Community leaders inducted as Team Buckley co-commanders

by Staff Sgt. Nicholas Rau
460th Space Wing Public Affairs

1/16/2013 - BUCKLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Colo.  -- Col. Daniel Dant, 460th Space Wing commander, inducted 18 community leaders Jan. 11 as co-commanders in a ceremony held at the Buckley Leadership Development Center.

The community commander program is designed to pair local civilians with military commanders in an effort to increase communication, promote an understanding of Buckley's mission and showcase the Air Force's role in national defense.

Dant focused on the concept of collaborative leadership and building stronger bonds between the civilians and their service-member counterparts.

"You get more done through your interpersonal relationships than any formal process you are a part of, and that is exactly what we are after," Dant explained.

It may be these connections that make Buckley a major player in the Aurora community.

"Buckley is one of the most valuable assets to the community," said Tom Allee, Frontier Airlines and community commander. "The jobs and contracts it creates support the economy, and the caliber of the individual are the kind of people you want in the community."

Dant reminded the civilians that staying connected with their military commanders will give them a real opportunity to impact national defense.

The recently inducted co-commanders include the following:
Councilmember Debi Holen-Hunter, representing Steve Hogan, Aurora mayor
Cathy Noon, Centennial mayor
Kevin Hougen, Aurora Chamber of Commerce president
Commissioner Bill Holen, Arapahoe County commissioner
Paul Suss, Suss Pontiac GMC president and general manager
John Bennett, First Command Financial district advisor
Skip Noe, Aurora city manager
William Stuart, Aurora Public Schools deputy superintendent
Chief Daniel Oates, Aurora Police Department chief of police
Jeff Thompson, University of Colorado Hospital director of government and corporate relations
State Representative Su Ryden, State House District 36
Craig Ward, Padgett Business Services president
Tom Allee, Frontier Airlines
Lisa Buckley, American Automation Building Solutions president
Alton Scales, Aurora Community College president
Cindy Kreutz, Spalding Rehabilitation Center CEO and president
Ron Weidmann, Centennial councilmember
Suzanne Pitrusu, Colorado Business Bank vice president