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JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas – It’s Mission Monday! Meet Capt. Sean McCarty, deputy director in the Spaceport of the Future Program Management Office in Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center Detachment 1. He’s collocated with the Air Force Civil Engineer Center at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas.
He and his team manage major military construction projects that are part of the Spaceport of the Future infrastructure portfolio at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, and Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. This includes building systems to track progress across the program to accurately report status to Congress.
“The infrastructure we are modernizing was mostly made when the United States was going to the moon, and the need for more launch is really taking off,” McCarty said. “The program management office provides another set of eyes for the projects we support, and these diverse viewpoints are critical to providing infrastructure that is ready to support our space launch needs today and 20 years from now.”
We asked McCarty, who enjoys reading, hiking and running, to tell us more about himself and his work.
What do you love about your job?
We are a new, small organization and are constantly working multiple requirements at any given time. As the deputy, I have a lot of discretion in how I get after my tasks, and I have been able to institute changes to how we manage our work to get repeatable results.
Briefly tell us why you joined the Air Force?
I wanted to be a civil engineer, and I was trying to figure out how to pay for college. When I heard about the Air Force Academy, it seemed like a cool opportunity for education and an interesting job.
Why do you serve and what keeps you serving?
The Air Force life works for my family, as my wife is also an Air Force civil engineer. I enjoy the jobs I have held where I can see the impact I am having on the mission.
Describe a project you and your team worked on recently that gave you a great sense of accomplishment
We overhauled the process we use to track information for our infrastructure projects by integrating a custom tool with centralized Air Force data sets. This increased the accuracy of the data we report and reduced the long-term workload for the installations.
When it comes to your job, what keeps you motivated?
The instances where my engineering experience allow me to spot issues and step in before concerns become problems. We have a lot of new teammates I have been able to guide through Air Force processes.
Complete this sentence: I power the world’s greatest Air Force by …
Connecting deciders and doers to accomplish the right thing at the right time.
Is there anything else you’d like to add to help people understand the importance of what you do for the Department of the Air Force?
The first part of operating in space is getting there. Without the groundwork of resilient infrastructure, the rest of the mission cannot happen.
| Date Taken: | 02.09.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 02.25.2025 09:13 |
| Story ID: | 490586 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 244 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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