Photo By Sean Cowher | Colonel Andrew Camacho, 147th Attack Wing Commander, is sprayed with a water by his...... read more read more
HOUSTON – Colonel Andrew Camacho will be promoted to the rank of brigadier general during a joint change of command and promotion ceremony held Feb. 4 at Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base. Upon promotion, Camacho will assume command as Deputy Adjutant General-Air for the Texas Military Department.
Camacho began his career in the National Guard in 1992 as an Airman Basic, serving as a crew chief for the 128th Air Refueling Wing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Having grown up near an airport, watching planes land on the airstrip and counting tail numbers with his older brother, Camacho developed a passion for aviation from a young age that inspired him to join the Air Guard.
His interest in commissioning came to him a few years after enlisting when his former supervisor, Master Sgt. Mike Smith, took an interest in his career and first proposed the idea.
“He just looked at me and said: ‘You’re sharp. If you can’t fix them, go fly them,’” said Camacho. “It was the first time someone planted the seed in my head that I should maybe look into becoming an officer.”
After graduating from the University of Wisconsin in 1998, he received his commission and completed training to become a KC-135R pilot–carrying with him the lessons and skills he gained throughout his enlisted career.
“I think my foundation of how to serve as an officer was all built in those seven years in my enlistment,” said Camacho. “I just continued to carry forward that enlisted perspective of officership.”
Shortly after commissioning and serving through 9/11, Camacho was further impassioned to continue to develop his career in the National Guard and began searching for a full-time position. In 2005, he was selected by Headquarters, Texas Air National Guard to serve as initial cadre to the 147th Reconnaissance Wing’s unit conversion to MQ-1B Predator operations.
“I wanted to build something, and I wanted full time employment to do it,” said Camacho. “I love projects, and I love putting things together to see how they work.”
During his time at the 147th, Camacho served in a number of leadership roles as the wing transitioned from a fighter mission to the MQ-1 program. As he moved between roles and into his most recent position as Wing Commander, Camacho prioritized streamlining processes and cultivating a wing-culture that would better serve the needs and interests of his airmen.
“Throughout my time here we not only built a program, we built an identity around it,” said Camacho. “When we shifted from a fighter wing to a reconnaissance wing, we lost some cultural identity and free wheeled for a little before we finally were able to start to piece together a more cohesive wing as we were doing multiple missions and doing them well.”
In his new role as Deputy Adjutant General-Air, Camacho plans to use the processes he put in place at the 147th Attack Wing as a benchmark to share with other units throughout the Texas Air National Guard. Through his commitment to fostering the development of servicemembers, Camacho remains dedicated to ensuring all Texas airmen have the guidance and support they need.
“Not only will I be working directly for the governor and the Adjutant General, I will also be working for our 3,000-plus airmen,” said Camacho. “If I go all the way back to the start of my career as Airman Basic Camacho, and the tenants of who we are as a service and the foundational competencies that I’ve built over these years, that’s how I stay grounded in officership.”
| Date Taken: | 02.02.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 12.13.2023 09:43 |
| Story ID: | 459795 |
| Location: | HOUSTON, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 88 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Attack Wing Commander promotes to Brigadier General, by SSgt Douglas Graham, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
