WESTANNA HARVEY BOBBITT,
COLONEL, UNITED STATES AIR FORCE, (RETIRED)

Colonel Bobbitt is a native Floridian, born and raised in Sneads, Florida as the youngest of eight children. She earned an Associate of Arts degree from Chipola Junior College in Marianna, Florida in 1975. She graduated from the University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida in 1977 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Secondary Education. She earned a Master of Science degree in Administration from Central Michigan University in 1988.

Colonel Bobbitt entered the Air Force in May 1979 and was commissioned a second lieutenant at Officers' Training School, Medina Air Base, San Antonio, Texas. During her twenty six years of active military service, she served in numerous assignments to include: Executive Support Officer to the Commander, 89th Military Airlift Wing, Andrews Air Force (AAFB), Maryland: home of Air Force One—the presidential fleet; Director, Equal Opportunity and Human Relations, 1st Tactical Fighter Wing, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia; Executive Support Officer to the Commander, Pacific Air Forces Logistics Support Center and Chief of Protocol to the Commander, 313th Air Division, Kadena Air Base, Japan; Headquarters Section Commander, 1776th Mission Support Squadron, AAFB; Executive Support Officer to the Commander, 1776th Air Base Wing, AAFB; Air Officer Commanding, Cadet Squadron Sixteen, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado; Director of Protocol, Headquarters Fifth Air Force and U.S. Forces Japan, Yokota AFB, Japan; Commander, 32nd Student Squadron, Squadron Officers’ School, Maxwell AFB, Montgomery, Alabama; Protocol Officer to the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, The Pentagon; Chief of Executive Services and Commander, Headquarters Squadron Section, Air University, Maxwell AFB; Director of Personnel for the 2001 Joint Task Force Inaugural Committee, Washington, D.C.; Senior Military Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower and Reserve Affairs at the Pentagon; Director of the Air Force Inaugural Liaison Office for the 2005 Joint Task Force Armed Forces Inaugural Committee, Bolling AFB; and Special Assistant to the Commander of the Air Force District of Washington Reserve Affairs Office, Rosslyn, VA..

Colonel Bobbitt's military awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit;
Defense Meritorious Service Medal; Air Force Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters; Air Force Commendation Medal; Air Force Achievement Medal; Air Force Outstanding Unit Award; AF Organizational Excellence Award; National Defense Service
Medal; Air Force Overseas Ribbon Long; Air Force Longevity Service; and the Air Force Training Ribbon. Colonel Bobbitt is a graduate of Squadron Officer's School and Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell AFB, Alabama. She completed her Senior Service School as a National Defense Fellow with the Atlantic Council of the United States, Washington, D. C. She is also a distinguished graduate of the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute at Patrick AFB, Florida. She is a lifetime member of the Air Force Association, University of Florida Alumni Association and the Association of Black Alumni. She is an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, INC., Melbourne-Palm Bay Alumnae Chapter and The Links, Incorporated, Brevard County Chapter. She is an appointed Board of Directors member for the University of Florida Alumni Association, Association of Black Alumni and the first appointed Chairperson for the Scholarship Committee (UFAA/ABA).

She is married to Jimmy R. Bobbitt, Commander, U.S. Navy (Retired) of Cocoa, FL. Their daughter, Jasmine R. Bobbitt is a captain in the Air Force and is stationed at Joint Base Langley-Ft Eustis, Hampton, VA. Jasmine’s twin brother James R. Bobbitt preceded her in death on 07 May 2004. After 53 combined years of honorable service with the USAF and USN, Colonel Bobbitt and her husband retired in West Melbourne, Florida in June 2005.

Colonel Bobbitt continues to be an involved member of her local community. Her volunteer activities include: Co-Chair, Social Actions; Political Awareness and Involvement Committee; Chair, Public Relations Committee; past Chair, of a mentoring youth group for teen girls ages 14-18 entitled Growing and Empowering Myself Successfully (GEMS), Committee, and advisor to Miss Debutante 2010 with Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, INC., Melbourne-Palm Bay Alumnae Chapter (DST, INC., MPBAC). She is a trained poll watcher and has routinely worked 12-15 hour days at the polls on three occasions. She is a devoted health care advocate with specific interests in mental health and societal issues which discriminately affect the disenfranchised in our communities, to include, but not limited to: depression in youths, Suicide Awareness and Prevention; Domestic Violence Awareness and Prevention and, Obesity Awareness and Prevention. She is an engaged volunteer member of the Women’s History Month Program Committee for the Women’s Business Center at Florida Institute of Technology. She is the author of several pro bono newspaper articles for Ebony News Today. Colonel Bobbitt currently attends Calvary Chapel Melbourne.

OTHER:
Alumnus of the Year, Chipola Junior College, Marianna, FL, 1995-1996
Panelist, Federal Employed Women (FEW) Program, Maxwell Air Force Base, AL, 2000
Survivor of 9/11 Terrorist Attack on the Pentagon, Washington, DC
Crisis and Emergency Management Coordinator Post 9/11 Terrorist Attack, The Pentagon
Air Force Senior Military Assistant for the United States Overseas (USO), “Thanksgiving Holiday Support our Troops Tour” post 9/11, Nov 2001
Keystone Speaker for FEW, Ft Myer Army Officers’ Club, Arlington, VA, 2002
Brevard County Volunteer, Neighborhood Team Captain, Organizing for America, 2003/4
Brevard County Volunteer, Public Relations, Community Activist and Organizer, 2006
Commencement Speaker, Chipola College, Marianna, FL, 05 May 2007
Graduate, Brevard County Citizens’ Academy, Viera, FL, 08 May 2007
South Brevard County Community Volunteer Public Relations Activist, 2007-Present Date
Miss Delta Sweetheart, (DST, INC., MPBAC), 2008
Presenter, First Annual Brevard County Onyx Awards, Nov 2008
Citizen of the Year, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, INC, GAMMA NU, Cocoa, FL, 2009
Speaker: Suicide Awareness and Prevention, DST, INC., MPBAC, Clarissa E. Hall Debutante Ball Season, 2009
Honored by Orlando Chief of Police for Support of Those Who Serve, 2010
Career Panelist, DST, INC., MPBAC, Clarissa E. Hall Debutante Ball Season, 2011
Speaker and presenter in Recognition of the Documented Original Tuskegee Airmen, DST, INC., MPBAC, Black Heritage Calendar Fest, Feb 2011
Community Outreach Presentation to the Chief of Police, Melbourne, FL, 2011
Introduction of civil rights activist, motivational speaker and author, Dick Gregory, Inaugural Dinner, Space Coast Chapter of the National Congress of Black Women, 2011
Twice recognized for her community service with DST, INC., MPBAC, 2008 & 2011
Volunteer, Martin Luther King Coalition, South Brevard, FL, 2009-Present
Volunteer, Val Demings for Congress, 10th District, Orlando, FL, 2010-2012
Volunteer, Organizing for America, June 2012-Present Date
Volunteer, Political Awareness and Involvement, South Brevard County Branch of the NAACP, 2009-2010; 2012
Remembering 9/11, American Legion Posts 81 & 191, Survivor, The Pentagon, 11 Sep 2011

HOBBIES: Family; volunteering, reading; events planning; dancing, walking and biking