Jester named September Tip of the Spear

  • Published
  • 917th Maintenance Squadron
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  Tech. Sgt. Michael Jester is an air reserve technician assigned to the 917th Maintenance Squadron here as the phase inspection dock chief. Prior to assuming his position,
Sergeant Jester served as an F-22 Raptor crew chief at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., where he earned Fighter Group Non-commissioned Officer of the Year honors. During his active-duty career, Jester served at Holloman and Kunsan Air Base, South Korea. He then transferred to the Air Force Reserve at Naval Air Station New Orleans, La., for his first of three assignments as an A-10 Thunderbolt II maintainer. Closure of the New Orleans Air Force Reserve unit due to base realignment and closure Hurricane Katrina brought Jester here for his first of two tours at the base.

His return to Barksdale to assume his current position has been challenging and successful. As inspection phase dock chief, Jester launched numerous inspection process improvements, including paperless maintenance documentation, electronic status and tracking, and increased inter-squadron collaboration. His great work produced a 50 percent reduction in inspection time over the course of five inspections. Jester exemplifies tremendous leadership and technical savvy, earning him 442nd Fighter Wing Tip of the Spear for September 2012.

* The 917th Fighter Group is a geographically separated unit of the 442nd Fighter Wing, an A-10 Thunderbolt II Air Force Reserve unit at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo.