it is a daily endeavor to get better.
What motivates and inspires you the most?
Witnessing the success of my current or former students and teammates. I enjoy hearing about their awards, promotions and the major milestones in their personal lives.
If there was one engineering marvel or achievement that you could have been a part of, what would that have been and why?
I am fortunate to be part of the largest stateside reconstruction effort in Air Force history, so I can’t imagine a better opportunity than the one I have right now at Tyndall AFB.
Is there anything you would like to add?
In ROTC, I had to memorize 50 or more quotes. More than 20 years later, the only one that stuck in my head is, “There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don’t care who gets the credit.” I feel that is a sentiment worth living.