(Editor's Note: Engineers Week is this month and we wanted to take the opportunity to spotlight members of the Air Force Civil Engineer Center and Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center team doing great things for the Air Force and civil engineering community.)
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas -- Meet Steve Wolpert, interim civil engineering deputy division chief, AFIMSC Detachment 6, Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
What are your main responsibilities?
I assist the division chief with leadership of detachment support to AFMC installations regarding civil engineer operations, housing, energy assurance, project execution, facility space management, basing/bed-downs and National Environmental Policy Act compliance.
What is the best thing about your job?
The ability to make a positive impact on AFMC installations. In other words, I assist base civil engineers and their staffs with fulfilling their missions at each of their installations.
As a child, what job did you want to be when you grew up?
Road construction worker.
What made you pursue engineering as a career?
I was strong in math and science, and an engineering major was a great fit for these strengths.
What is your favorite part about being an Air Force CE?
Air Force CEs enable mission success. In other words, all Air Force missions require support from CEs. This support comes in many forms including: emergency services, operations, facilities, infrastructure, environmental and asset management.
Why is your job important to the Air Force mission?
Gen. Arnold Bunch, AFMC commander, said, “This command is the most important (major command) in the U.S. Air Force to achieve the National Defense Strategy and to get the Air Force we need. Only if this command works and this command succeeds can the Air Force succeed.”
What advice do you have for someone new to the engineering field?
I would recommend a new engineer go above and beyond to become more knowledgeable than needed regarding any given assignment. This will enable the new engineer to become a valued and trusted contributor to his or her organization.
What motivates and inspires you the most?
Three things that motivate and inspire my career are my personal obligations, strengthening our Det. 6 team and supporting our National Defense Strategy.
If there was one engineering marvel or achievement that you could have been a part of, what would that have been and why?
Probably the Hoover Dam; such a massive project.
Is there anything you would like to add?
Engineers Lead The Way!