First Knight Published Nov. 3, 2008 10th Space Warning Squadron CAVALIER AIR FORCE STATION, N.D. -- Capt. Lysa "Kay" Stern was selected for this week's First Knight award. This award is designed to recognize outstanding Airmen each week for the work they do every day. Name: Capt, Lysa "Kay" Stern Duty title: Chief, Standardization/Evaluations Time in service: 16 years, 7 months Time assigned to the unit: 10 months Hometown: New Orleans, La. Hobbies: Singing, creative writing, any type of church activity Favorite music: Gospel Last good movie/book: Anything starring Will Smith!! Any books written by Carl Weber or Eric Jerome Dickey. How has joining the Air Force impacted your life?: "Gosh, where do I begin? I have been in the Air Force my entire adult life! I don't really know anything different. The Air Force has given me unforgettable experiences. I've developed a love of traveling and an appreciation for cultures and ideas that differ from mine. I've learned my most important life lesson: to grow where I'm planted--no base or job will be perfect, but I have to make the best of it anyway. The Air Force has given me a family, both literally and figuratively. I met and married my husband at my first duty station, and I've made lifelong friends who are like brothers/sisters and moms/dads to me." If you were Chief of Staff of the Air Force for one day, how would you change the Air Force?: Wow! That would probably be an interesting day! The Air Force is extremely educated as a total force, but I would institute a requirement to have all ranks trained and tested on the Professional Development Guide. Having served over a decade as an enlisted member, I read the PFE religiously (that's what all the old people remember it as), and not just for promotion! It gave me a better understanding of the contributions of all Airmen in the Air Force. If I had a question, the PFE may not have answered it in detail, but it certainly pointed me in the right direction. When I joined the officer corps, I encountered many new lieutenants who had the same questions I had when I first joined. I pointed them toward the PDG. The information in that guide is invaluable, and we should all be extremely familiar with it. Why selected?: "Capt Lysa "Kay" Stern was selected to be our 10th SWS First Knight for three reasons: her exemplary professionalism, her technical excellence, and her positively contagious energetic leadership. Here at Cavalier Air Force Station, N.D., we have a small, geographically separated and CONUS-isolated unit and count on all of our Airmen to perform at peak levels to ensure our important mission gets accomplished every day. As our chief of standardization and evaluation, Kay ensures she sets the example for our unit members to follow, that she is both crisp and flawless in the execution of all her duties, and that she leads from the front every day. Captain Stern models what the USAF demands from our company grade officers." - Lt. Col. Wayne Doherty, director of operations