Airmen Focus: ‘Leading by example’ sets the bar for others to emulate

  • Published
  • By Brig. Gen. Anthony J. Cotton
  • Commander, 45th Space Wing
I continue to be awed by the men and women of Team Patrick-Cape. Our talented teammates go above and beyond their simple job description. They do things we do not ask of them. They serve and lead by example. Mr. Joshua Booth is an Airman who serves and leads by example.

Josh Booth, who serves as the 45th Space Communications Squadron Air Traffic Control and Landing Systems (ATCALS) Chief, leads four military and six civilian personnel. In his duty position, Josh controls, directs and schedules all maintenance actions of 229 meteorological, navigational, and ground-to-air communications system valued at $11.5M.

He and his team directly support launch operations and airfields at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Patrick Air Force Base and Kennedy Space Center.

Over the last year, Mr. Booth oversaw more than 900 preventive maintenance inspections and coordinated repairs of 65 equipment outages. By virtue of his exceptional leadership and management, his section sustained greater than 99% equipment uptime rates which greatly contributed to the successful generation of 45,000 air traffic control operations. Devoted to the success of the mission, Josh also identified future manning shortfalls and tackled that problem by volunteering to become "standby qualified," thereby increasing coverage and lessening the burden on his technicians.

He didn't stop there.

Using superior management skills, he effectively overcame a financial hurdle by coordinating a $50K load for vital supplies, and provided resources to close 11 mission critical equipment outages. Additionally, he utilized his staff's expertise and abilities to troubleshoot and repair equipment down to the component level. This initiative saved more than $6,000 this year by repairing failed electronics.

Josh has also encouraged professional growth by attaining specialized equipment courses for his technicians to broaden their knowledge and improve operational effectiveness at no cost to the Wing. Leading by example, he took a hands-on approach to training by scheduling and teaching a CPR instructor's course that provided the wing new CPR instructors. As a recognized leader, his guidance is continuously sought by others and his dynamic leadership capability is not only felt throughout his flight but also at the squadron and wing levels as well.

It's my honor, as both a commander and as an Airman, to work with individuals like Mr. Josh Booth who understands what "leading from the front" is all about. Thanks, Josh.
Keep pushing, Sharks!