Outstanding Airman is a natural leader

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Cameron Otte
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – California native, Airman 1st Class Kelsie Edwards, 60th Operations Support Squadron airfield management apprentice, has been at Travis Air Force Base for four months and has already proven to her leadership she can handle additional responsibilities without hindering her primary duties.


Edwards recently led a team of Airmen in a volunteer event to help clean up the gardens on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco. She used to work on Alcatraz Island as a historic interpreter. She was responsible for knowing background information of the island and running the night tours.


“The gardening volunteer program at the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, the group we’re volunteering with, gave me 20 spots to fill with some wiggle room to go up to 25 people,” said Edwards.


Edwards grouped a team of 23 Airmen and pulled overgrown weeds that were flooding the gardens Feb. 9, 2019. This volunteer cleanup is just one example of Edwards’ enthusiasm to encourage others to step out of their usual routine and do something that can be fun and benefit the community.


 “It’s really impressive to me that even after she works consecutive 12-hour shifts, she still wants to go out with her peers and do this volunteer event on her day off,” said Staff Sgt. Cassandra Supernault, 60th Operations Support Squadron NCO in charge of management operations. “It goes to show she is really motivated in teambuilding and has accomplished that over the short time she has been here.”


Edwards’ leadership support her in taking on these extra duties because she has shown she can handle them.


Edwards is currently in upgrade training, which takes up a lot of her time, said Edwards. She is also on the 60th OSS Gatekeeper’s Booster Club council, and a member of Soroptimist International of Vacaville Twilight club, a volunteer organization that helps improve the lives of women in Solano County. She still tries to get out to Alcatraz and volunteer as much as she can. Her leadership at Airfield Management has supported her from the moment she arrived at Travis and they continuously coach her on how to stay on the right path to success.


Edwards may be busy professionally and personally, but she still finds time to motivate other Airmen to get involved with their local community.


“I subscribe to the ‘treat the janitor the same way you treat the CEO’ way of life,” said Edwards. “I think that if I strive every day to be courteous, courageous and compassionate to anyone I meet, then I’m doing a good job and I can inspire others to live the same way.”


Even though Edwards is only a few months into her operational Air Force career, she has managed to impress her leadership in the short time she has been in.


“Since she has gotten here, she has been on the ball, she sees how we do things and finds better ways to do them,” said Supernault. “Her training has been very organized and she’s really good at communicating issues professionally. She’s shown us she is capable of a lot and I’m sure she’s going to do more stuff like this because she’s killed it so far.”