Tinker Airman greets motorists with a smile

  • Published
  • By Jeanne Grimes
  • Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. (AFPN) --  A smile and a cheerful word are good ways to start the day, and that is how one Airman here greets his customers.

His attitude at work is finding fans and the news has spread up through his chain of command.

Airman 1st Class Ragan Crossland said he wonders what the fuss is all about. He is only approaching his work in the way his mother taught him.

“She was a very positive person,” the 20-year-old Airman said. “She told me, ‘You have two choices in life. You can either be positive or not.’ You choose your attitude. She’d tell me, ‘If you’re given lemons, make lemonade.’

“I try to be positive for her,” he said.

The 72nd Security Forces Squadron Airman said he tries to pass on that positive energy to everyone he encounters -- especially employees entering the base at the start of their day.

“Thanks for choosing Tinker today,” he might tell one motorist. Or “Welcome to Tinker Air Force Base.”

“It just depends,” he said. “I just try to make sure people have a good day. There are times people look real tired, it’s early, and they’re not wanting to come to work.”

Although he never tried to count the number of badges he examines or the people he encounters on a single shift, the Airman said he suspects it is “hundreds, maybe thousands, depending on which gate I’m at.”

So it was bound to happen that the chatter would eventually get him noticed -- although not in the way co-workers had warned him.

“Everybody would tell me, ‘You’ll get in trouble,’” he said. “They were afraid because I talk to people, I would get reported.”

Which is what happened -- sort of.

The first report came in an e-mail sent to the squadron commander, Maj. Brian Dubroff, by Staff Sgt. Ivan Esau with the 507th Air Refueling Wing.

“I am by trade an Oklahoma City police officer and a 15-year reservist,” the sergeant wrote. “[Airman Crossland] exemplifies what a positive attitude can do for the mood of others; he started my Reserve weekend with a smile and a positive foothold.”

Later, the Airman was the focus of another e-mail sent to the Commander’s Action Line by Staff Sgt. Marvin Nelson, who works in the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center here.

Sergeant Nelson said Airman Crossland “begins his sentry duties with ‘Good morning, sergeant! How are you this morning? Are we motivated today?’”

“This positive attitude is enough to make my day,” he wrote. “... Being a security forces member may not be the most glamorous job. [It is] demanding, tough and taxing ... But what I’ve seen from Airman 1st Class Crossland is someone who works hard and does it with an awesome attitude. I believe we all could follow his example.”

Airman Crossland, who arrived here in February, said he started chatting with the motorists shortly afterward.

“I just like people -- honestly,” he said.