New 442nd MSG Commander is the Man on the Mountain

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Wesley Wright
  • 442nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. --  To rise through the officer ranks in the Air Force Reserve, one must prepare, put in a lot of sweat and work hard. The ascent could be compared to climbing a mountain; the going gets tougher the higher you go.

One Air Force officer chose years ago to climb that mountain.

Col. Jeffery Barnett, newly minted 442nd Mission Support Group commander, said he worked hard to get to where he is today, but he has no intention of slowing down on his way up.

Barnett, a Huntington, West Virginia native, joined the Air Force in 1985 to accomplish something a family member was unable to accomplish.

"My father went with his buddies to join the Marines, but he couldn't join because of hearing loss," Barnett said. "To fulfill my father's dream, I took it upon myself to join the military."

With his father's hopes in tow, Barnett started his first steps up the gently rising slopes of his Air Force career.

From humble beginnings, Barnett worked through four years in ROTC at West Virginia University, where he received his commission as a second lieutenant upon graduation.

College was not the top of the mountain. It was merely a foothill to prepare him for the higher peaks to come.

Barnett said he could have taken another path, but after years of military service, he is glad he did not.

"Had I not gone into the military, my life would be a wreck," he said. "It's scary to think what my life would be like if I had remained a civilian."

Few of those outside the military know the dangers of the trek. Barnett said he remembers a day in 2007 when the climb became dangerous.

"It was Thanksgiving, and I was in Baghdad," said the combat veteran. "On that particular day, Gen. (David) Petraeus was visiting. The bad guys took out the defense system with an explosion and proceeded to launch mortars."

As the mortar rounds impacted and detonated, sometimes within 100 feet of him, Barnett said his thoughts turned to his strength -- his family.

"In that period you try to remember when was the last time you told your family that you loved them," he said. "I had faith and knew I was coming back to make sure they always know that."

Traveling up a mountain can be lonely for some. Barnett, however, has plenty of company. With four sons living in Austin, Texas, and his wife and four stepchildren here, his footprints are not the only ones on his path.

"Being a reservist has been hugely beneficial to me, because I'm a family person," he said. "When it comes to the mission, we bear down and get it done, but the family plays a vital role."

Barnett said his family was there for him during his recent promotion to colonel. At the ceremony, his wife Nora and his youngest son pinned on Barnett's new rank, and Barnett in turn had the presiding officer present Nora with a brigadier general's star.

"I did that to make sure everyone understands, while I am being promoted, she will always be one rank above," he said. "Because that's where the real decisions are made -- at home."

As Barnett and his family settle in to their new dwelling in Missouri, Barnett said he sees many opportunities in the road ahead for the 442nd MSG.

"The unit has gone through a lot of inspections and deployments," he said. "What's in front of us is an opportunity to address those issues identified by inspections -- for us to get smarter, faster and better at the things we do."

Barnett said he is there to make sure the support features are in place so the mission can be accomplished.

"If we are not training Airmen, are not ready at any given moment, then we are missing the point," he said. "Mission support plays a vital role in ensuring the tools and instruments are there so we can achieve and maintain that high level of performance."

Barnett carries that energy and training with him as he approaches the misty heights of his Air Force career. Moving ahead with his family, Barnett said he remembers the bumps in the road.

"Years later, the old retirees don't talk about the days they sat around reading a magazine with their feet up on the desk," he said. "They talk about the times they were under a lot of stress, and the impossible was in front of them, but they got it done."