Christie LaPoint leads by example

  • Published
  • By Philip Lorenz III
  • AEDC/PA
Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn. --  In 2007, when Christie LaPoint stepped off the plane onto the hot tarmac at Balad Air Base in northern Iraq, the Houston native felt like she already knew the place. 

LaPoint, the most recent addition to Aerospace Testing Alliance's Operations Center at Arnold Engineering Development Center, was no stranger to the environment of hot, dry air and expanse of desert outside the perimeter of the base. 

As a staff sergeant deployed to Kuwait in 2001, she had quickly become acquainted with the nuances of the mission and the terrain. She also took the time to interact with the locals and become acquainted with their culture. 

"In Kuwait, I attended a wedding of a sister to one of our Kuwaiti guards," she recalled. "It was one of the most interesting things I had ever seen and was a reminder how different our cultures were. I also had the opportunity to eat the local cuisine and drink tea with some of the Kuwaiti guards which was a terrific experience."  

Serving as a Command Post controller in the Air Force from 1999 to 2004 she was stationed at Spangdahlem Air Force Base (AFB), Germany; Buckley AFB, Colo.; and Al Jaber AFB, Kuwait. She was awarded the Air Force Space Command's Command and Control Airman of the year while at Spangdahlem. 

Several years after separating from the Air Force, LaPoint received a call from her previous group commander at Buckley AFB, Colo., to come to Iraq and assist in building up an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at LSA Anaconda/Balad AB in Iraq because of her vast knowledge and experience in C2 [Command and Control] operations. 

This is where the training and experience she had received while serving in the Air Force paid off. LaPoint said she jumped at the opportunity to serve her country again; this time as a civilian contractor. 

"As a contractor, you travel via Army Black Hawk helicopters to get to another base if work related," she said. "I traveled to Baghdad via Black Hawk numerous times and loved it." 

LaPoint said one of the best parts of serving in the Air Force and as a contractor, besides being part of the mission and serving her country, was the friends she has made. 

"Almost immediately after I arrived in Iraq, I met a person that to this day is considered one of my closest and dearest friends," she said. "Her name is Stacey Pierce." 

Pierce said she was not in the best of spirits when she first met LaPoint. 

"The day she [LaPoint] first arrived in the Brigade S-1 office, I was preoccupied with my own duties," Pierce recalled. "I didn't pay too much attention to her --that is, until I heard she was scheduled to work within the brigade. Instinctively, I could see that she was a genuine person with a huge heart who didn't have a hidden agenda." 

Before long, Pierce said the two became good friends who worked hard and supported each other on their parts of the mission, which meant working 12-hour days, seven days a week. She said they also took time to join others on off-duty projects to boost their unit's morale. The two women formed a bond that continues to the present day. 

"Christie is like the sister I never had, my best friend, my right-hand woman I know I can always rely on for honest advice," she said. "She's always there for a shoulder to cry on, a rock to lean or buffer ideas on, and somebody I know will be in my life until we're old in our rocking chairs on the front porch." 

LaPoint's youngest cousin, Meghan Purcell, plans to attend Sam Houston State University in Texas and pursue a major in criminal justice. Purcell said LaPoint has had a powerful impact on her life. 

"Christie is probably one of my favorite people in the world," Purcell said. "When I was younger, I'd follow her everywhere and wanted to be just like her. I really love her sense of humor, her love of animals and her country and her way of just being there when I need someone to talk to. I think she has influenced me to get out of my shell and just go and grab life by the horns." 

Asked why she went into the military as a Command Post operations controller, LaPoint said the answer is simple. 

"As a civilian looking at Air Force employment options, Command and Control immediately grabbed my attention," she said. "With key words like planning, directing, coordinating and controlling forces and operations in the accomplishment of the mission, I was certain this was the job I wanted. Luckily, it was perfect and I love the excitement of the job. Not one day is ever the same."