Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1407173
proud of the connections that they have. But in this community, it's incredible. MM: What do you want people to know about your work at Robins Air Force Base? Gen. Hammerstedt: We're getting ready to celebrate 80 years here at the base. So, Sept. 1, 1941, we broke ground at Robins Air Force Base. It wasn't called that at the time, but this air patch was established to generate airpower for the United States Air Force in 1941 and we've been doing that mission for 80 years. So, Robins AFB and the tremendous men and women who serve here are a national treasure, right here in Middle Georgia. Col. Carns: I would love for them to know that we're out in the community as well. So, our Airmen and civilians are soccer coaches and volunteers and teachers and principals, and they are not just serving our military but they also are helping the community. They have this heart and spirit for service, and they take that off base, too, to make the community better. MM: Would you like to issue a call to action for the community? Gen. Hammerstedt: We live in the best country in the world. We have so much to be thankful for and things we take for granted. My call to action would be: Don't take that for granted. Where can you give back? Where can you serve and what capacity can you serve in? Service doesn't necessarily have to be wearing a uniform. Col. Holbeck: The call to action is: Where do you serve? We serve at Robins Air Force Base in the community, but where do you serve? Col. Carns: The call to action will be to serve, in any capacity. What I've personally found when I serve is that it's made me a better person because nothing that I do is about me. And that's what makes this a truly selfless endeavor. I feel like I've personally reaped the benefits of doing something for my career that's a selfless endeavor. It's for the sake of other people, for the sake of the mission, for the sake of the greater good. Go serve in your community and make something better. MM: What more do you want our readers to know about you? Col. Droz: People should know that the challenges that we've got, whether it's as leaders, as women, wives, mothers, whatever, these are the same challenges that our Airmen and our civilians have. And all of my life experiences to this point have made me the leader that I am. Some of my best growth as a leader has come from times when I didn't succeed, or I went through a period of hardship or I didn't get the job that I really wanted. But every single one of those I can look back now and go: That has made me a better leader. The challenges, whatever those may be, embrace the challenges, embrace the failures, because it's through failure and challenge that we really grow as individuals and as leaders. Col. Carns: I'd like to highlight the spouses and families. They are the unsung heroes — whether you're a man or woman. Whoever's running the house at home, it's hard. Somebody comes home and they're like, 'Hey I have to leave for a year — over to you. You get the bills and the kids and the cars and the mortgage and everything.' We put a lot on our families. They do so much day in and day out. They are so, so committed. And I really admire them for that. MM: If you take off the hats and the uniforms that you wear, in a few words, who are you? Col. Holbeck: I'll tell you that this is my Wonder Woman suit. I can do anything in this uniform. Without this uniform, I am so shy. It gives me courage and strength when I put on this uniform — it makes me who I am. But the reality is, God makes me who I am. My faith is what allows me to be balanced and what allows me to face those challenges. When I take off my Wonder Woman suit, I am not who you think I am. I'm this very shy country girl from Tennessee. I love God and I love people, but I don't want to talk to them. I would rather be serving in the back of the church than be out front. But in this job, I'm out front all the time, so that's kind of counter to who I really am. Col. Carns: Faith, family, friends and service. It's about my relationship with God, my relationship with my friends and my family, and then service. Those are the four things. If I'm doing something, it is related to one of those four things, for sure. Gen. Hammerstedt: I was raised Catholic and as a kid we always talked about discovering what the calling is on your life. I've always felt like military service has been my calling. It's really that simple. This is what I'm supposed to be doing. This is all I know. I started doing this when I was 17 and I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to continue to serve doing something that I love. Col. Droz: The uniform is part of who I am now. I've been doing it for so long. I'm an officer, a leader, a mother, a daughter, a wife and a friend. I thank God that the military has given me everything that it has given me. I'm blessed with having phenomenal friends. As we get up to this level, our circle of friends becomes incredibly tight, because we can only talk to a certain number of people. Being here, I can reach out to any one of these ladies and have a conversation and get valuable advice or just go sit on the back porch and have a lemonade and watch our kids race around the neighborhood. But it's really hard to take this away from who I am, because it's part of me and has shaped who I am. I love what I'm doing, and that's why I'm doing it. 'FOR ME, PERSONALLY, I'M A PEOPLE PERSON. SO THAT'S THE LEADERSHIP LENS BY WHICH I LOOK AT THE WORLD, AND EVEN THOUGH WHAT I DO IS VERY INDUSTRIAL, IT DOESN'T HAPPEN WITHOUT PEOPLE. FOR ME, A GOOD LEADER CARES FOR THE PEOPLE.' — BRIG. GEN. JENNIFER HAMMERSTEDT 48 maconmagazine.com | AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021