Linebacker of the Week: Tech. Sgt. Zarah Padilla – DVIDS

Andersen Air Force Base, Guam– U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Zarah Padilla, the commander’s executive assistant assigned to the 36th Contingency Response Group, was recognized as the 36th Wing’s Team Andersen Linebacker of the Week, at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Jan. 18, 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 arriving at Andersen AFB, Padilla provided support for the Joint Task Force Presidential Support and Joint Task Force Vice Presidential Support and served as the J1 for the President and Vice President mission. She made it possible for personnel to offer security and communications support for the President at the Association of Southeast Asian nations and Group of Twenty conferences, the United States at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference and the United States Secretary of State Pacific engagements on the Pacific Theater.

As the commander’s executive assistant, Padilla is the main advisor to the group commander, first sergeant and senior enlisted leader for evaluations, awards, decorations and personnel programs. She manages the LeaveWeb program and maintains a suspense system for personnel actions and correspondence. Padilla also offered training and report templates for the Contingency Response Support Squadron commander support staff and helped with the migration of the MyEval system. She was chosen to offer training to the 36th Medical Group, 36th Wing Staff Agencies and the 36th Wing commander’s executive assistant on the MyEval procedures.

“I like being in the unit I am because it’s so different,” said Padilla. “We have 52 different Air Force Specialty Codes and I feel like every day I’m still learning.”

During the MyEval pause, Padilla created a different routing system to avoid a delay in evaluation processing. She gave training to four commander’s support staff that offered an automated tracking tool that is centralized and safe. Padilla briefed the wing staff on the use of Global Electronic Approval Routing System to transfer routing communication. Additionally, to make it easier for units to access daily Reports on Individual Personnel, Padilla worked with the 36th Force Support Squadron Military Personnel Flight to construct a security group where members can access these documents.

“Airmen see what you do and because of that, if they see you doing something wrong they take that in,” said Padilla. “So by doing things the right way, I get to instill those good habits in them.”

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, Padilla!