JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas – It’s Mission Monday! Meet Master Sgt. Gerald Campbell, Giant Voice Enterprise Commodity Manager at Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center headquarters.
Campbell manages a team that oversees the sustainment and upgrades of Giant Voice systems at all Department of the Air Force installations. The team also conducts assessments of installations communication infrastructure, helping communications squadron commanders identify and mitigate risk.
In addition to his day-to-day duties, the master sergeant recently stepped up to fill the role of acting division superintendent.
We asked the Atlanta native to tell us more about himself and his work for the Department of the Air Force.
What do you love about your job?
I love that from my division chief to our most junior Airman, everyone is fully committed to making the Air Force better each and every day.
When it comes to your job, what keeps you motivated?
The people that I work with. I work with a handful of retired Air Force members, who probably could be fishing or playing with their grandchildren, but because of their love for the Air Force and making it better, they pour their passion into their work. I have never been around such passionate people and honestly its inspiring. I would run through a wall for any one of the members of my division.
Why are you and your team important to the Air Force and Space Force enterprise and your customers?
We are picking up the broken infrastructure glass that has been left over from the shifts the Air Force has made in communications. We’re fixing the things most installations don’t even know needs fixing. By doing so, we’re supporting all of the great things that our Airmen, Guardians and civilians do every day.
Describe a project or event you and your team worked on recently that gave you a great sense of accomplishment:
Our biggest accomplishment has been transitioning the Air Force off of old telephone switches which were causing outages at every installation across the enterprise. Switching to a digital system has enabled the Air Force to use new technology for communication.
How does what you do support AFIMSC’s strategic priorities?
I think our division is a part of the foundation of what AFIMSC was designed for. We’re the people working on the cracks and chips in the communication infrastructure on installations to prevent problems before they have mission impact. Even if they get to the point where they are impacting the mission, our team is postured to get the installations what they need in a timely manner to mitigate future impacts.
Is there anything else you’d like to add which might help people understand the importance of what you do for the Department of the Air Force?
Giant voice is an unfunded system, even though every installation has them. Most people walk past the poles every day and never think if it works or not. In the event of any emergency, most people are going to be dependent on the speakers on the top of those poles to tell them what’s going on and instructions on what to do. I think this is a perfect example of what my branch does … seeing the unseen, hearing the unheard and fixing the forgotten.