Getting to know newest AFIMSC directorate leader

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  • AFIMSC Public Affairs

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas – Sam Grable is the new director of the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center’s Installation Support Directorate.

Made up of seven divisions, the directorate delivers enterprise-wide installation and mission support capabilities and services for 77 installations, ensuring resilient platforms for Airmen, Guardians and families.

We asked Grable a few questions about his life, his career and his thoughts about joining the AFIMSC team.

How long have you worked for the Air Force?

I started as an Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps cadet in 1986, enjoyed a 24+ year active-duty career that concluded in 2016, and returned to the blue on Oct. 10, 2021. All told, I’ve been associated with the Air Force for the better part of 30 years.

Hometown?
I grew up in the rural western Washington town of Belfair. I attended kindergarten through 12th grade there while my father worked at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and my mother took care of my brother and me while teaching with Bible Study Fellowship and serving in her community. I was richly blessed with a wonderful, supportive upbringing.

Can you tell us a little about your career leading up to this point?
I was honored to serve as an Air Force officer and financial manager during my uniformed service from 1991-2016. My most rewarding assignment was expeditionary mission support group command at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan; it was tough to be separated from family, but it was exceptionally meaningful to lead in a combat zone. I spent a year and a half as a management consultant and then joined civil service with U.S. Customs and Border Protection as the chief financial officer followed by deputy executive assistant commissioner of enterprise services which is a position similar to a deputy chief operating officer.

What about your new role has you the most excited?
I am excited to return to the Air Force and serve at AFIMSC to be part of an organization that makes a real difference for U.S. national security.

What do you want the AFIMSC team to know about you?
From a professional perspective, probably the most important things are that I am committed to pushing capability/support to Airmen and Guardians, I am committed to supporting the women and men of AFIMSC, and I look forward to doing my part to advance the ball.  From a personal frame of reference, I am family-focused, with a wonderful bride (Jennifer), two college-age children (Abbi and Sam) and a sophomore in high school (Quinn).

What do you like most about working for the Air Force?
My folks instilled a sense of service in my brother and me, so I greatly value the opportunity to be part of something larger than myself. Like many, I am thankful for a long family lineage of military and civil service, and am committed to representing my family with honor and integrity. Serving in and with the Air Force affords me the opportunity to do so.

What's something people would be surprised to know about you?
I’m really pretty boring – not a lot of surprises – although that fact itself may be surprising. So there you go.

Is there anything you would like to add?
Only to reiterate that it is a great personal privilege to serve with each of you as we work to support Airmen, Guardians and their families.

To learn more about Grable’s career, read his official bio at https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Display/Article/2856547/samuel-d-grable/