Former chief wins award Published Dec. 7, 2007 By 2Lt Chris Hoyler 43rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs POPE AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. -- Joe Renteria, 43rd Security Forces Squadron, was named Air Mobility Command's Security Forces Civilian of the Year for 2007 for his contributions as Pope's information security specialist. He will now go on and compete for the same award at the Air Force level. Mr. Renteria's day-to-day work is administrative and includes oversight for all security managers at Pope, training the people who handle classified information and handling security clearances for all Pope personnel. He also works in police services, tracking crime metrics and writing policy recommendations, among other duties. Major James Hodges, 43rd SFS Commander, said that Mr. Renteria's work for the squadron covers the entire spectrum of 43rd SFS day-to-day operations. He also has to interface with Fort Bragg's law enforcement, which, combined with Pope's population, creates a military community of about 130,000, according to Major Hodges. "It's a dynamic job," the major said. But it's his contribution away from the office that defines how important Mr. Renteria, who retired from Pope in 2004 as a chief master sergeant with 30 years of service as an aerospace ground equipment mechanic, is to the base community. He is an active member of the chief's group and helps out the 43rd Services Squadron with many events on base, including the Pope Olympics and the Pope Box Derby. "I've always been involved in community events, since I've been here," said Mr. Renteria. He has been at Pope for eight years and was the 43rd Mission Support Group superintendent at the time of his retirement. Major Hodges added, "In Joe's case, he'll go out and provide a lot of support to Colonel Lindsey and his folks (in the Services Squadron). Whatever the wing has going, you'll see Joe's face out there behind the scenes doing enormous amounts of work for other organizations." Mr. Renteria has a wealth of experience to apply to any situation. Major Hodges said that in a career field like security forces, where deployments are common and the personnel demographic consists heavily of airmen under the age of 25, the continuity and leadership a former chief like Mr. Renteria brings is invaluable. "In Joe's case, as a maintainer, we get the flavor of folks who have worked with that age group for years and have perfected leadership styles and things," Major Hodges said. "That carries over into what they do now and bleeds into the unit. "Not only do you have continuity, but you have a tremendous amount of experience at an Air Force senior leadership level to pull from. I think it's pretty invaluable right now for commanders to tap into that kind of workforce." Mr. Renteria does not know how the Base Realignment and Closure Act will affect his status on Pope in the future, but he said that he's very comfortable in a position that was foreign to him when he first started three and a half years ago. "Right now I really love the job," Mr. Renteria said. And while this award honored his work in 2007, Mr. Renteria will continue to give back to Pope just like he has for the last eight years, because more than anything else, he said he loves the people at Pope. "We have great leadership here, we really do, and I just like being involved with the chief's group," Mr. Renteria said. "Our goal is to push up the quality of life and morale of the troops. So anytime we can put a program together to make things better, it's always a good thing."