GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- While many college students spend spring break relaxing from the pressures and stressors of school, Maj. Joshua Carroll spent his 2006 spring break serving people who were impacted by Hurricane Katrina.
On this trip, not only did he meet his now wife of 14 years, Alia, but it also built his values and influences how he leads as the 17th Civil Engineer Squadron commander, effective June 17.
“Today, I believe my purpose is serving others to help them achieve epic things in their lives,” said Carroll. “It was a spirit of service that drove me to that trip, and the same sense of service drove me to the Air Force.”
Continuously improving himself, Carroll’s previous assignment was a student at the U.S. Army Command & General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
The green landscape of Fort Leavenworth offered Carroll the chance to reconnect with his family after back-to-back one-year unaccompanied assignments. Carroll said he enjoys any outside activity, but his favorites are mountain biking and hiking with his two daughters, six-year-old Adelynn, and five-year-old, Finleigh.
Carroll said he is excited to explore all the historic and outdoor attractions Texas has to offer and especially thrilled to be assigned to the 17th Training Wing.
“I have the awesome opportunity to lead 178 Airmen engineers as we plan, design, build, operate, maintain, protect, and prepare recovery response operations at Goodfellow,” said Carroll. “Everything we do as a training wing to project intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance and firefighting professionals to the joint force, relies on world-class facilities and resilient infrastructure. The 17th CES ensures we have the best places to work, live, and play.”
The 17th CES is comprised of civilian and military personnel operating and maintaining 2.8 million square feet of facilities valued at $1 billion and supporting a base population of 5,500 military, civilians, and students.
As an engineer, Carroll’s servant leader philosophy starts with being a BUILDER.
BUILDER is defined as: Bridge relationships, Understand Airmen, and customer’s needs, Innovate, Lead with a servant heart, Deliver on what we promise, Empower Airmen to do EPIC things, Relate and connect to build a resilient community.
Similarly to how he took care of people affected by Hurricane Katrina many years ago, Carroll is committed to the wellbeing of his unit members and the Goodfellow community by leading the efforts in modernizing tech training and combat support facilities.