S4E08 Air Force SMSgt (Ret) Kevin Reed

Today my guest is Air Force SMSgt (Ret) Kevin Reed.  Kevin grew up in the Los Angeles area both in Canoga Park and Thousand Oaks.  He attended Westlake High School and graduated in 1998.  After a semester at Cal State Northridge, he met with an Air Force recruiter and signed a delayed enlistment contract, and in May 1999, he attended Basic Training at Lackland AFB, TX as a 1C6 Space Operator.  He then attended Enlisted Undergraduate Space Training (EUST) at Vandenberg AFB, CA.
Kevin’s first assignment was to 1st Space Operations Squadron at Schriever AFB, CO.  In May 2001, he was reassigned to Kapaun, Germany for DSP Missile Warning.  He left Germany in Aug 2002 for assignment to the 2nd Space Operations Squadron (GPS) back at Schriever AFB.  His next assignment was to the 2nd Space Warning Squadron (SBIRS) at Buckley AFB, CO.  There, he was selected to the 2006 SBIRS Guardian Challenge Team.
In 2008, he was reassigned to the 533rd Training Squadron as a SBIRS System Instructor at Vandenberg AFB.  During this time, he completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Liberty University.  After four years he was reassigned back to 2 SWS at Buckley AFB.  In 2014, he took an Active Guard/Reserve position with the 8th Space Warning Squadron.  In 2015, he was promoted to MSgt and earned his Master’s Degree in Space/Planetary Science from American Military University.  In 2018 Kevin was promoted to SMSgt and became the Squadron Superintendent for Det 1, 8 SWS which later reflagged as the 4th Space Warning Squadron. He went on to be selected as a Traveling Instructor for the SNCO Leadership Course for the Air Force Reserve Command in 2019.
Kevin retired from the military on June 1st, 2021.