Emergency management apprentice displays 'Excellence in All We Do'

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Cory D. Payne
  • 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England - --  
Name and Rank: Airman 1st Class Lea Gleason

Unit: 48th Civil Engineer Squadron

Duty Title: Emergency management apprentice

Time in Service: 1 year, 6 months

Time at Lakenheath: 11 months

Hometown: Los Angeles, Calif.

Hobbies: Travel, football, camping, woodworking, computer programming, theater, playing guitar, volunteering, reading, studying physics and spinning poi.

Core Value Portrayed: "Excellence in All We Do"

How does the individual portray that core value?
Gleason constantly surpasses the standard in all her daily tasks and is a recent Guinness World Record nominee; her team solved enough Rubik's cubes in a set time to shatter the previous record. The competition hosted by DePaul UK Rubik's Cube Charity raised £40,000 for the homeless.

Why is serving in the Air Force important to you?
It lets me do something on a large scale that makes a difference to a lot of people, not just in the Air Force but all over the world. Being in the Air Force you become a symbol. When you become that symbol people judge the Air Force based on your actions. With that you want to give the best image possible all the time to make sure we keep the faith they have given us.

What accomplishment during your Air Force career are you most proud of?
My biggest accomplishment I feel, is when I was able to create and implement an Emergency Management Program for Army and Air Force Exchange Service, Defense Commissary Agency, and Department of Defense Dependent schools. I identified that they didn't have a life saving program to safeguard them in the event of a chemical attack. I contacted the agencies and worked with people to establish a program and procedures to ensure it is always maintained and inspected on a recurring basis. I created shelter-in-place rooms and helped them build a continuity binder, provided training and coordinated plans. Also I ensured DeCA and AFFES were added to the notification process in the event of an incident.

What are your personal and/or professional goals?
I plan to be a college professor and am working towards my Ph.D. in Anthropology and a masters in astrophysics. My long term goal would be to someday institute a nonprofit organization using the acronym TOLERANCE. It would allow people to choose from a wide variety of special interests ranging from education to environmental issues and everything in between.

What is your favorite part of your job?
Interacting with a plethora of people and seeing how the organization of the Air Force works, and how the different elements work together to form the world's greatest Air Force.