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AFDW Capital Airman: Lt. Col. William Bergman

  • Published
  • By Air Force District of Washington
JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. --  Lt. Col. William Bergman, Air Force District of Washington Jacob E. Smart Building deputy director, Joint Base Andrews, Md., is an AFDW Capital Airman.

Why did you choose to become part of the Air Force family? I wanted a career that offered opportunities for change: a change of location, a change of responsibilities and a change of people. I always look forward to getting orders for a permanent change of station move so I can explore new areas and work with a new team of professionals. It also felt "right," and in a way seemed the noble thing to do.

Why did I choose to become part of the Air Force specifically? To be truthful, it was for a silly reason. I went to The Citadel where I had Army instructors for the most part, and one Air Force instructor. He was talented and funny. I thought he looked cool in his flight suit -- and I realized "that's for me." That instructor was Capt. Joseph G. Balskus. I recently ran into him at work during a conference. He's now Maj. Gen. Balskus, the Military Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans and Programs, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.

What is your job and how does that impact the AFDW mission? To start with, I need to describe the building I work in. The Jacob E. Smart Building is the Air Force's premier Conference Center. It can accommodate approximately 800 people and is more than 45,000 square feet. Our center hosts strategic and transformational planning sessions allowing national leadership to assemble in a single location to examine and develop doctrine, strategy and policy. As deputy director of the Smart Building, I coordinate with my staff to ensure the right specialists such as conference planners, audio visual technicians and information technicians anticipate customer needs and respond to customer requests. From planning, to execution, to lessons learned we coordinate all phases of a conference. In short, my job is to ensure all details of a conference is taken care of so the customer can focus on what's most important -- producing a successful event.