Fairchild's Finest Staff Sgt. William McDonald

Published Aug. 9, 2017
By Airman 1st Class Ryan Lackey
92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs

FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- Name: Staff Sgt. William McDonald

Unit: 92nd Civil Engineer Squadron

Nominee’s duty title: Customer Service Representative

Hometown and state: Bonney Lake, WA

What do you do at Fairchild Air Force Base?
I perform project system processing, reports generation and data analysis.

What do you enjoy about your job?
I enjoy being able to create and extract data that can be used to inform higher-level decision makers. I also enjoy working with customers and ensuring their requirements get the attention that they deserve.

Why did you choose to serve in the military?
I originally joined for the GI Bill benefit. Having served for awhile, I now want to make it into a career. Between the travel, camaraderie, healthcare, education, and overall opportunity for career advancement, I find the Air Force to be a fantastic organization to be a part of.

Family?
I’m married with no kids.

How long have you been in the military?
Four and a half years.

What is your greatest accomplishment?
I believe my greatest accomplishment was during my time as the Misawa Air Force Base, Japan, First Four Organization president. We worked with the local 5/6 Organization to coordinate buses of volunteers to an area of Japan that was hit hard by a tsunami, providing food and cultural exchanges. Being good ambassadors and providing a new cultural perspective to a lot of people will forever stick out as a high point in both my career and my life.

What goals do you want to achieve or meet while at Fairchild AFB?
My goal at every base has been to leave it running more efficiently than when I arrived there.

Hobbies?
I am a big gamer, hockey fan and my wife and I often go out to watch the Spokane Chiefs play. I’ve also played the trumpet for 12 years now, including two years in a world class drum and bugle corps.

What is your best habit?
I become incredibly enthusiastic whenever a problem arises that I have the opportunity and ability to fix. The satisfaction of creating a solution to a longstanding issue is one of the best feelings there is. It has become habitual for me to tackle issues with an amount of enthusiasm only rivaled by motivational speakers.

What is your favorite quote?
I’m not sure who was the original source of the quote, but my music teachers would always say to me as a kid, “Don’t practice until you get it right, practice until you can’t get it wrong.”

What are your favorite movies?
I like “V for Vendetta”, “The Prestige” and “Miracle” films.

Who is your favorite mentor and what did you learn from them?
I learned much from Tech. Sgt. Baksh while I was stationed at Misawa. Baksh led by example and tackled every problem he faced with an unrivaled steady head and self-composition, while remaining to be a strong and incredibly active ambassador to the local community. I learned valuable problem solving skills and how to have dedication and passion for projects from him.

If you could spend one hour with any person, who would it be and why?
I’d love meet and speak with Nikola Tesla, as he was truly a mind ahead of his time. If I could spend it with someone currently alive, then I’d pick Pope Francis. The prolific preaching of love and acceptance makes him a truly wonderful man and religious leader.

What SSgt. McDonald’s leadership is saying about him:
“Staff Sgt. McDonald is a very intelligent and remarkable young man, one willing to take time out of his day to help anyone, regardless of being internal or external customers. He is also very knowledgeable with computers and the intricacies of data processing, so I expect that he will make a great computer technician in the future and who knows, maybe a future Bill Gates.” -Tech. Sgt. Thresha Davis, 92nd CES customer service NCO in charge.

Grind