Airman Reese adjust dental light

Airman 1st Class Robin Reese, a 319th Medical Operations Squadron dental assistant, adjusts the dental chair light so it properly illuminates a patient’s mouth during a routine dental check up, Nov. 6, 2012, on Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D. Reese assists with approximately 50 to 80 dental procedures per month. As a dental assistant, Reese assists doctors in specialty areas such as oral surgery, periodontics (treatment of gum disease), prosthodontics (replacement of missing teeth) and endodontics (root canal treatment). He also takes, develops and mounts dental X-rays. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Luis Loza Gutierrez)

Airman Reese poses for a photo on Grand Forks AFB

Airman 1st Class Robin Reese from the 319th Medical Operations Squadron is happy to show his pearly whites for a photo Nov. 6, 2012, on Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D. Reese, a native from Columbus, Ga., attended a 48-day long course of technical training at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas, in order to become a dental assistant. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Luis Loza Gutierrez)

A1C Robin Reese prepares tools for dental patient

Airman 1st Class Robin Reese, prepares an aluminum rack of dental tools prior to a patient’s arrival Nov. 6, 2012, at the dental clinic on Grand Forks Air Force Base N.D. Reese, a dental assistant with 319th Medical Operations Squadron, said the surgical mask around his mouth is worn in order to prevent the sterilized equipment from human contamination caused by sneezing or coughing. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Luis Loza Gutierrez)

Warrior of the Week: Airman 1st Class Robin Reese

Published Nov. 7, 2012
By Senior Airman Luis Loza Gutierrez
319th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --

Name and rank: Airman 1st Class Robin Reese

Unit and job: 319th Medical Operations Squadron dental assistant

Time in service: 1 year, 2 months

Hometown: Columbus, Ga.

Why is serving in the Air Force important to you?
Serving is important to me because it has given me an opportunity to grow and have the ability to say that I've done something positive with my life. It's something that not everybody can, or is willing to do.

What moment or accomplishment as a Warrior of the North are you most proud of and why?
The satisfaction of my patients is what I'm most proud of. Most people don't like coming to the dentist. So it's a great feeling to know that me being who I am eases some of the tension of dental visits for my patients.

What is your favorite part of your job?
My favorite part of my job is interacting with base personnel. If it wasn't for my job, I wouldn't know two-thirds of the people that I know now, and I wouldn't have made the friends that I have now. So being in this AFSC (Air Force Specialty Code) has afforded me the opportunity to speak with people ranging from the rank of airman all the way up to colonel.

Who inspires you and why?
My mother, Trevia D. Luttrell. She served this country for 12 years in the Army. The example she set before me not only as a veteran, but as someone who has sacrificed so much of herself so that I could have more than what she had growing up means the world to me. To hear my mother tell me how proud she is of the man I've become means everything to me.

What's the first thing that made you think Grand Forks Air Force Base was a cool place other than the temperature or weather?
I would have to say the layout of the base. Nothing is too far apart or too far to get to. Most of the places that I frequent on base; work, the gym, and the dining facility are all within walking distance.