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Hurlburt Sergeant keeps base on alert

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Mark Lazane
  • 1 Special Operations Wing Public Affairs
HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. --  A staff sergeant assigned to the 1st Special Operations Security Forces Squadron was named the 2007-2008 Florida Missing Children's Day State/Federal Officer of the Year award at an awards ceremony Oct. 27. 

Sergeant Esther Werstler was presented the award during a ceremony held in Tallahassee. 

Sergeant Werstler developed and implemented both the Amber Alert and Missing/Abducted Child Alert child protection protocols used throughout Hurlburt Field.

"Sergeant Werstler's attitude of continually striving to improve how this unit accomplishes the mission is indicative of all the Air Commando Defenders that comprise the 1st Special Operations Security Forces Squadron," said Major Keith Williams, 1 SOSFS commander. 

Sergeant Werstler, a 10-year Air Force veteran from Pierceton, Ind., developed simplified checklists containing standard operating procedures for the initiation, investigation and resolution of the alerts on base. 

"I have a six-year-old son, so this project meant something from the beginning," 

Sergeant Werstler said of the task, which took approximately four months to complete.
In addition to the awards presentation, Sergeant Werstler attended the 2008 Florida Department of Law Enforcement Missing Children's Banquet. 

"After being at the FDLE Missing Children's Banquet, it brought a new perspective to what I did," Sergeant Werstler said. "I actually was able to meet Caylee Anthony's grandparents, Ed Smart (Elizabeth Smart's father) and other families with missing children." 

The Amber Alert Program is a voluntary partnership between law enforcement agencies, broadcasters, transportation agencies and the wireless industry, to activate an urgent bulletin in the most serious child-abduction cases. 

The system works to quickly get critical information out to the public should a child abduction occur in the local area. Law enforcement officials gather specifics about the case, such as a vehicle description, license plate number and any other pertinent information and distribute them throughout the base by email, phone and other means. 

Three missing children have been returned unharmed since the program's inception on Hurlburt Field. 

Sergeant Werstler is quick to defer any recognition for her part in the recent successes.
"Even though I developed the program, finding those three children was a joint effort between the quick reaction checklist and the flight members who found the children," Sergeant Werstler said. 

In contrast, Major Williams believes Sergeant Werstler had a larger role in finding the children than she is willing to admit. 

"The procedures she implemented allowed us to integrate and more effectively coordinate with our local, state and federal teammates, resulting in a much safer and secure environment for Team Hurlburt members to work and live." 

"I'm very proud of her efforts and the efforts of all the Air Commando Defenders that defend this base and the nation everyday with the utmost enthusiasm and patriotism."