BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. –
"If you don't want to be at the plate with two outs and a man on third when your team is a run down, then you shouldn't be in the game. This is ninth inning stuff."
The analogy refers to the many challenges Col. John Trnka, vice wing commander of 940th Wing, a Reserve tenant unit at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., faced over the past few months. Among those challenges were a surge in mission demands, fiscal year budget uncertainties, and the earlier than expected departure of the wing commander, which put Trnka in charge of the 1100-member organization that includes five geographically separated units.
Formerly the commander of the 513th Air Control Group, the Reserve portion of the AWACS mission at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City, Trnka looked forward to a new challenge when he accepted the position as 940th Wing vice commander late last summer.
"This was a neat opportunity to come to a unique unit with four distinct mission sets about which I knew nothing about really," Trnka said, adding that he'd wanted to get into the remotely piloted aircraft business since 1994.
Trnka arrived at his new duty assignment to find the former wing commander Col. Jeffrey Mineo waiting by the door, bags packed. The two commanders had an hour turnover before Mineo departed on a six-month deployment to Southwest Asia.
It was Trnka's opportunity to step up to the plate, and he admitted it was a bit stressful to find out so suddenly he would be the new wing commander before getting his feet on the ground
"We just had time to discuss where the skeletons are, then he left," Trnka said. "Hey, there are skeletons in any good organization! The truth is the 940th is the most family-feeling unit I've been in since coming to the Reserves."
From the Halloween party that "turned into a no-kidding costume fest" to frequent spontaneous cook outs, Trnka described the unit as "a big, extended, family."
Unexpectedly, Mineo's deployment was cut short. He returned briefly to the 940th Wing - en route to a new duty assignment as commander of the 310th Space Wing in Colorado Springs.
"In January, Colonel Mineo came back, cleaned out his inbox, and then left the wing," Trnka said. " I transitioned ever so subtly to the position of interim commander until a new wing commander could be selected. I'm happy I could bridge the gap between the outgoing and incoming commanders, and I've tried to be the best bridge I could be during this time."
During his time in charge, Trnka said it has been anything but dull. Since the beginning of the year, the wing has responded to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the political unrest in Libya, as well as the uncertainties of the federal budget.
"The highlight had to be our response simultaneously to the Japan disasters and the Libyan situation," he said. "The unit was able to respond in both directions - to not just play a part, but to take a leading role, getting resources into both of those fights. I think that was the most amazing thing I've watched the unit do since I've been here."
Trnka cited the federal budget as perhaps the most challenging issue the unit has faced in recent months.
"Looking at the guidance that was coming down was like trying to read tea leaves," Trnka said. "But everyone dealt with the budget uncertainty in a constructive and very professional manner. It was impressive the way our people came together and worked through the situation."
In fact, a lot has impressed Trnka about his new unit.
"I wish everyone could see the amount of good that Team Beale does around the world," he said. "And I wish they could see just how good our Reservists are at doing very complex missions all over the world, from deployed locations and from right here at Beale."
Trnka said he also wished there was a greater awareness of the sacrifices made by the average Reservist.
"They sacrifice time away from home and away from their civilian jobs. In many cases, these sacrifices cost them potential advancements in their civilian careers. Yet they continue to serve out of a profound sense of duty," said Trnka.
As he begins his transition to the role of vice wing commander, Trnka will undoubtedly continue to have an influential hand in the future of the 940th Wing.
"I see the 940th Wing becoming the persistence and the experience in the Global Hawk mission, being key to operational planning," Trnka said. "I'd like us to get to the point when people think about the RQ-4, they think about the 940th along with the 9th Reconnaissance Wing."
In May, Trnka's time at the helm will come to an end as the 940th Wing will get a new commander. He will fall back to his original assignment of being the vice wing commander. Sometime later this summer, he also hopes to start training to qualify as a Global Hawk pilot, fulfilling his desire to take his Air Force career in that direction.
"It's been a very collaborative eight months as wing commander of the 940th," Trnka said. "I appreciate the way this organization has embraced me and worked together on some major issues. I really couldn't have asked for a better experience."