Meet Joe Meyers, member of VMAS and Chairman of the Professional Networking and Mentoring Committee. Joe has an extensive career with the United States Air Force with a combined 23 years of service between active duty and reserves. He currently works as a civilian for NASIC at the Geospatial & Signatures Group as their Management Analyst. Joe is also part of the VMAS Steering Committee, meeting every week with the core members to plan and develop the organization.
Joining the United States Air Force
A Dayton native, Joe attended Franklin High School until he was a junior and took the opportunity to take a course with the Warren County Career Center. Their Electrical Technology course aligned well with his plan to join the United States Air Force and his ambition of going into space. He started his professional career with a work-study program during his senior year of high school at the Ronald T. Dodge Company as an intern. Joe was introduced to chemists working with microencapsulation processes and assisted with a variety of tasks and responsibilities. After graduating from Franklin High School in 1987, Joe enlisted in the United States Air Force and set out for basic training in Lackland AFB, Texas.
Fresh out of BMT, Joe started his tech school at the 3400th Technical Training Wing Lowey AFB, Colorado. He earned several outstanding student recognition letters after completing the training to become an Offensive Avionics-CITS-EMUX System Specialist on the B-1B Lancer bomber. He continued his work with the B-1B bomber at the 28th Organizational Maintenance Squadron Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota.
Military Career
In 1990, after taking an opportunity to leave the Air Force, Joe wanted to go back to college to become an electrical engineer. He worked full time at Pepsi Co. in Dayton, Ohio to save up and finish his degree. Realizing he missed the military, its comradery, the structure it provided, and the like-minded people, he decided to join the local Air Force Reserve unit located on Wright Patterson AFB. Anita, his longtime girlfriend, had moved to Dayton after they were engaged. Planning their life together, Joe took the opportunity to again complete tech school in Chanute AFB, Illinois, where he earned an Honor Graduate Academic Achievement award, one that is only given to the top 10 percent of graduates. He returned home with a new Air Force Reserve title as an Electrical-Environmental System Specialist and was excited to start working on the F-16 fighter aircraft at Wright Patterson AFB. He also returned to Ronald T. Dodge Company to work as a Project Manager. In 1992, Joe became an Aircraft Battle Damage Repair (ABDR) Technician after attending a course at Sheppard Technical Training Center at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona.
Joe and Anita were married and began to start their family in 1993. They had two children of their own and hosted four foreign exchange students through the AFS, a program that allows high school-aged students to spend a school year in the USA living with host parents. They hosted students from Australia twice, Japan, and France. Joe also volunteers in the Big Brothers and Big Sisters program and currently has a little brother.
Retirement
Working nights at GM, he would take day classes at RETS Tech Center and by 1999 he earned an associate of applied science degree in Electronic Engineering Technology. Joe’s military experience expanded to become an ABDR assessor. He would evaluate a damaged aircraft and write repair procedures that other technicians would follow to complete the repair. Joe was taking on more and more responsibilities and soon he was sent for training to be an Air Force instructor. He became an ABDR instructor and supported numerous annual unit exercises and was promoted to Master Sergeant. In 2005, the reserve unit Joe had been a part of dissolved and he found work as a technician on the transition of the C141 to the C5 cargo aircraft.
In 2010, Joe retired from the USAF reserves to spend more time with his family and finish his college career. He earned his associate’s degree in Advanced Technical Intelligence from Clark State Community College in 2010 and went on to earn a Bachelor's of Science degree in Organizational Leadership at Wright State University in 2011. Then, Riverside Research hired Joe as a contractor in 2012 to work at the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) for the Geospatial & Signatures Persistent Infrared Analysis (GSP) Squadron Director. Today, Joe works as a civilian for NASIC at the Geospatial & Signatures Group as their Management Analyst.
Member of VMAS
Volunteering his time to VMAS, Joe plays a large role in our Professional Networking and Mentoring Committee. He has great insights and keeps VMAS in the right direction to help connect our members with jobs and career advancement. Keeping our members in mind, Joe is always thinking of ways to get them involved in the organization and how to streamline their needs. With his extensive and impressive career in the USAF, we are looking forward to his innovativeness to help the VMAS organization and above all, our members.
If you are interested in joining VMAS, volunteer with Joe, or want guidance in your career, please email us at wrightstatevmas@gmail.com