Page 5 - Nellis AFB Bullseye 9-4-15

BULLSEYE Creech News 5September 4, 2015

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NCO finds calling through various careers

By Senior Airman Adarius Petty Courtesy photo he recalls. “Being a new husband and dad
left me feeling like a career as a firefighter
432nd Wing/432nd Air Expeditionary Wing Tech. Sgt. Noah Stamps, 432nd Wing/432nd Air Expeditionary Wing command chief wasn’t for me so I chose to be a Chaplain’s
executive assistant, performs a uniform inspection as a staff sergeant while assigned assistant.”
Public Affairs to the Airman Leadership school as an instructor at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.
During his time as an instructor from Sept. 2009 to Sept. 2012, Stamps graduated The new position presented multiple
CREECH AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. — 22 classes of Airmen selected for the rank of staff sergeant. opportunities to help Airmen in need
Is this the job for me? Did I pick the right of something more both spiritually and
career field? One might find themselves G. Meade, Maryland to attend technical Being a resilient Airman proved critical mentally.
asking these questions throughout their training the Air Force merged Public Af- as Stamps was once again left wondering
Air Force career. If these questions arise, fairs and Visual Information career fields what to do next. “I loved the idea of helping people out in
don’t fret, there are several viable options which reduced the number of Airmen in a different capacity,” said Stamps.
an Airman has to expand their careers the career field. “My next two choices to retrain were to
without having to leave the Air Force. be a firefighter or a chaplain’s assistant,” Once again the need to discover differ-
ent ways to make an impact on Airmen
Tech. Sgt. Noah Stamps, 432nd and their careers, pushed Stamps to apply
Wing/432nd Air Expeditionary Wing to be an Airman Leadership School Pro-
command chief ’s executive assistant, fessional Military Education instructor. In
has first-hand experience with that same September 2009 he joined the ALS team at
situation. Ramstein Air Base, Germany.

Stamps was not always fond of his job “Teaching Professional Military Edu-
in the Air Force. He first joined the Air cation was a transforming experience for
Force in 2002 as a security forces Airman me,” he recalls. “My impression of teaching
at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. prior to stepping into the classroom was
that I would be the one imparting my vast
Being stationed at Minot often present- knowledge on a generation of new staff
ed its share of unique weather conditions sergeants. The reality is that they had a
which made it challenging for Stamps to lot to teach me; I learned more from my
do his job as efficiently as possible. students than they did from me.”

“Its Minot and it gets down to 60 de- Although many attempted to discourage
grees Fahrenheit in the winter, and as a him from being an instructor, Stamps con-
Security Forces member you would do tinued to apply for the special duty position
a lot of outside work,” Stamps said. “So until he was eventually picked for the job
when you’re out in negative 60 degree
weather and you have to perform with _______ See CAREERS, on page 9
excellence and integrity, those kinds of
conditions can test your excellence, in- Courtesy photo
tegrity and your dedication to service. So
being expected to perform in that type of Tech. Sgt. Noah Stamps, 432nd Wing/432nd Air Expeditionary Wing command chief executive assistant, is coined by Chief Master
weather, there’s nothing easy about that.” Sergeant of the Air Force James A. Cody for superior performance during his reenlistment ceremony at Creech Air Force Base, Nev.,
July 15, 2014. During his 13 year career, Stamps has served in four different Air Force Specialty Codes.
Although the climate at his first
base was somewhat difficult to endure,
Stamps recalls one of the pros about his
first base was his phenomenal leadership
who valued morale and promoting Com-
prehensive Airmen Fitness before it was
popularized.

He credits having great leadership
that valued taking care of their Airmen
for shaping his future outlook on how
he would value his Airmen and those
around him.

“I’m a firm believer in that if you take
care of Airmen 100 percent of the time,
they will take care of the mission 100 per-
cent of the time with 100 percent of their
effort,” Stamps said. “If you are focused on
the mission and forget about the people
both will suffer.”

As he progressed through the ranks,
the feeling of wanting to make a difference
in the Air Force and take care of Airmen
every day steadily grew. It was at this point
in his career that Stamps decided to apply
for retraining.

“I wanted to retrain, to help Airmen
in a different way,” he said. “I had great
mentors who helped with my decision to
stay in the Air Force. They got me to real-
ize what my gifts are, what my talents are
and where they can be used.”

In 2006, a career as a photojournalist
seemed to suit Stamps’ gifts but a few
months before leaving for Fort George