SFS augmentee sets the example for others to follow

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Joseph Kapinos
  • 319th Public Affairs
GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  It is 6:30 a.m, a typical North Dakota winter's day with the wind howling out of the North, the temp is buried far below zero and the sky is as dark as a raven's wing. It's not a day most people would want to go to work in and that attitude is present on people's faces as they pull up to the front gate.

However, those dark attitudes and those matching faces always seem to fade away when they see Tech. Sgt. Stefan Dunn smile and show his locally famous pearly whites.

Sergeant Dunn is a security forces augmentee working at Grand Forks AFB and hails from the town of Bessemer, Ala. His normal job is supply and he spends the majority his time in the Air Force at March Air Reserve Base, Calif., just outside Riverside. That's right; he is a reservist, from the warm sunny skies of southern California working in the northern region of North Dakota. Why would anyone want to give up what many would consider the "good life" to work the front gate of one of America's coldest bases? Sergeant Dunn has just the answer to that question.

"I see this as an opportunity. And when you get the opportunity to come up here and display professionalism, especially when they put so much trust in the individual they put at that post, you take that job," said the 46-year-old sergeant.

That belief in the value of service and professionalism pervades everything that Sergeant Dunn does and says every day. Coming into the service in his thirties, he saw the chance to serve in uniform as a way to impart some of his life's wisdom on the younger Airmen around him, even in basic training. The 14-year veteran of the Air Force Reserve remembers speaking to the Airmen on how the Guard, Reserve and Active-Duty force provides opportunities that are just not available in the civilian sector and they should take advantage of everything the military offers.

"There are so many opportunities for professional growth, great pay and education benefits that civilian companies won't provide you," said the sergeant. "I wanted them to know how good this job is and do everything they can to get the most of it."

Working in the cold doesn't seem to faze the sergeant as he sees every person coming to the gate as a chance to make a good first impression. Despite the conditions that he has to work in, he notes that minus 32 degree weather is no reason to not have a smile on your face.

"I have a job to do and they [Air Force] have put a lot of trust and faith in me, something I take very seriously," said Sergeant Dunn. "But that doesn't mean that I can't make someone else's day better in the process.

The Alabama native has been recognized by both the community and the wing for his dedication to duty, professionalism and outstanding customer service -- something he takes pride in, but ultimately all in stride. Being in the limelight is something he and his family are used to as one of his cousins is basketball great Charles Barkley, as well as another famous cousin Warrick Dunn, a running back with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

But unlike his superstar cousins who seem to have done well in the athletic realm, this humble man has other ambitions in mind. He plans to attend medical school soon and become a physician just like his wife, even looking one day to be an Air Force flight surgeon. He sees every person he talks to as a chance to hone his people skills, something he knows will pay off in the future. Till then, he will be a great figure, guarding the gate, protecting the base and making sure that everyone coming to the base is made to feel special in their own way, especially the Airmen he proudly serves with.

"I like to tell everyone this: Be thankful for what you have, be thankful for the chance to do something good for your country and take advantage of what has been given to you," he says with smile.

Words to live by.