A salute: Col. Jeannie Leavitt made history, and served community well

It wasn't just that she was the first female commander of the 4th Fighter Wing at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base that made Col. Jeannie Leavitt's time in Wayne County worth noting.

And while it is a tremendous achievement, her airmen's stellar performance on readiness inspections is just another accolade to add to the list.

Col. Leavitt was -- and is -- a role model -- for her airmen, for her community and for the young women who just might look at her and think, "Maybe I could do that someday."

And she earned that respect by being professional, real and a leader who guided those who followed her by her example, not just by a lot of words and speeches.

Not only was Col. Leavitt valuable on base, she was a vital part of this community as well.

She encouraged her airmen not just to be excellent at what they did on the airfield and while deployed, but also to be contributing members around town as well. There are many local organizations that can say that they benefited from the contributions from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base this year.

And, as Col. Leavitt likely knew they would, many local airman probably could say they benefited from that service as well.

Wayne County has been blessed with some wonderful 4th Fighter Wing commanders.

Col. Leavitt is one of them.

Published in Editorials on June 2, 2014 10:52 AM