'New' 452 AMW vice commander prepares for a busy 2010

  • Published
  • By Megan Just
  • 452 AMW Public Affairs
Col. Mary Aldrian's face is a familiar one at March Air Reserve Base. She's been a traditional reservist here for the majority of the past decade, but in September, she reported to a new office in the wing headquarters building when she replaced Col. Jeffrey Barnson as the 452nd Air Mobility Wing vice commander.

Now, at the beginning of 2010, the wing vice commander is looking ahead into what is already shaping up to be a hectic year, asking not what she needs the base to do for her, but what she can do to make the year easier for the men and women of Team March.

"Every month there's something. Every UTA is jam-packed with events, whether it's an inspection, an air show, a change of command, a retirement," Colonel Aldrian said. "Whatever I can do to help coordinate and support, that's my goal."

One of Colonel Aldrian's responsibilities as wing vice commander is chairing the Human Resources Development Council on base. She describes HRDC as, "dealing with the whole gamut of human resources in developing our personnel."

Originally, HRDC was a unique Air Force Reserve Command diversity tool used to ensure the community on a base reflected the community around the base. Now, HRDC has expanded, also focusing on recruiting, retaining, recognition and outreach.

Through HRDC, March Airmen are able to attend programs such as the League of United Latin American Citizens Convention, the Women in Aviation Convention and the Tuskegee Airmen Convention.

"At these conventions, you get the opportunity to meet and network with people from different organizations. It's also a way to recruit diversity and spread the word about what the Reserve does," Colonel Aldrian said.

This year, Colonel Aldrian would like to promote the r e c o g n i t i o n side of HRDC. She has plans to develop March's HRDC Community of Practice Web site to focus on exchanging ideas of how squadrons recognize Airmen in different, creative ways. She cites the 'Golden Bolt' incentive during quarterly FOD walks and the 50th Aerial Port Squadron's 'Sergeant's Bucks,'as two such recognition systems already in place at March.

"The small things don't take a lot of time, but they make people feel like they've done a good job. People need to know what they do is important, even if it's an airman basic answering the phone. Everyone here is important," she said.

Colonel Aldrian, a KC-135 Stratotanker pilot, served on active duty until 2001. Her husband was--and still is--a United Airlines pilot based in Los Angeles. With a number of family members already living in Southern California, the Aldrians decided to settle permanently in Murrieta. Fortunately, March Air Reserve Base--complete with Stratotankers--was right in the neighborhood.

"I knew I wanted to continue flying and be associated with the military. I didn't want to totally separate myself when I left active duty," Colonel Aldrian said.

Colonel Aldrian started her Air Force Reserve career with the 336th Air Refueling Squadron, eventually becoming the commander of the squadron.

"One of my goals this year is to get out there and learn about the different squadrons. Having spent so many years down in Ops, I don't know a lot about the Med Group and the Mission Support Group," Colonel Aldrian said. "I want to get to know their missions and what support they need."

One non-flying area of expertise Colonel Aldrian possesses is in the field of emergency management, an expertise which has come in handy as March C-17s have been tasked with flying back-to-back airlift humanitarian relief missions this month to Haiti.

In 2007, after her promotion to colonel, Aldrian accepted an Individual Mobilization Augmentee position with First Air Force (Tyndall AFB, Fla.) as an Emergency Preparedness Liaison Officer. She was able to continue working locally, since she was responsible for the Southern California region.

"In a disaster, when the states get overwhelmed and their assets are over tasked, they can ask for federal assets to assist," Col. Aldrian explained. "EPLOs help coordinate the use of Air Force assets."

When Col. Aldrian was an EPLO, March ARB fell under her area of responsibility. She recalls returning to March to observe an exercise run by Marvin Tucker, the base emergency manager.

Along with her 2010 goals for the wing, Colonel Aldrian has one of her own: to earn her C-17 senior officer qualification.

The position of vice wing commander is a traditional reservist billet, meaning Colonel Aldrian is occupied elsewhere on weekdays.

"My civilian job is a mom," Col. Adrian says.

In addition to being the mother of three--ages 6, 8 and 12--Col. Aldrian is the president of the parent teacher association at Tovashal Elementary in Murrieta, and the leader of her son's Cub Scout Den.

Colonel Aldrian says her favorite thing about working at March is the people. She is continually inspired as she observes Airmen managing their civilian jobs, their families, their responsibilities at March, deployments and volunteer service on top of everything else.

"Many civilians still think the reserves are one weekend a month, two weeks a year. It hasn't been like that in quite a long time, " she said. "It's humbling to see everything that goes on here. We have some incredibly dedicated, hard working people."