Page 3 - Nellis AFB Bullseye 10-9-15

BULLSEYE
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LEAP, from page 1 _____________
“During my last TDY week I was as-
signed to the U.S Navy SEAL Team 10 as
an interpreter and cultural expert,” said
Angelova. “The U.S. Navy SEAL Team 10
was part of a Joint Planning and Advisory
Team, conducting Joint Combined Ex-
change Training missions with the host
country Specialized Unit for Combating
Terrorism. It was truly impressive to see
the impact of our operations overseas in
sharing experience and building relation-
ships.”
Angelova had previous experience with
NATO missions while she was stationed at
Joint-Base Andrews in Maryland.
“I volunteered to be an escort during the
NATO Air Chief Symposium in Washing-
ton D.C.,” said Angelova. “The event coor-
dination teams took into consideration our
foreign language skills and assigned us to
the air chiefs whose country’s language we
spoke. I was escorting the Bulgarian Air
Chief at the time, General Popov.
“I had the opportunity to meet General
Popov during my LEAP TDY after the
Symposium. General Popov is currently
the Deputy Chief of Defense in Bulgaria.
He remembered me with the best of
impressions for an outstanding support
during the NATO Symposium. This is
clear proof of the LEAP impact on build-
ing partnerships and maintaining them
over time by providing the same level of
expertise and cultural awareness.”
Born in Sandanski, Bulgaria, Angelova
was in high school when the country went
through a transition period.
“My first dream was to fly for the
military, but at the time they were not
accepting girls as flyers,” said Angelova.
“I was accepted into a civilian university
and graduated with two master’s degrees
in economics with Russian and Bulgarian,
and law.”
EXERCISE, from page 1_________
was conducted so our point of distribution
capabilities could be practiced.”
Although Nellis AFB conducts numer-
ous exercises throughout the year, this type
of exercise happens once every five years,
said William Richardson, 99th Civil Engi-
neer Squadron Readiness and Emergency
Management Flight member.
“99th Medical Group Public Health
Emergency Office conducts PODs quar-
terly; however, a full scale exercise of this
nature in coordination with the State of
Nevada Public Health Division and the
Southern Nevada Public Health District
usually only happens once every four or
five years,” said Richardson. “Over the
years here at Nellis AFB, we have pretty
much mapped out the typical threats we
face day to day and we have training and
equipped the (Emergency Operations Cen-
ter) for those types of responses.
“This was different, the incident, ac-
cording to the scenario happened over the
weekend, and we were only just finding
out about it. The people exposed to and
potentially contaminated would require
immediate treatment, but there were pre-
News
In the meantime, Angelova worked as
a teacher and eventually became a border
patrol agent.
“There are moments in life when you
realize that something is missing and you
know it is time to make a change. This
is how I felt,” said Angelova. “I needed
something that would let me spread my
wings and fly. The environment I was in
was slowly changing but not fast enough
to offer equal opportunities.
“The United States allowed me the op-
portunity to make my wishes come true. I
applied for the Permanent Residency Lot-
tery, or the “Green Card Lottery,” which
offered permanent residency for the states,
and submitted the application for my par-
ents and brother as well.”
Angelova’s brother won the lottery four
years after she initially started the process
and moved to Chicago. Four years after he
left Bulgaria, Angelova won her green card
and found herself heading to the United
States.
“I landed in Chicago and felt at home in
the U.S.,” said Angelova. “Now the ques-
tion was God, fortune, life, gave you the
opportunity now what are you going to do
with it? So I went back to what I dreamed
about.”
She returned to her dream of serving
in the military.
“My first impression of the U.S. mili-
tary was during one of my border patrol
night shifts at the checkpoint in Bulgaria,”
said Angelova. “There was a U.S. military
convoy crossing the border and we were
processing their paperwork. The image of
the American soldier, proudly serving left
an ever-lasting impression of an incred-
ible dedication and commitment. The U.S.
military was making a difference around
the world. I wished that one day I’d feel
the same way.”
In 2003, Angelova sought out a recruiter
to help make her dream a reality.
liminary checklist conditional items to be
completed before we could start contacting
our people.”
Richardson said he was impressed
with how each participant responded and
worked together during the simulated
crisis.
