Air Force civilian serves Ohio Army Guard during activation

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  • By Daryl Mayer, AFLCMC Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB, Ohio (AFLCMC) – A country support manager for the Air Force Security Assistance and Cooperation Directorate during most of the year, Ohio Army National Guard Lt. Col. Jacqlyn Combs was activated to help in the state’s efforts against COVID-19. 
 
Combs, the operations officer for the 371st Sustainment Brigade in nearby Springfield, was part of a mass vaccination effort at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland that provided 258,000 vaccinations, many to high risk individuals. 
 
“The university there, Cleveland State University, was amazing to work with,” she said.  “All those different agencies, just understanding everybody’s requirements taught me a lot about working with different local and federal agencies to make something that big and impactful happen.”
 
Heading a diverse team as the Chief of Staff immediately highlighted leadership challenges. 
 
“It’s really difficult to kind of stand back and work through to empower your staff to make that happen for you.  When you’ve got a huge operation like that going on, you can’t do everything.  You’ve got to use the people at your disposal to do,” Combs said. 
 
The experience, she said, is something that translates back to her Air Force job where she helps deliver combat capability to the Indian Air Force in support of US national security interests. 
 
“Absolutely, I think it did help me a lot, because you have to have that patience to understand that different agencies do things a little different than what your organization does,” she said. 
 
As with any leader, setting a positive example or being a good role model is part of the package. 
 
“I know it's kind of like a canned answer, but I truly believe that staying true to yourself and reminding yourself that you were trained for this.  You know what you're doing. You're here for a reason helps a lot while you're navigating the military world,” she said. 
 
To hear the full conversation, you can watch Leadership Log on YouTube at https://youtu.be/CJtnHIaCCKQ.  You can also listen by searching “Leadership Log” on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify, Overcast, Radio Public or Breaker.