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Photo By Senior Airman Whitney Laine | Lt. Col. Angela O'Connell poses in front of an Air National Guard F-86 Sabre static... ... read more read more

Photo By Senior Airman Whitney Laine | Lt. Col. Angela O'Connell poses in front of an Air National Guard F-86 Sabre static display at Heritage Park, Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash. August 2, 2022. Lt. Col. Angela O'Connell was chosen as the 141st Air Refueling Wing's first female Vice Commander.  see less | View Image Page

A small seven-year-old American girl raced from the school yard in Zaragoza, Spain, to take her treasured seat on the picnic table near the end of the flightline. As she worked on her homework, a fighter jet taxied down the runway for a final maintenance check. Once approved, the jet howled as it quickly climbed into the sky. The maintainers worked around her from her dad’s squadron and offered a sense of normalcy; this is what she’d always known. These early years built the framework for Lt. Col. Angela O’Connell, 141st Air Refueling Wing, first female Vice Commander, to make history. “I lived a good chunk of my early life overseas around air force bases while my dad served as a crew chief,” explained O’Connell. “With the gratitude and familiarity from my childhood, I always had plans to serve in some way, shape or form.” Joining the Civil Air Patrol in 6th grade seamlessly led O’Connell to enter the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps at “The” Ohio State University, where she became a maintenance officer to begin her Air Force career. This was the Air Force specialty she had dreamt of. “My dad was a maintainer; I loved being on the line where the aircraft were,” O’Connell said. At what felt like too soon, O’Connell was unexpectedly faced with a retrain into Public Affairs in 1999. “When my career field manager confirmed the Public Affairs Officer position, I had been placed in meant a permanent change of AFSC, I was devastated,” O’Connell explained. “I pleaded with my commander, but the only resolve he was able to offer was there being no other option.” These orders drastically changed O’Connell’s career trajectory from her original plans, but still she persevered. Now, looking back, she sees it being one of the best things that happened to her, said O’Connell. From active duty, to Air Force Reserve, to Air National Guard, O’Connell has served over 26 years of service in various capacities outside of her immediate AFSC. They included key positions with Protocol, the Airman and Family Readiness center and the Inspector General. These diverse assignments offered opportunities and challenges to aid in developing the integral leadership qualities she holds today. “First and foremost, O’Connell is a gifted leader with an incredibly diverse military career and background,” 141st ARW CC Ret. Col Larry Gardner said. “She is tenacious and won’t stop at an answer that doesn’t seem correct, complete, or isn’t supporting her/our Airmen to the maximum extent possible.” While O’Connell continued to climb rank and excel in each task presented, she received an unexpected curveball with the potential to derail her completely. Her diagnosis was confirmed with stage three-c breast cancer in 2016. “Without a history of breast cancer and a cleared mammogram the year prior, this diagnosis was shocking to me,” O’Connell said. “It was a hard year. We quickly began treatment, undergoing 32 rounds of chemotherapy, three surgeries, and 30 rounds of radiation.” The benefit of being able to continue to serve with her guard family while fighting cancer and undergoing treatment propelled her forward. She was fighting to live. “Following treatment, I checked all of the boxes and passed my pt test,” O’Connell said. “This was a personal goal and victory.” Without pause, O’Connell blazed forward to make history. “The wing vice commander hiring board was blessed with an extremely competitive and talented group of applicants all of which, had they been selected, would have served the wing and Airmen well,” Gardner said. “Lt Col O’Connell, as she does with each endeavor, truly shined in the interview process as she outlined her goals, visions and direction she wanted to help take the wing as our next vice. Without a doubt, O’Connell was the right person, in the right place, at the right time.” As a wife of a pilot, mother of three children, wingman, and cancer survivor, O’Connell took the prominent role of wing vice commander with humility and a passion for people. “The value of a $50 bill does not change, no matter the appearance or condition it is found in,” O’Connell said. “Our Airmen are the same. A lot of us may be marred, dirty, and a little wrinkled, but we are still worth picking up and championing.” She hopes to continue the successes of her predecessors by helping move the ball a few yards further down the field, through caring for Airmen and their families and increasing community partnerships, explained O’Connell. “Each member of our 141st team is an investment and is invaluable to our mission,” O’Connell said. “I would not be here without the investment that others put into me and I would like to carry that mentorship forward.”

This work, New Vice Commander: 141 ARW selects "The" first female Vice Commander , by SrA Whitney Laine , identified by DVIDS , must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.