Meet the commander: Lt. Col. Joseph Kendall

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Christopher Reel
  • 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  From being a young Civil Air Patrol cadet, to becoming a distinguished graduate at the U.S. Air Force Academy, one young man's passion for military aviation led him down a path to becoming the current 53rd Test Support Squadron commander.

Lt. Col. Joseph Kendall, 53rd TSS commander, looked up to his uncle who served in the Air Force for almost 25 years.

"He was my inspiration for joining the Civil Air Patrol," said Colonel Kendall. "My participation with the CAP ultimately placed my interests in the direction of the academy and everything else happened from there.

"At the academy, I was exposed to a wide range of what the Air Force was involved in,"
he said. "I then began pilot training, since it was the logical progression in continuing my career."

At the beginning of his Air Force career, he completed his master's degree in physics at the University of Arizona. During that time, he also met his future wife.

He and his wife, Megan, have now been married more than 15 years and have five children: Cole, Ashley, Grace, Gavin, and Blythe.

"Most of my time is devoted to my kids and trying to be involved with them and their activities," said the colonel. "Spreading out dad's time between five kids, going to work, and taking my wife out on dates takes up the majority of my time. I also enjoy staying fit and, when they're playing, watching the Arizona Cardinals."

Tyndall marks the first time the family has been stationed near a beach.

"The family loves the beach, and I can see this is going to be a great assignment for us," said Colonel Kendall. "The mission here is great, and I've been put in charge of a great squadron.

"I have had some great commander mentors," he said. "They were great examples of leadership. I've also had a few that were not great examples. However, good or bad, they have shaped my vision on how I feel a commander should lead, and I hope that I can bring the best of that to this organization."

The 53rd TSS will continue to support the mission at the 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group, explained Colonel Kendall.

"We will continue to look for ways to create efficiencies, to continue to develop people, and to reward these efforts of these outstanding Airmen," said Colonel Kendall. "I would like to see the 53rd TSS have at least one Air Force level award recipient. It's important we reward outstanding people."

A focus on people lies heavily within the commander's goals.

"People are the most important part of the Air Force," Colonel Kendall said. "As an Air Force, we talk a lot about budgets, resources and other constraints; but the most important part of having the best Air Force possible is having well trained well motivated people."

One of the colonel's proudest moments was being called upon by a joint terminal air controller in Iraq to deliver weapons during combat operations. Another proud moment occurred while he was an air officer, commanding, at the Academy.

A former cadet wrote him a thank you letter after graduation. The letter expressed her gratitude for the lessons she learned during the time he was in charge at that organization.

"Though just a letter, there were two things I learned," said Colonel Kendall. "The things we do can have a tremendous impact. And two, the impact of saying thank you to somebody else can really influence someone's day, especially if they have done something that has made a positive difference in your life. It's important to let them know that.

"As we continue the mission, and continue to train people, we need to provide feedback to our people," the colonel continued. "We also need to reward those who do well and tell them thank you. The success of the mission ultimately all comes back to people."