YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan --
Brandon Waller has a youthful, energetic personality and a goofy
sense of humor. His toned facial features suggest a high-energy lifestyle,
which fits his new position as director of the 374th Aerospace
Medicine Squadron Health Promotion Flight.
The Health Promotion Flight, formerly known as the Health
and Wellness Center, deals with one of the most critical components of mission
readiness: physical fitness. It’s a job that has the potential to affect every
Airman on base.
“Our goal is to help Yokota adapt to a healthier lifestyle
so that we are ready to complete the mission at all times,” Waller said. “We’re
trying to limit the amount of sick days that everyone has to take by increasing
their health.”
Waller is excited to be doing a rewarding job that suits
him well. He said the path to health and wellness should be an enjoyable one.
“My vision for Health Promotion Services is to help people
add variety and value to their healthy-lifestyle routine in a fun way,” Waller
said.
Waller recognizes the difficulty that can be associated
with healthy habits. Many relate extreme expectations to health, such as a
no-carb diet or working out five or more days a week.
“I want to educate everyone that there’s a variety of ways
to bring health and wellness to their lives and that it can be fun,” Waller
added.
To reach his goal of educating Yokota’s Airmen and
families, Waller wants to encourage more people to utilize the already
successful services the Health Promotion Flight offers. Those services include
the Warrior Run Program, wellness workshops and analysis of body fat percentage.
Waller has already made steps to improve utilization through service
accessibility. Body percentage analysis
appointments were limited to small windows of time. Now, customers can book
appointments 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Waller is no novice when it comes to health and physical
fitness. With a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science and a master’s in Coaching
and Athletic Administration, he has been in the fitness industry since the
beginning of his working life. Waller has taught both adults and children and
worked in different positions from trainer to coach to group instructor.
“I’ve always been able to help lead people to make better
choices, whether related to health or with general life decisions,” Waller
said. “It’s just who I am.”
Waller explained that while his ability to encourage is a
positive draw to the job, his true motivation is seeing customers reach their
goals.
“When my wife and I were stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base
in Louisiana I ran a youth track camp,” Waller said. “That’s where I met
Karsten Brogan, a Paralympic athlete. He was about 14 years old and he had
cerebral palsy, so his whole left side didn’t operate the same as his right.
He’d been through four or five brain surgeries. I coached him for about two
years and I still send him workouts.”
In 2012, Brogan won 100- and 200-meter competitions in
France and Puerto Rico. A Paralympian winning on a national level inspired
Waller.
“It was great, not only to see the challenges he overcame,
but to see his amazing work ethic,” Waller said. “People like Karsten remind me
of why I’m doing what I’m doing. You don’t do it for the masses, but if you can
change one life that makes it worth the effort and that’s what keeps me in the
health industry.”
Waller hopes to see many more successes in his time at
Yokota, strengthening mission readiness and improving quality of life, and he
is looking forward to implementing new programs to make that happen.