“The professionalism of everyone
involved was impressive; from the emer-
gency operations center to the POD acti-
vation to the inspection team members,”
Richardson said.
Wong said now that the Nellis AFB
team has worked with its civilian coun-
terparts, she believes the base, and city of
Las Vegas, would be well-prepared for a
real-world public health crisis.
“I think our POD went great; we were
able to set up a site and we were able to get
the POD up and running within a couple
hours,” Wong said. “This was out first time
working with the strategic national stock-
pile. They were able to transport a secret
package of medications and we were able to
receive and process those medications. I feel
that if we were put in a real-life situation we
would have a very good process and idea of
what to do. It was great that we were able to
practice with the rest of the city.”
“I started researching what I needed to
do to join. I found a recruiting office but
was told that because I was 29, I couldn’t
join,” said Angelova. “I read that there are called with the news of being selected and
waivers and I was told no there wasn’t. So
I thought, ‘Well Reni I guess we’ll have to
close that chapter.’”
Angelova’s parents knew a family in
California and shared her disappoint-
ment. They asked the recruiter in Cali-
fornia about the waiver process and he
confirmed it.
Angelova had finally found someone
who believed in her and her abilities and
saw what a potential asset she could be for
the Air Force.
“I had found Tech. Sgt. Cory Frommer.
He looked at my records, my degrees and
language skills and told me ‘I think that
you’re worth the time. I think your package
will be very complicated, but I am willing
to work with you,’” she said.
She joined the Air Force as an Airman
March 23, 2004 and was assigned to Pope
Air Force Base, North Carolina, in the Air
Transportation career field.
“While at Pope AFB, a Bulgarian del-
egation of mayors visited to discuss areas
for potential use as NATO bases. They
had lots of questions referencing noise
and impact on the local population and
surrounding areas during the visit,” said
Angelova. “I was one of the briefers. I was
the surprise because I gave the briefing in
Bulgarian. They were just stunned. They
were not expecting it. I was standing there
in my BDUs and all of a sudden I’m speak-
ing Bulgarian.
“The base commander shared that my
briefing broke the ice. The negotiations
went smoother than they did in the begin-
ning and they went in a positive direction.”
Upon advisement and encouragement
from her supervision, Angelova decided to
apply for a commission.
“They told me my dedication could be
Participants in a public health exercise stand near a point of distribution station at Nellis
Air Force Base, Nev., Sept. 30. The 99th Medical Group conducted a public health exercise
on base with local partners in the Clark County area which tested each participant in how
they would respond to contracting or deal with individuals who contracted aerosolized
tularemia, a serious infection disease which can be used as a biological warfare agent.
3October 9, 2015
Facebook.com/NellisBullseye
utilized in a different capacity,” said Ange-
lova. “I put in the package and one morn-
ing, my Medical Service Corps recruiter
my Commission Officer School date.”
Her first assignment as an officer sent
her to Joint-Base Andrews, and she soon
landed at Nellis AFB after that.
Lt. Col. Laurie McKenna, 99th MDG
senior GPM, shared that Angelova is a stel-
lar example of what any individual can be
regardless of where they come from, their
culture, or their beliefs.
“You can become whatever you want,
whenever you want. Yet still, respect ev-
erything along the way,” said McKenna.
“She is very motivational and inspiring.
She exudes the four pillars of wellness. We
bounce things off each other as a team.
She knows her job. If she doesn’t know the
answer, she tracks it down. So I know that
if I give her something to do, I can forget
it because I know she’ll get it done.”
McKenna would like to encourage other
supervisors to let their Airmen take part
in programs like LEAP if they have the
foreign language proficiency.
“I’ve seen her contribution to the LEAP
program and as her supervisor I think
that’s something when we have an Airman
that we know has talents outside of what’s
required for the position they are currently
in to expand those opportunities and make
people aware of them,” said McKenna.
“Her trip over to Bulgaria was more than
being an interpreter. She was integrating
many types of people in forces in different
countries. Having that talent and being
able to do it successfully and getting recog-
nized for it, is an opportunity that should
be there for other talented Airmen as well.
“It hurt when she left and you can feel
that, but for the bigger Air Force picture
it was a win-win situation. It was worth
every moment that she was gone, for her
to be able to support that.”
U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Rachel Loftis