JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii -- The Honorable Eric K. Fanning, Secretary of the Army, received an integrated air and missile defense brief from Soldiers with the 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, July 27, 2016, during his visit to the air operations center on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.
"During the secretary of the Army's visit, we provided him with a firsthand depiction of how the missile defense batteries perform homeland and regional, theater and strategic missile defense of U.S. Pacific Command and U.S. Northern Command," said Staff Sgt. Drew Troy, a current operator and sensor control advisor with 10th Missile Defense Battery, 94th AAMDC from Olympia, Wash.

The 94th AAMDC is the U.S. Pacific Command's lead for integrated air and missile defense and is responsible for the Pacific's joint theater air and missile defense planning and execution process.

"I was responsible for briefing the secretary of the Army on the specific threats we potentially face in the PACOM area of operation," explained Spc. Logan Nielsen, a theater ballistic missile intelligence analyst with Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 94th AAMDC, from Northwood, Iowa.

"Being selected to brief the secretary of the Army illustrates the confidence that my leaders have in my level of knowledge and understanding of our area of responsibility's threats, and my professional ability to present precise and accurate information to the highest levels of leadership."

Fanning's visit was an opportunity for junior leaders and Soldiers in the unit to highlight the reason the 94th AAMDC is the lead in integrated air and missile defense.

"These visits are significant because we are able to inform decision making leaders face-to-face on intricate operating procedures and potential threats, which cannot be depicted thoroughly via PowerPoint slides," explained Troy.

"It also illustrates to our higher leadership that [the 94th AAMDC] is so dedicated to its expanding mission and the Rebalance that even its most junior Soldiers are genuinely well-informed, subject matter experts," said Nielsen. "These types of visits are important because it is a chance for key leaders, like the secretary of the Army, to get an accurately, detailed understanding of the tremendous drive and hard work that Soldiers put in every day in order to successfully complete the mission."

"We are so successful because we don't just show up to work and do the bare minimum," said Troy. "We actively strive to be subject matter experts."

"In the short time that he visited, the secretary of the Army was able to personally witness the evidence of all my hard work and my true desire to learn, and I couldn't be more honored," shared Nielsen.