Warrior of the Week: Capt. Stephen Phillips

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  • By Public Affairs
  • Public Affairs
Vance Air Force Base, Okla. --  Capt. Stephen Phillips, 25th Flying Training Squadron chief of programming, was nominated as Warrior of the Week because he "sets a superb military example for all officers in the squadron and is truly a Shooter warrior," according to his former commander, Lt. Col. Nathan Hill.
"He stepped in repeatedly when the Shooters needed a volunteer or an expert to fulfill a task," said Colonel Hill.
Captain Phillips multitasks in his day-to-day duties in the 25th FTS, serving as the chief of programming and the executive officer to the commander while also fulfilling instructor pilot duties.
The Fort Worth, Texas, native entered the Air Force in 1997 after graduating from the University of Texas at Arlington. He received his commission upon graduation through the Reserve Officer Training Corps, choosing to follow in the footsteps of his military father.
"The military was an obvious choice," said Captain Phillips, whose father retired as a chief master sergeant.
His father's last assignment had him working on B-52s, the aircraft his son would later be assigned to, a coincidence Captain Phillips didn't intend on but agrees it's a nice one nonetheless.
His previous assignment at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., took him overseas in support of Operation Enduring Freedom where he proudly boasts of dropping more than 64,000 pounds of ordnance while the situation "was still hot."
Captain Phillips is wrapping up his last of his days at Vance AFB as he waits on a new assignment, which he foresees being a staff job at one of the various commands. He hopes to eventually get back to the "Buff" and would also like the opportunity to "'corrupt' a squadron as a commander."
"I just plan to fly as much as possible for the next 11 years until I retire, and then I plan to open my own business," he said.
Captain Phillips' biggest hobby is video and computer games, and that's the type of business he hopes to eventually get into in order to take his "geek status to the next dimension."
Captain Phillips was lucky enough to find his wife, Elizabeth, who shares his love of video games and it has become their method of spending quality time with family. His two children, Stevie, 2, and Alex, 8 months, still lack the finger dexterity to participate.
"Once the kids go to sleep, we bring out the Xbox," he said. "We make it a family thing because her brothers are into it too."
Like many in the Air Force, Captain Phillips is a man dedicated to his country and his family. He is proud of his accomplishments, both at work and at home, boasting about his incredibly smart and beautiful children, and of course his luck at marrying "the only person in the world who's better at online games" than he is.