Stephanie Van, currently the secretary in the environmental department for MCAS Yuma, also coaches the station’s men’s basketball team.
Not often does a person come along who has the dogged determination and relentless work ethic to be a force in the world. Lucky enough for MCAS Yuma, we have characters with these traits in abundance, characters like Stephanne Van.
Van is currently a secretary in the environmental department, but has been a familiar face at the Provost Marshall’s Office for years, moving to environmental after becoming a Sergeant. In addition to her daily job on station, she is also the head coach of MCAS Yuma’s men’s basketball team and the president of the MCAS Yuma American Federation of Government Employees Union.
“She’s outgoing, charismatic and takes command,†said Cpl. David Burck, a Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron Patrolman, and boyfriend to Van. “She is extremely passionate about everything she does. If she’s doing something, she does it right. With her it’s 100 percent or nothing.â€
Van stands at five-foot-nine, with pale blonde hair, fair complexion and a smile distinct as her personality. She was raised in San Jose, Calif., before enlisting in the Air Force. She served four years in security forces at Hollowman Air Force Base, N.M.
“Everyone should try the military once,†said Van, 35. “My father and my uncle were both military and I wanted to follow in those footsteps.
