Icemen born abroad: Airman 1st Class Kevin Winter-Molins

Photo By Senior Airman Eric Fisher | U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Kevin Winter-Molins, a 354th Operations Support Squadron air traffic controller, types commands into a computer April 20, 2017, at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. Winter-Molins was born in Mexico before moving to the U.S. and later joining the Air Force. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman Eric M. Fisher)  

EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, ALASKA, UNITED STATES

05.24.2017

Story by Airman Eric Fisher 

354th Fighter Wing

Everyone has a favorite memory of their home, the place they grew up. They can remember the sights, sounds and even recall the smell of the place they spent many days. Most of these places are just a memory of a past long gone, distant in both time and space.
For Airman 1st Class Kevin Winter-Molins, a 354th Operations Support Squadron air traffic controller, his home’s distant on a third plane as well: climate.
“I was born in Cuernavaca, Mexico,” said Winter-Molins. “My most cherished memory of my home is that it was always green.”
Winter-Molins and his family always wanted to move to the U.S. To them it was the land of opportunity, so they left their home in Mexico and moved to Texas.
“My dad got a job with a multinational corporation,” said Winter-Molins. “They offered us a house, high school for myself, and college for my brother.”
After completing high school, Winter-Molins weighed his options for the future and decided he would join the U.S. Air Force.
“I joined the Air Force because I was already moving frequently between Mexico City and the U.S.,” Winter-Molins said, “I could have gone to college, but then I would be $100,000 in debt. The best choice I could have made was to join the Air Force.”
Though his birthplace may be nicknamed city of eternal spring, his first duty station in the Air Force is more of an eternal winter.
“I like to think I’m an adaptive person, so when I was given the opportunity to go to Eielson, I took it,” said Winter-Molins. “I didn’t know exactly where it was, but I knew it was in Alaska. I always wanted to come to Alaska. The snow, the mountains in the distance and the forest of pine trees everywhere, it’s beautiful and I’m really grateful I got the chance to be here.”
It’s rare for air traffic control apprentices to get an overseas assignment, like Alaska, because their training usually requires the conditions found within the higher-paced airspace within the U.S., but for Winter-Molins his assignment has helped both him and his coworkers.
“Winter-Molins brings a positivity and professionalism that’s unique,” said Senior Master Sgt. Joseph Sollers, the 354th Operations Support Squadron chief air traffic controller. “I think it comes from his background and his family oriented lifestyle. He comes up in the tower and talks to everyone as a person as well as a professional, which makes it easy for him to establish interpersonal relationships. Those relationships make everyone’s job easier because they’re able to communicate more effectively.”
Winter-Molins may be one of those lucky few where their “dream sheet” took them where they wanted to go, but it’s also the place where he’s learned valuable skills necessary for his career and helped show everyone how effective communications and positive relationships benefit the mission.

• Date Taken: 05.24.2017
• Date Posted: 05.24.2017 20:36
• Story ID: 235136
• Location: EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, ALASKA, US