A fondest of farewells to 72nd ABW Commander Col. Stephanie Wilson

  • Published
  • By Jillian Coleman
  • 72nd Air Base Wing Public Affairs

In May 2015, Tinker Air Force Base welcomed Col. Stephanie Wilson as she took command of the 72nd Air Base Wing. Fast forward two years, and she’s due to relinquish command on May 1.

With 24 years of service to the United States, the wing commander’s extensive background includes positions with headquarters tours at the Air Staff and major command levels, base command as a civil engineer, a mission support group commander and a senior military assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Environment and Energy. Despite her distinguished and diverse career, Colonel Wilson never would have guessed her final assignment would be as Tinker’s installation commander. An aspiration, sure, but growing up with the mentality that commanders were always males, the colonel just kept her nose down, and did the best she could to get the mission done.

“I’ve never been someone with the mindset that I’m going to change the world,” she said. “But rather, I’ve always worked as hard and best I could to accomplish whatever mission was at hand.”

Upon entering wing command, the colonel has always understood the role of supporting the warfighter, but anticipated a broadening of perspective in terms of understanding the depot. Demands between depots and flying organizations are different, and having a firm grasp on the two was essential not only in surviving the role, but succeeding in the role.

Colonel Wilson explained a flying wing to have various peaks and valleys, allowing for the opportunity to take advantage of valleys and “close the door for training.” In contrast, a depot is always at a sustained peak, so there’s no opportunity to really sit back and recover; no opportunity to get back to the foundation and fundamental training basics. She urged the importance of needing that time to grow senior Airmen, something that is harder to manage when that sustained peak hinders ample time for training and growth. You want to be able to train, develop and execute all at the same time, so finding that understanding of balance was key.

Accomplishing these objectives, finding and maintaining that balance is not easy — as one of the greatest challenges Colonel Wilson recognized was with resource constraints. Oftentimes with more requirements than there are resources, it can be difficult to get everything done.

“We want to be perfectionists, but reality doesn’t always allow for that to happen,” the wing commander said. “You have to get everything done; the expectation is set and remains high, even when you don’t have all the resources.”

Time tends to be one of the biggest resource constraints, as there are never enough hours in a day, never enough time to answer the infinite emails, the stacks of paperwork, appointments and obligations. On top of that, making time for PT or even to eat can be difficult. The priority for this outgoing commander, however, has been to get through all of the time constraints to reap the benefits and to enjoy the best part of the job – interacting with people. And for Colonel Wilson, that’s where effective leadership is, and that’s where some of her proudest accomplishments as a commander stem from.

“I love every ALS graduation and seeing the hunger in young Airmen who are now off to supervise. They’re our next NCOS or senior NCOS, maybe even officers,” Colonel Wilson continued. “I love getting to welcome every family to Tinker. I love every opportunity to recognize the people doing their jobs – doing great things – every day.”

Truly making it more about the people who are responsible for making things happen, the commander credits the success in her tenure and the evolution to the hardworking and passionate individuals from which the wing is comprised. In an organization where everyone revolves around the Art of the Possible, everyone embraces the concept and its accompanying challenges in order for the wing to thrive.

“We are not all the same. Everyone here has diversity in life experience, in educational, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, and that diversity brings opportunities. Being able to use that diversity to expand our thinking and approach has invigorated our wing,” the commander added.

Working with subject matter experts who operate differently has encouraged Wilson to step back and learn how to get them to perform at their best, something unique from other commands she’s experienced. Learning that everything doesn’t have to be done the “Wilson Way,” this commander has embraced more collaborative efforts and a little less directive.

“The best way to proceed doesn’t always come from me, and that’s ok,” she added. “Working together is critical. People need our encouragement and our support to make and learn from mistakes. We don’t want to make recurring mistakes, but we need to accept mistakes, learn from them and know that it’s ok to make them. We grow as leaders that way.”

With an Air Force career that has shaped and prepared her well to be successful, the wing commander will pass the torch on to the former 76th Aircraft Maintenance Group commander, Col. Kenyon Bell, with utmost confidence and pride. Entering wing command with a different background, Colonel Wilson explained how Colonel Bell’s expertise and appreciation for peak demand will undoubtedly give him an edge in figuring out ways for the wing to optimize and sustain that peak.

Leaving command in capable hands and leaving a wing that has capped 24 years of her Air Force career, Colonel Wilson will remain in close proximity. Living all over the world, the commander and her family have fallen in love with the state of Oklahoma, so much so that they’ve decided to settle in and stay a while. With her husband, she is most looking forward to spending time with her 10-year old daughter and 7-year old son, raising them in a community that she calls “truly a special place.”

The 72nd Air Base Wing will continue to change and flourish, as Colonel Wilson exits the revolving door of command, but she is optimistic of what’s to come. Acknowledging that she will miss the Air Force team, she’ll now have a viewpoint from outside the Tinker gates, but the colonel will remain steadfast in her support of the team.