BRANCH: U.S. Navy LOCATION: St. Louis TEAM: Defense, Space & Security In the early morning hours of Jan. 17, 1991, Michael Stephens was awakened by the roar and vibration of dozens of F-16s preparing to take off from Al Minhad Air Base in Saudi Arabia. Operation Desert Storm was about to get underway, and the fighters were on their way to hit targets in Iraq, including heavily defended Baghdad. Stephens and other U.S. military personal were in tents about 500 feet (150 meters) from the runway. “They were running hot, fully loaded, lined up one right after the other,” he said of the F-16s. “They took off with full afterburners, the silhouette of the pilots barely visible in the cockpits. As soon as they got off the runway they went almost straight up.” As an inventory manager for the U.S. Air Force, Stephens was at the base to provide logistical support to the more than 70 Air Force F-16s. As an Air Force veteran he served 20 years, and his other assignments included a classified project at the Tonopah Test Range at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, and supporting C-141 airlifters at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, Wash. Today, Stephens works for Boeing at the Spares Distribution Center in SeaTac, Wash., where he manages the lease programs for parts for all Boeing jetliners. “Many of my military experiences and the skills I learned prepared me well for Boeing,” he said. “Paramount would be a unique insight into the importance of the customer. Military or civilian, customer support is critical. For the military, it can mean life or death. For Boeing, I ship parts all over the world, some weighing more than a ton. Right part, right place, right time. The details matter to our customers.” ˆ PHOTO: BOB FERGUSON | BOEING Michael Stephens Supply chain analyst NOVEMBER 2015 41
Frontiers November 2015 Issue
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