Photo By London Prince | Meet Darren Walls, a project manager for basing and beddown at Air Force Installation...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas – Its Misson Monday! Meet Darren Walls, a project manager for basing and beddown at Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center Detachment 2 at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.
He and his team support the Air Combat Command’s basing and beddown missions in Japan and South Korea. He also manages military construction, MILCON, projects under the Pacific Deterrent Initiative in the Indo-Pacific theater where Detachment 2 plays a critical role. Detachment 2 acts as the liaison to the local and functional major commands, MAJCOMs, integrating installation and mission support for America’s Air and Space Forces.
“We provide direct support to the MAJCOM and reach back support for the largest theater within the Department of Defense,” Walls said. “We also act as the civil engineer for places without bases throughout the INDOPACOM theater where there is no military installation or personnel permanently stationed.”
We asked the self-proclaimed foodie, who enjoys playing the piano, salsa dancing and traveling, to tell us more about himself and his work.
Briefly tell us why you joined the Air Force?
Most of my career has been with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In 2018, I decided to try something new and switched over to the Air Force. My first assignment was with AFIMSC Detachment 4 in Ramstein, Germany. Growing up in the Washington, D.C., area, working in civil service was almost accepted, but I wanted to take it a step further by working abroad, which has been the most rewarding professionally and personally.
Why do you serve and what keeps you serving?
I’ve always enjoyed the international relations aspect of executing projects with host nation partners. Every country has its way of doing things a little different, but the common goal is the same, which has always inspired me try things out of my comfort zone and work with people different than me to learn something new.
When it comes to your job, what keeps you motivated?
Knowing the projects I’m managing are making real-world differences and they are essential to the overall mission for the Airmen and Guardians we support.
Describe a project you and your team worked on recently that gave you a great sense of accomplishment.
Since June 2023, I have been working diligently as a key player on a team of professionals within Detachment 2, PACAF and the 766th ESS to develop a new Advisory and Assistance Services contract that will provide a plethora of technical and non-technical deliverables in support of PACAF’s mission at the base level. The contractor personnel provide expertise in planning support, management and technical services necessary to support the civil engineering squadrons and PACAF installations throughout the Indo-Pacific region each year. Otherwise, the technical expertise is not available locally nor can it be adequately augmented with military personnel. The capacity of the contract spans 10 years starting from 2026 with a threshold of $400 million for civil engineering squadrons at various installations in Japan, Guam, Alaska, Hawaii, Wake Island and potentially other places-without-bases location and sister services in the Indo-Pacific theater. Since AFIMSC Detachment 2 is the requirements owner of the contract, we coordinate with all stakeholders to define requirements to get the bridge contract and long-term contract executed in time to avoid any gap in service before the existing contract expires. Without this contract, PACAF would not have the necessary personnel and expertise to properly support the various programs that are vital to PACAF missions in the Indo-Pacific theater.
How does what you do support AFIMSC’s strategic priorities?
Detachment 2’s basing and beddown team is the critical link between several MAJCOMs (PACAF, ACC, AFMC, AFSOC) and the major command functionals during planning conferences, site surveys and site activation task forces in support of the DAF mission. We strive to support each beddown effort based on our continuous engagement with each respective installation, as well as our host nation partners to execute critical MILCON projects covering the largest geographic area of responsibility on earth.
Complete this sentence … I power the world’s greatest Air Force by …
Being a team player to support and execute the DAF mission for our Airmen, Guardians, and their families.
| Date Taken: | 03.24.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.01.2025 14:40 |
| Story ID: | 493923 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 9 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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