LIEUTENANT COLONEL TREK C. POTTER
DETACHMENT COMMANDER
PROFESSOR OF AEROSPACE STUDIES
DEPARTMENT CHAIR
Lt Col Potter entered the Air Force in 2001 as an enlisted Civil Engineering Operations Manager and was commissioned in 2007 through the Air Force ROTC program at Detachment 850 after graduating from Weber State University with a degree in Computer Science and Multimedia. He attained a master’s degree in Information Technology Management from the Naval Postgraduate School in 2012 and in Military Operational Art and Science from the Air Command and Staff College in 2019.
The majority of Lt Col Potter’s commissioned career has been dedicated to the operations and defense of Air Force information and communication networks. He has directed cyber operations across the globe from remote Cyber Centers in California, Virginia, and Germany. In his most recent position, he served as Deputy Chief of the Information Warfare Division at Ramstein Air Base, Germany where he oversaw the integration and effective employment of non-kinetic effects, including Cyber, Information Operations, Electronic Warfare, and Special Programs into the Air Component support for the European and African theaters of military operations. Under his leadership, his teams performed critical roles in delivering aid to refugees from Afghanistan during OPERATION ALLIES REFUGE and support to Ukrainian military forces throughout the current Russia-Ukraine Crisis.
Contact Information:
trek.potter@afrotc.utah.edu
MAJOR JAN M. LIECHTY
EDUCATION FLIGHT COMMANDER
Major Jan M. Liechty is the Education Flight Commander, AFROTC Detachment 850. He serves as Assistant Professor of Aerospace Studies at the University of Utah. He is responsible for recruiting, training, and commissioning cadets at The University of Utah and from six cross-town colleges.
Major Liechty was born in Utah and grew up in an Air Force family, living in numerous locations across the country and overseas. He entered the Air Force through AFROTC Det 855 at Brigham Young University in 2006, graduating from Utah Valley University. As a Force Support Officer, he has performed a wide array of jobs in many locations, both in garrison and deployed. He is married to Stacia Young Liechty of Bountiful, Utah. They have six children together: three boys and three girls.
Contact Information:
jan.liechty@afrotc.utah.edu
CAPTAIN ABBY G. KEFFER
OPERATIONS FLIGHT COMMANDER
Captain Keffer enlisted as an Active Duty Command and Control Battle Manager in 2005 and commissioned through Officer Training School as a Force Support officer in 2016. Prior to her current position, she led 74 people in 2 sections, oversaw 37 commander support staffs and advised installation command teams in matters of deployments and human resource customer service as Military Personnel Flight Commander at the 673d Force Support Squadron, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. Captain Keffer deployed to Afghanistan, Africa, and Qatar in support of Operations ENDURING FREEDOM, INHERENT RESOLVE, FREEDOM’S SENTINEL and NOBLE EAGLE.
Captain Keffer incorporates her passions for teaching and leader development as she shares her military experience and delivers academic instruction on Air and Space Force history, heritage, and values.
Contact Information:
abby.keffer@afrotc.utah.edu
TECHNICAL SERGEANT WESLEY D. DICKINSON
ROTC TRAINING INSTRUCTOR
Technical Sergeant Wesley D. Dickinson is the NCOIC of Detachment 850 and serves as Assistant Professor of Aerospace Studies at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah. He is the focal point for the cadet life-cycle process and is responsible for oversight and the creating and maintaining records for the University of Utah ROTC cadets as well as cadets from six other colleges in the Greater Salt Lake area.
Sergeant Dickinson enlisted in the United States Air Force Delayed Entry Program and began basic military training at Lackland AFB, January of 2012. His assignment locations include Gulfport, Mississippi; Fort Walton Beach, Florida; and San Antonio, Texas. Sergeant Dickinson has been deployed 29 times, accumulating over 700 days. Sergeant Dickinson's military background is in Civil Engineering, and with his very unique career path in the Air Force, intends to mentor and grow all future cadets at Det 850 into officers of character and respect.
Contact Information:
wesley.dickinson@afrotc.utah.edu
STAFF SERGEANT CALVIN R. COOK
NCOIC ADMINISTRATOR
Staff Sergeant Calvin R. Cook is the NCOIC of Administrative Management at AFROTC Detachment 850, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah. He is responsible for creating and maintaining records for the University of Utah Cadets as well as cadets from six other “cross-town” colleges in the Salt Lake area.
Staff Sergeant Cook enlisted into the Air Force in July 2014 under the Administration career field. His assignments include Korea, Japan, and Florida. Sergeant Cook has also spent 180 days deployed to Kuwait.
Contact Information:
calvin.cook@afrotc.utah.edu
MS. NATALIE RICHARDS-GEBBIA
ACADEMIC PROGRAM SUPPORT SPECIALIST
Ms. Natalie Richards-Gebbia has managed the departmental operations of AFROTC Det 850 and the Department of Aerospace Studies at the University Utah since August 2020. She earned a B.A. in French and a B.A. in English in 2012 and an M.A. in Languages and Literature with an emphasis in French in 2014, all from the University of Utah.
In the interim, she has taught in the U’s French Department, directed the marketing for an architecture firm, lived in a small town in southern France as a part-time English teacher, played of hours of background harp music during high tea at the Grand America Hotel, edited a biography published by Johns Hopkins University Press, managed the shipping department of the largest sole supplier of harp music, strings, and accessories in the United States, and earned a Landscape Architecture certificate at Harvard University. Her professional specialties include overusing parentheses and filling every office she’s ever worked in with plants.
Contact Information:
nat.richards-gebbia@afrotc.utah.edu
