For this Airman, it’s personal

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Elizabeth Van Patten
  • 94th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOBBINS AIR RESERVE BASE, Ga --  "This woman has been sent directly from heaven," said Senior Airman Shawnyse Harris, 94th Force Support Squadron personnel specialist. "She inspires, because she lets us inspire her. She believes in us."

Modest to a fault, when Tech. Sgt. Tanya Akins, 94th FSS personnel specialist, is asked about her many accomplishments, she just smiles and credits those around her.

"I didn't do everything by myself," said Akins. "I am part of a team. I am inspired by my leaders, my subordinates and by people. Everyone has piece of this mission. I may not understand what you do, but I know it is an important piece. It's like baking a cake. When we put all the ingredients together, we will make a premier cake - we will be a premier wing."

Recently returned home from a deployment where she operated as a casualty officer in a forward-deployed location in Southwest Asia, Akins is all smiles as she interacts with her FSS coworkers. Her only solemn moment was when she recounts her very serious job responsibilities.

"We processed a total of 47 casualties during a six-month period," said Akins. "We were the busiest hub in the area of responsibility. I have been really blessed with good teams to work with. While deployed, my team was the best (out of nine) consistently. We established some great processes that really sped up time and accuracy. We took our job seriously, because it was serious business, but we also loved helping people."

Akins was awarded a superior performance award for her work as well as Noncommissioned Officer of the Quarter.
 
Lt. Col. David Dick, 94th FSS commander, also sees the greatness within his ranks.

"Akins is an outstanding NCO who is selfless and always willing to go the extra mile," said Dick. "She is the type of NCO who will stay late to help others without being asked and genuinely cares about the mission and the needs of others."

Providing leadership and expert job knowledge occupied the majority of her time; however Akins found extraordinary ways to spend her limited free time as well.

Prior to her deployment, Akins defended her dissertation for her Ph.D. She completed necessary revisions to receive her doctorate in Healthcare Informatics while deployed. Her dissertation focused on female veterans recovering from sexual traumas.

"Most of my research came from the veteran's community," said Akins. "Now, I am looking forward to doing medical research. I plan to study groups in future research, where before I studied individual females and how they used their Christianity to recover from sexual traumas."

She also became certified as a Department of Defense veteran's assistance coordinator and as a sexual assault victim's advocate.

Akins, clearly a proponent for continuing education, spent time teaching and coaching fellow Airmen through Professional Military Education courses. She was involved with the Top 3 organization, of which membership is reserved for master, senior master, and chief master sergeants. Through the Top 3, she taught Leadership and Followership courses and Teambuilding courses.

"My grandfather told me, 'if you want to go to college, you need to get Uncle Sam to pay for it,'" said Akins with a laugh. "I think we should all strive to keep going, even after we've reached our initial goals. Continuing education is important. In every career field we have a responsibility to keep current and help keep each other current."

Akins also believes that education isn't just accomplished in a classroom. She is close to her family, especially her grandparents, whose working knowledge of the world she still seeks.

"I think all of life is a challenge," said Akins. "My sisters taught me how to turn challenges into opportunities. I am excited to be coming back to the 94th and implement some of the things I learned while deployed."