Firefighter turns 'IG,' vows to ensure RAF Mildenhall ready, prepared to accomplish mission

  • Published
  • By Karen Abeyasekere
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  Reading Air Force instructions cover to cover isn't something many people would take time to do, but for Master Sgt. Shanton Russell, 100th Air Refueling Wing Inspector General inspector, it's vital in learning everything he can about his new role.

"I want to make sure I have a very good grasp on the overall process and what the Air Force wants, then I'll start looking at how Mildenhall responds and meets the Air Force's instruction," he said.

The Chicago native has been a firefighter for almost 19 years and recently moved to the one-year position in wing inspections, bringing valuable emergency response knowledge and expertise along with him.

"I was excited when I found out I was selected for the position," said Russell. "I count it as a blessing and I'm not taking it for granted. I want to pay it back -- I want to make sure that whoever made the decision to allow me to come here, they know they made the right one!"

The soon-to-be superintendent of wing readiness inspections believes his experience as a firefighter have equipped him well for this position.

He has a strong training background in safety and preparedness having been the assistant fire chief of health and safety at the fire station on RAF Mildenhall and other supervisory roles throughout his career.

"Throughout my career, there's been some great opportunities that prepared me to be a good firefighter," said Russell. "I've learned from the bottom up, from some great fire chiefs that I believe groomed me well. For this job specifically, I had a big background in training."

In the fire department, Russell was part of the exercise evaluation team (now the wing inspection team).

"Being able to sit here in this job is the next level," the IG inspector said. "As a basic firefighter you always have to be prepared and that comes with training, evaluating ourselves, being evaluated by others while putting our best faces forward and giving our best effort. My entire career has been preparedness. As a former technical school instructor and assistant chief of training, it was my job to ensure the firefighters were trained and well prepared."

Russell emphasized the importance of completing a job safely to ensure people don't get injured, and to minimize risk.

"Coming up here (to wing IG) it's like everything gets tied in together -- I'm not just making sure that the fire department is taken care of, but that the base is prepared -- not just to take care of the mission, but (doing so) efficiently," Russell explained. "We're taking care of people, and we're not wasting resources or effort. I just think that at this point in my career it's like (everything has) come full circle -- it's an opportunity to take something I've already done, but on a much larger scale."

Russell works alongside eight other RAF Mildenhall members, all from a diverse but vital background within the wing. Pilots; administrative, vehicle maintenance and power production specialists; aircraft maintainers; and supply NCOs all bring a huge variety of expertise to their role within the IG.

"My job involves planning readiness inspections with realistic scenarios making sure the unit is prepared to accomplish the mission," he commented. "Then we put our badges on to go out and do the inspection. We make sure we pay close attention to how our people conduct business."

The IG inspector explained they try not to ask questions at the scene because they want the scenario to play out rather than having people pay too much attention to the inspectors. That way they are more likely to just take care of the job rather than worry about being under the microscope.

RAF Mildenhall is constantly training and going through exercises to help everyone know exactly what to do, should any type of incident occur. Russell is kept busy writing reports and attending briefings, as well as inspecting exercises. The 100th ARW is graded on four major areas: managing resources, leading people, improving the unit and executing the mission.

In his new role, Russell works hand-in-hand with wing inspection team members, all of whom are subject-matter experts and provide input as to whether exercises will provide realistic scenarios. In larger exercises, he works alongside host nation agencies such as the Royal Air Force, Suffolk Constabulary, local medics or British firefighters from local off-base fire stations.

"At the end of the day, they have a mission they're trying to take care of as well. They do business almost the same way -- we're all trying to defend our government, protect our community and safeguard our citizens," he said. "Being able to work together with them to accomplish our joint missions and see how all that comes together is incredible. It's important that we practice (in the form of exercises), but we can't practice by ourselves the whole time. Working with our partners gives us the best chance to succeed."

His former boss at the fire station said when a slot came up for an IG inspector, he knew his former assistant fire chief of health and safety was the right man for the job.

"Master Sgt. Russell is the epitome of a professional Airman," said Chief Master Sgt. Christopher Mohr, 100th CES Fire Department fire chief from El Toro, California. "He can be counted on day-in, day-out to perform at the highest possible level, no matter what the challenge, and does it all with a smile on his face.

"Russell has a positive mindset in everything he does and always goes above and beyond to help others and get the mission accomplished in the best possible way," Mohr added. "His presence is greatly missed at the station, but to me he was the obvious choice for the key role as an IG inspector. I know he'll go above and beyond to ensure Team Mildenhall is prepared for any eventuality."