Airman in Focus - Mr Christopher Gouin

Barnes Air National Guard Base, 104th Fighter Wing - Westfield, Mass -- Mr. Christopher Gouin, a native of South Hadley, Mass., joined the civil engineering department at Barnes in Oct. 2006. He attended the Stockbridge School of Agriculture, which led him to work with maintaining grounds, golf courses, plowing, and tree removal. With a young family at home, Gouin was looking for a more stable job in his specialized career field, and Barnes was a great option.

He is currently the roads and grounds supervisor for CE. He oversees five full time roads and grounds employees, and during the winter months he also manages one of the snow removal teams on the flight line. Training staff, making sure training requirements are filled, scheduling of employees, completing performance reviews and ordering materials and parts are some of the responsibilities that Gouin's role as a supervisor includes.

The roads and grounds shop supports the mission of the 104th and Aerospace Control Alert by vacuum sweeping the airfield, taxiways and aircraft parking areas to reduce foreign object debris, Gouin said.

There are times when CE is called and needed to report to the base quickly, not always in the event of a disaster. In the spring of 2011, the runway started to deteriorate due to a multitude of factors. One Monday afternoon, CE was called to repair some of the affected spots. There were people here within 30 minutes of the first call and temporary repairs were completed in a couple of hours. Every snow also requires quick CE response. The command post will call either shift lead when snow starts to accumulate. From that point we call in necessary personnel to keep the airfield clean, Gouin said.

Seeing ordinary people working together to achieve extraordinary results is Gouin's favorite aspect of working for the Air National Guard.

Mr. Gouin was recognized at the Feb. 2012 awards banquet as the CE Squadron civilian of the year for his meticulously maintenance of the Pest Management Operations and the Integrated Pest Management Plan for the 104th and GSU, combined with his excellent performance in his other duty requirements. Additionally, Mr. Gouin is the union steward for the Service Employees International Union.