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New MSG commander ‘here to serve’

  • Published
  • By Brandice J. O'Brien
  • Tinker Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  The 72nd Mission Support Group lucked out.

Six weeks ago, the group welcomed a new commander who has extensive experience in personnel and force support. She said she will be the group's greatest advocate. Armed with goals and a plan, Col. Julie Boit said she is honored and privileged to serve with the 72nd MSG.

"I am, quite simply, here to serve you," Colonel Boit said. "I'm going to tell you often, but please know that each and every one of you is important and incredibly valuable to the 72nd Air Base Wing's mission, our Air Force and the joint fight. My job is to take care of you, and to further you and your goals. I sincerely appreciate all of you."

Colonel Boit came to Tinker from the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., where she served as the chief of the Military Force Policy Division, responsible to the deputy chief of Staff for Manpower, Personnel and Services at U.S. Air Force Headquarters.

In her career, she said she's been stationed at 13 installations, five of which were overseas. Regardless of the assignment, it has been the people who made it worthwhile. She said she's sure Tinker will be no different.

To the mission support group, Colonel Boit said she brings "expertise along with an inherent focus on teambuilding and morale."

"I hope to bring a new energy and excitement to the position, which comes from having a 'fresh set of eyes,'" she said. "As I look at issues, I won't be held back by 'how we've always done it. Leadership at all levels is critical to the mission -- your ideas and insights about how to make things better make all the difference. Never doubt the significant impact you can have on this base, and both up and down the chain."

In taking care of the Tinker's personnel, Colonel Boit said her goals are simple, "provide top-notch, responsive customer service -- the kind that Team Tinker expects and deserves -- and provide outstanding support to our installation's missions, people and families."

Colonel Boit is a 1991 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy. She said coming from a large family -- she is the sixth of eight children -- meant that if she wanted to go to college, she'd need a scholarship. Having a brother who enlisted in the Air Force -- he is now a master sergeant in the Wisconsin Air National Guard -- she thought about the opportunities the military, particularly the Air Force, would afford her.

She applied for and received an appointment to the academy, as well as a four-year Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps scholarship to the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

"I decided to try the academy," she said. "When I initially joined the Air Force, it was to get an education and see the world. But I stayed because of the people -- and the fact that I absolutely love what I do. The Air Force has exceeded all of my expectations. I'm grateful for the opportunities I've had so far, and the ability I've had to serve Air Force people and their families."