HONORING COL. KIRSTEN M. PALMER

The Chatterbox 

September 10, 2020

Cottage Grove Sentinel

“

"Things can get tough but persevere.
You never know what opportunity is around the corner.”
Col. Kirsten M. Palmer

A United States Air Force retirement ceremony was held August 2, 2020, at McChord Field, Washington, in honor of Colonel Kirsten M. Palmer for her 25 years of service.

In attendance were her husband, retired Lt. Col. Roger Lang, her daughter Addyson (11), son  Archer (18 mo.), her parents Ron and Linda Palmer, brother Matt Palmer and multiple Air Force members who had recently served with her at McChord Field.

Kirsten’s career dreams began in an 8th grade science class at Lincoln Middle School. Studying the stars and planets of our solar system, installed in her a desire for space travel as an astronaut.

Her retired Air Force uncle recommended the following path to follow after graduating from CGHS in 1991: “First, become a pilot. Do that by joining the Air Force and attending the Air Force Academy.”  Kirsten set the plan in motion, applied and was accepted at the Academy.

At a summer program at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho, Kirsten changed her mind about being a pilot. She spent three weeks shadowing young officers in different career fields that increased her horizons.

She says, “I spent a day with an aircraft maintenance officer and immediately knew that was the career path I wanted. Not only are you around aircraft all day but you get to lead the incredibly skilled aircraft maintainers and resolve issues that are impediments to making the mission happen.”

She earned her commission from the Academy in May 1995 but the learning never stopped. In layman’s terms, as an officer, her crew’s job was to keep the airplanes flying—to get the mission done and every Airmen home. So as she mentored, gave directions and coached others, she was always taking classes too.

During her 25 year career, Palmer served in a variety of assignments in various locations, including 11 years at the Pentagon. She finished at Lewis-McChord Field, Washington

One of her favorite assignments was at Spangdahlem Air Base and Ramstein Air Base in Germany where she met her husband Roger. They were in the same squadron. He flew the C-9 aircraft and her maintainers fixed and serviced the aircraft.

In Germany she not only met her future husband but became fast friends with several women who remain in contact today. There was also time to ski the Alps and see the sites all around Europe.

As an officer, she was always appreciative of those who worked with her. Her squadron commander at Charleston Air Force Base SC was deployed for 6 months. As second in command, she stepped in as acting commander of a 600 person unit.

She says, “It was a huge responsibility for a 32-year old but I was surrounded by a great group of officers and my Airmen flourished! We ended up winning an Air Force and Department of Defense level award for outstanding maintenance during that time period.

Later, at McChord Field, two of my Airmen had a great idea to create a tool that would maintain batteries for a C-17 easier, more cost effective and safer. They pitched the idea to Air Force leadership and 500 Airmen at a convention center. It was approved and now the base will receive a state of the art 3D printer to help Airmen do their jobs.”

The Air Force has been a rewarding profession for Col. Palmer in many ways. In addition to the satisfaction of serving her country at the different assignments, she has earned multiple education degrees (including the Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy), many other major awards and decorations, as well as promotion to Colonel.  

Nevertheless, all good things must come to an end. I asked Kirsten why she was retiring now and she said:

“I figured a quarter of a century is a nice round number of years to serve my country. My priorities in life have changed. I want to spend more time with my family and be there more for my kids. They are only young once and I want to create amazing memories like I have of my Mom when I was a child.

“At some point I’ll probably get back into the job market with a part-time job. Until then, I’m going to enjoy being a Mom, catching my breath and reflect on the eventful last 25 years—the people I’ve met, the places I’ve been and the things I’ve gotten to do that I never imagined when I left Cottage Grove in 1991 and headed to the Air Force Academy.”

Thank you, Kirsten, for a job well done serving your country and being an inspiration for all young people to follow their dreams. Enjoy the memories. A new life of opportunities and challenges await. You are an inspiration.
 
