JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas -- The Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center has a new shield.
The unit that’s centralizing management of worldwide installation and mission support into a single, intermediate-level management headquarters fittingly has a globe at the heart of its crest.
The shield not only highlights the unit’s global reach, but it also creates a lasting icon that symbolizes the center’s mission for current and future generations of Airmen.
“It’s a unifying symbol for the entire enterprise,” said Chaplain (Col.) Kelvin Gardner, chief of the AFIMSC Chaplain Corps Divsion. Gardner and his office took on the responsibility of managing the shield development and approval. “We understood the power of ‘symbol’ and the long-lasting significance of it.”
That appreciation for symbolism helped them ensure they got it right the first time. The chaplain team started by requesting ideas from AFIMSC members, both at the then-provisional headquarters at Joint Base Andrews-Naval Air Facility Washington, Maryland, and the former field operating agencies that joined AFIMSC.
“(AFIMSC Commander Maj. Gen. Theresa) Carter had us send out for input to get everybody’s opinion,” Gardner said. “People had a variety of ideas, and they were all very good,”
Twenty four submissions came in. The chaplain staff organized and sent them back out for voting. Submissions were kept anonymous to prevent favoritism for submitters. When votes were tallied, the sketch by Chief Master Sgt. Jose LugoSantiago, AFIMSC command chief master sergeant, was selected and provided to the Air Force Historical Research Agency for processing and approval. With the help of graphic designer Michele Arrieta, a then-contractor with security forces on JBSA-Lackland, the chief’s idea became real as a formal graphic design.
“People are the Air Force’s most powerful weapon system,” the command chief said. He said he designed the shield to encompass the evolution of Air Force operations away from promoting AFIMSC by function, but instead by the unit’s overall purpose. “We are not functionally specific, but capability specific. We are synergistically aligned; not one function is going to be (AFIMSC’s) capability, but a mix of all.”
LugoSantiago added the shield’s design was focused on support of global operations, day and night. Gardner explained that’s one reason it was chosen.
“We’re providing a strong hand; support for our customers around the world, day and night as displayed by the dark and light in the shield,” Gardner said of the shield’s design. “Hopefully, when people see it, they’ll think of ‘being supported.’”
After finalization and local approval, the shield was upchanneled to Air Force Materiel Command for review, where AFMC historian Paul Ferguson worked with AFHRA to prepare the shield package for submission to the United States Army Institute of Heraldry, which manages all heraldry approval for the Department of Defense. Once approved, the shield was ready to represent AFIMSC.
Carter said the shield perfectly illustrates the vision for AFIMSC and its impact on the Air Force mission into tomorrow.
“What we start now with the standup of Air Force AFIMSC is going to have a lasting impact on how the Air Force does business five or 10 years from now and beyond,” Carter said. “This shield is a testament to what we’re building in support of commanders and Airmen across the Air Force. Our folks did a great job creating and selecting a shield that will represent this organization very well in symbolizing our mission.”
AFIMSC will provide program management, resourcing and support activities in key areas previously provided by 10 MAJCOMs, two direct reporting units and multiple field operating agencies. Unit capabilities include security forces, civil engineering, base communications, logistics readiness, installation ministry programs, services, operational contracting and financial management.