LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE, Calif.—The United States Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) recently announced its outstanding military and civilian personnel for 2019.
The Airman of the year, who has since promoted to staff sergeant, is Staff Sgt. Thomas Watts, an SMC Portfolio Architect. His accomplishments include accelerating the global acquisition program manager network capability resulting in increased response time of 300 percent. Additionally, Watts excelled during a 180-day deployment to Asia in support of two fighter squadrons exploiting over 1,600 targets, all while working toward his bachelor’s degree.
What does the achievement of this award mean to you?
“This award means so much to me as it shows just how much my leadership recognizes the hard work and dedication I put into my job each and every day,” said Watts. “I am thankful for being part of a team that supports and motivates its Airmen. I am also grateful for this opportunity and will use it to continue to improve myself as a noncommissioned officer.”
When you think of excellence as it pertains to the SMC mission, what do you think of?
“There is never a limit pertaining to the pursuit of excellence,” he said. “Space capabilities and space itself never ends; technology is always advancing and has the capability to be improved upon and our boundaries of space are ever expanding. That said, every individual who is a part of SMC should strive for continuing excellence and maintaining ambition to improve upon each day.”
Editor’s Note: This is the first in an upcoming series to highlight the exceptional accomplishments and outstanding contributions the award winners made to the overall SMC mission.