Photo By Senior Airman Breanna Christopher Volkmar | Christopher Quintanilla, fire captain assigned to the 36th Civil Engineer Squadron,...... read more read more
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Christopher Quintanilla, a fire captain assigned to the 36th Civil Engineer Squadron, was recognized as the 36th Wing’s Team Andersen Linebacker of the Week, at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, March 8, 2023.
The Team Andersen Linebacker of the Week recognizes outstanding enlisted, officer, civilian and total force personnel who have had an impact on achieving Team Andersen’s mission, vision and priorities.
Since the start of his employment in 2015, Quintanilla has hit the ground running. After quickly finishing his basic firefighting training, he continued to strive for excellence and within eight years, he worked his way up to his current rank as a lead firefighter, an achievement that usually takes 10 to 12 years for others to achieve. Quintanilla also strives for his crew’s readiness by ensuring his fire truck is in full operation and conducts daily crew chief proficiency training. Recently during the 36th Wing Operational Readiness Exercise, he was selected and coined as a superior performer for his dedication to the mission and his department.
Quintanilla leads a crew of three or more firefighters, including at least one firefighter assigned to operate a major piece of motorized firefighting equipment such as a pumper or an Airport Rescue Fire Fighting vehicle in firefighting and rescue operations. In the case of a real world situation, Quintanilla drives to the scene of the fire following a predetermined route or selecting an alternate when necessary and considers factors such as wind direction, sources of water and hazards from falling structures when positioning the fire truck. When arriving first at the scene, he takes charge of all firefighting activities until relieved by a more senior firefighter. He leads a crew in the operation of pumps, extended waterways, turrets, boom, nozzles and other similar equipment. He also leads assigned crew and performs emergency rescue of personnel and a variety of first aid measures to alleviate further injury and prepare the victim for transport to a medical facility.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to be in the fire department,” said Quintanilla.
Quintanilla has become an ambassador for the U.S. Air Force by dedicating his time both on and off duty to strengthen relationships with local agencies. He has accumulated 30 hours of off duty time and raised $5,000 worth of donated materials to renovate a deteriorated school bus stop off base. For his efforts, he was recognized by Alan R.G. Ungacta, the Mayor of Mangilao. He also led numerous self-help projects for fire station one and two, saving the Air Force an estimated $20,000, which was to enhance the quality of life for his fellow firefighters. He was also recently elected by his peers to be president for the Firefighters Association, which directly impacts the morale of the members of the flight. His work ethic and unit involvement sets the tone for his peers to emulate by demonstrating the importance of leading people and improving the unit by facilitating mentoring sessions within the flight.
“You have to lead from the front,” said Quintanilla. “If you work hard, people are going to notice and they’ll want to join you.”
The term Linebacker is rooted deep within Team Andersen’s history. Operation Linebacker II took place on Dec. 18, 1972, and was the largest number of heavy bomber strikes launched by the U.S. Air Force since the end of World War II. During the operation, B-52s from Andersen flew round-the-clock bombing missions over North Vietnam to destroy major targets in Hanoi and Haiphong in an effort to bring the Democratic Republic of Vietnam back to negotiations.
The recipient will have the opportunity to sign a “Linebacker” football jersey that will be displayed in the Wing Headquarters building.
Way to go, Quintanilla!
| Date Taken: | 03.08.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 03.14.2023 00:29 |
| Story ID: | 440304 |
| Location: | ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, GU |
| Web Views: | 47 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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