Great job at AMC Rodeo; some Team MacDill standouts Published Aug. 12, 2011 By Col. Lenny Richoux 6th Air Mobility Wing commander MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Team MacDill, it's with great sadness I express and extend sincere condolences to the family and friends of one of our fine Airmen who passed away Tuesday. Senior Airman Tanya Fenin worked in the 6th Comptroller Squadron and will be missed by many. During this time of sorrow, thank you for reaching out to each other to give and to provide emotional support. We are a team and family. As such, we should cherish the memories of her presence and show that we care when we suffer loss. Last week our Air Mobility Command Rodeo participants did a great job representing the 6th Air Mobility Wing at McChord AFB, Wash. I'm proud of their accomplishments. Lt. Col. Michael Babyak was responsible for managing MacDill's 36-member team, and we were honored to have two special guests and close friends of MacDill attend. They were Jackson Speake, a local business leader and one of our honorary commanders Hayward Chapman. I want to extend a hearty thanks to the South Tampa Chamber of Commerce for its support offered to our MacDill AFB team for Rodeo. During Rodeo we sharpened our skills with seven international teams representing air forces from Europe, the Middle East and Asia in competition and camaraderie. I am also proud of the experiences joint exercises teach all of us as we coordinate and harness our strengths. I'm inspired by the friendships we made and singular focus from a diverse collection of airmen. The Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz recently spoke about the enhanced effectiveness diversity builds. I challenge you to surround yourself with people who think differently than you do. By challenging your own assumptions, you stand a better chance of tackling challenges in unique, mutually supportive and beneficial ways. Our military is diverse and that diversity is one of our strengths. Each of us has a role in our small and large groups. Your small group could be your family or your squadron. Do your part to make your group successful. Participate in discussions and team building events; encourage others around you to participate. I receive feedback from many of you who are participating in events like the Boss and Buddy Nights, Wing Sports Days or the Dining Ins and other occasions like those that are giving you the chance to bond and grow as a team. If there are other things that encourage team spirit that we aren't doing on the base, pitch the idea around and make it happen. There were a lot of great events that happened last week. Thanks to all of the contestants and members of the cheering crowd who attended the Air Mobility Command Idol talent contest that 6th Force Support Squadron put on last week. I want to congratulate the first place winner, U.S. Central Command's Petty Officer 2nd Class Yarrick Conner and to the winner who will represent MacDill at the Air Mobility Command-level of the contest, Tech. Sgt. Chastity Sullivan who works in the Joint Communications Support Element. Sullivan will represent MacDill at Scott AFB, Ill., Oct. 20. Another member of the MacDill team I'd like to congratulate is the recently promoted Chaplain (Lt. Col.) David Buttrick, the base chaplain. The work the base chaplains and chaplain staff are doing definitely doesn't go unnoticed. He and his staff are focused on several projects that are hitting one of my top three priorities which includes building this base's sense of community, head on and I appreciate his motivation and the chaplain's team's efforts to make more activities available to our families. 6th Operations Support Squadron's Senior Airman Donald Jimenez is currently deployed and participating in Red Flag Alaska where he has provided equipment support for three aircraft and five crews allowing for 66 successful mission sorties. He has also executed 70 post-flight inspections on positioned equipment that ensured the aircraft were 100 percent mission ready. I am proud to serve with you in the finest Air Mobility Wing on the face of the planet!