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Taking the burden off Airmen

New 446th AW vice commander stands up for his troops

Newly promoted Col. Rick Grayson gets pinned on by his family March 30 at McChord Field. Grayson is the new vice commander for the 446th Airlift Wing. /2nd Lt. Denise Hauser

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As someone who has been a member of the 446th Airlift Wing for 16 years, new vice commander Col. Richard Grayson knows exactly the kind of people who make up the wing.

"It takes a special person (to be a Reservist)," he said. "It's a special wing, special people."

Reservists must balance the demands of a civilian job with their family's needs - and must keep up to date with their unit's training requirements. And while active-duty Airmen have more time available to keep up to date with their training, Reservists often have to squeeze things into smaller time frames while they are wearing the uniform.

"Those that can achieve that are hard chargers," Grayson said.

While Grayson is serving in his new role, he wants to make sure those same hard chargers are taken care of.

"The big thing for me is to get out and meet and get to know folks," he said. "We (leadership) want to know how do we make it easier and better for them to do their jobs."

Grayson steps into the role of vice commander after serving as the wing's operations group commander. He has served in a variety of positions during his Reserve career, to include standardization/evaluation pilot, wing executive officer, squadron commander and deputy group commander. Prior to serving in the Reserves, Grayson served seven years on active duty, finishing up as the assistant chief of the 62nd Operations Group's Standardization/Evaluation section.

"I retired from active duty on a Friday and started in the Reserves on Monday," said Grayson, a New Hampshire native and Gig Harbor resident who has worked as a 737 first officer for Alaska Airlines for the last 14 years.

As someone who has balanced the many requirements of the Reserve force for so many years as a traditional Reservist, the colonel knows what so many of his Airmen are up against.

"We're not asking them to do anything we're not doing ourselves," he said.

Grayson is more than willing to take on any additional burdens for his Airmen if it means a clear head for them and a better working environment.

"When things are going well you look out your door," he said. "When things aren't going well you look in the mirror. That's our role. We are here to take on those burdens so they can do their jobs and when they're done, go home and focus on their family."

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