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AFDW Capital Airman: James Low

  • Published
  • By Air Force District of Washington Public Affairs
JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. --  James Low, Air Force District of Washington Air and Space Expeditionary Force Cell chief, is an AFDW Capital Airman. Low, a retired Air Force senior master sergeant, is a native of Hoolehua, Hawaii, on the island of Moloka'i.

Why did you choose to become part of the Air Force family? I initially intended to enlist in the Army, but a friend of mine convinced me to join the Air Force because he said if he could do things over, that's what he would have done. I would have never thought after 34 years I would still be part of the Air Force family.

When did you join the Air Force District of Washington staff? I joined AFDW in October 2008 as a contractor. I had previously been on a contract with Air Force Operational Readiness in the Pentagon and was looking for something new. A friend called me about the AEF Cell position at AFDW and felt I would be a good fit. They put me in touch with the company doing the hiring and I was fortunate to be selected. My position was later converted to a government civilian position in October 2010.

What is your job and how does that impact the AFDW mission? The AEF Cell is responsible for directly verifying and validating contingency, rotational and exercise deployments of AFDW forces. This also includes AEF support to Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, joint, and Department of Defense field agencies within the National Capital Region. We also provide AEF assistance to direct reporting units, field operating agencies and Air Force elements that do not have verification capability. Overall, our customer base totals approximately 16,000 personnel across 124 installations.

What has been your most memorable or rewarding military or AFDW experience? I have had many memorable and rewarding experiences that extend from my prior military service, to being a contractor and now as a government civilian. They include unit, squadron, group, wing, major command, Air Force-level and government civilian awards and contingency deployments. While awards are great, and I thank all of my supervisors for recognizing my efforts, it is really all about the people. Good, bad or indifferent (not everything works out perfectly), it takes a cooperative effort by all for anything to be successful - I have been truly blessed.