AFNWC employee receives AFIT Foundation’s Civilian Young Alumni award

  • Published
  • By Aimee Malone
  • Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center
HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah --  An employee of the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center was recently honored for his achievements with the Air Force Institute of Technology Foundation’s Civilian Young 
Alumni award.

Wyatt Rabe graduated from AFIT in 2023 with a master’s degree in material science. 

Rabe attended AFIT through the Nuclear Expertise for Advancing Technologies Center, which aims to increase the number of nuclear enterprise professionals. He did not have a service obligation, but he chose to work for the Air Force after graduation because of the opportunities it offered.

“The Air Force gave me opportunities where other organizations wouldn't have been able to,” he said. “I have the ability to do so much more with the Air Force, whereas if I were anywhere else, I would essentially have my wings clipped.”

He is currently an acquisitions engineer with AFNWC’s Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Systems Directorate. His primary role is to review contracts and contractors’ work to ensure that all weapon system requirements are met.

The Department of the Air Force is entrusted to manage billions of taxpayers’ dollars every year and is expected to use those funds in the most efficient and effective ways possible.

“The Air Force may be the customer for the contractors, but our customers are ultimately the American people,” Rabe said.

He serves as the lead engineer for more than 20 subject matter experts for four different ICBM components. His work has progressed these components from qualification to early manufacturing. In addition, he supports other sections of the program, such as assisting the Test Equipment Section with manufacturing readiness assessments and document evaluations.

Rabe said his experience working with so many components and different teams contributed to his receipt of the award.

“I think part of what helped me stand out was I was able to show that AFIT programs have applications beyond research and development,” he said. “Our education applies to the entire lifecycle. I get to pick up the research and tools that others have worked diligently on and apply them to the contracts and the products being developed today.”

Brig. Gen. William Rogers, interim AFNWC commander and director of the ICBM Systems Directorate, offered his congratulations and praised Rabe’s contributions to AFNWC.

“Wyatt’s selection for this prestigious AFIT award illustrates how much he has achieved in the past few years,” Rogers said. “He supports multiple sections of our ICBM programs with his engineering expertise and is a valuable addition to AFNWC and the Air Force.”

Rabe said he is honored to receive the award, and it helps reinforce that his career is on the right path.

“I can't name very many engineers who have been able to do the things that I've done, especially so early in their careers,” he said. “I've had opportunities to guide groups of subject matter experts who have 20-plus years of experience. Being recognized [by AFIT] reinforces that I’m doing the right thing.”

The award and his work also honor a family legacy. Rabe’s grandfather was in the Air Force and worked on the Atlas missile system.

“I have his little pocketbook, and he was using the same equations that I use every day,” he said. “I never had a chance to really talk to him about those things because he passed before I got my bachelor's degree, but it's kind of a way to connect with him a little bit more.”