                Contact Betty Kaiser’s Chatterbox at email bchatty@bettykaiser.com


 

GOOD NEWS: TEENAGER FINDS/RETURNS A LOST WALLET

 

7/2/2020 The Chatterbox 

Cottage Grove Sentinel

Betty Kaiser

For many years I wrote a weekly “Neighborhood News” column.  It was always a high point in my day when readers would call, email or write me notes about good things that were happening in their lives and neighborhoods.

I have one of those good news columns today. I heard the following story somewhat belatedly and tucked it away in my memory bank only to lose it! I remembered it this week and asked the family to share it with you. This local heartwarming  story began in Creswell, in April 2018.

One Saturday morning, Kaila Ollivant (a then 16 year old sophomore at Cottage Grove High School) and two friends pulled into the Creswell Coffee Shop* for some breakfast before going shopping. As they parked, Kaila felt the car run over something. Getting out of the car she discovered the “something” was a smashed wallet.

She took pictures of the wallet that contained the usual stuff plus a family heirloom money clip and a significant amount of money. It also contained a school ID of a young teen, Keaton S., in the 7^th grade in North Hollywood, California. The distance didn’t discourage Kaila. She was determined to find him and return the wallet and its contents.

She began at the Creswell Police Dept. but they are closed on weekends. She then left a note at the Coffee Shop and took the wallet home where she and her mom Tracy brainstormed. So many questions. North Hollywood is a long ways away and it was Spring Break. How did the wallet end up in a Creswell parking lot? Perhaps, he and his family were passing through the area on vacation? They called the Creswell hotels with no success.

The following Monday Tracy called the student’s school  and inquired if he still attended there. Eventually, someone said yes and they would contact his family. Within minutes, she received a call from Keaton’s dad. He couldn’t believe that the wallet had been found and that everything was intact. He called Kaila their “Angel” and filled in the blanks on how the wallet got there.

Keaton’s grandparents live in Creswell and he came up  to visit during Spring Break. He had been staying there and doing chores to earn money to open his first bank account. Ironically, he had gone on a bike ride with his now missing wallet and lost all his hard earned money.

When he discovered it was gone and told his grandmother, she said (as all good grandmothers do), “That is why I told you to put your money in your suitcase until you get home so you won’t lose it!” A lesson learned like most of us do—the hard way.

After Keaton’s dad told him that his wallet had been found, his parents said he was on Cloud 9! “He spent the night singing the praises of Kaila and the entire state of Oregon. He even talked of attending the University of Oregon!” Now that’s joy and gratitude!

The wallet was soon sent from Oregon to a grateful Keaton in Calif.  In the meantime, both families had discussions about the wallet’s journey and life’s learning experiences of character building, including responsibility, ethics and treating people as you want to be treated.

But the story continues. A sum of money had been offered to Kaila as a finder’s fee but she declined. Keaton wrote Kaila thanking her for being so kind and awesome. He was so grateful to have the money and items returned. He wanted to repay her in some way so he purchased a gift card at the coffee shop for her and her friends to go for breakfast! He specifically recommended his favorite, the Florentine Crepe. Kaila thought that was very cool but her real reward was his joy in the returned wallet.

After many exchanges of emails, pictures and notes, the families had become friends. They made a date to meet. Keaton’s family came to Oregon over July Fourth where they met for lunch. They seem to have bonded over more than a lost wallet and a good Samaritan named Kaila. The knowledge that good people still exist in this crazy world warmed all of their hearts.

In closing, I’m quoting a note from Keaton’s aunt that speaks from her heart for most of us:

“My heart filled with joy when I got this news. I’m relieved my nephew will be reunited with his belongings. But I’m more relieved to know that in a society full of hostility and self-entitlement there are still people (a teenager no less) who will do the right thing and prioritize kindness above personal gain. She restored some of my ever decreasing faith in humanity and taught my nephew a valuable lesson.”

Contact Betty Kaiser’s Chatterbox by 

email at bchatty@bettykaiser.com