FOCUS ON A CHAPTER LEADER

Capt Francis “Frank” Rupert

ER:Whatdoyoulikemostaboutbeingaloggie?

CaptRupert: The breadth of everything the Logistics community touches, and the innovation that our young Airman comes up with to improve and enhance their missions

Vital Statistics

Name: Francis “Frank”

Rupert

LOA Chapter: 380 AEW Flying Circus

Position: President

Hometown: Spokane, WA

College: Washington State

Degree(s): BA is History

Family: Wife – Michelle, Children – Abigail (2)

Technical Training: LRO Technical School (2009), ASBC (2010), IDO Course (2010), JAOPC (2014), SOS (2014)

Professional Duty Title: 380 ELRS Director of Opertions

ER:Whatwasyourbiggestlearningmoment?

Commissioning Source: ROTC

CaptRupert: I was a young Lt and I had been pushing back on a request pretty hard. We ended up supporting and did phenomenally, but our leadership’s takeaway had been the resistance. I learned that some problems are not as difficult as they sometimes appear, and that you gain more from saying “yes, if” than “no”

ER:Whatareyoumostproud ofinyourtimeonactiveduty?

CaptRupert: I am probably most proud of my first deployment. I got the opportunity to lead a small RAT team in Djibouti. We were only gone a short time, but it was my first time participating in an OCO and it really drove home the point that nothing happens without logistics!

ER:AsarecognizedleaderinyourlocalLOAChapter,whatactivities/eventsareyoumost proudof?

CaptRupert: I am most proud of the founding of the Flying Circus Chapter! You seldom get the opportunity to see a vision all the way from conception through to fruition. I am humbled and proud to work with such amazing and dedicated Logisticians and Airman.

ER:WhattripsandtoursdoyouplanontakingwithLOA?

CaptRupert: As a new Chapter, we’ve made it our goal to take advantage of the logistics community at our location. We plan on visiting a local port that is operated by the Navy and visiting our WRM contractor to see their storage and distribution system. As we move forward, we’ll look for opportunities to visit local companies, such as Fedex, to see distribution commercial distribution systems and bring in guest speakers to talk through some of the more strategic aspects of logistics.

ER:Doyouhaveanyshout-outs?

CaptRupert: I’d like to shout out all my Flying Circus loggies!!