Will continue to serve in the Missouri Air National Guard
ST. LOUIS, Mo. — State Rep. Steve Roberts, Jr., 77th District, has commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force and will continue to serve as a member of the Missouri Air National Guard.
Roberts recently completed Total Force Officer Training at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. “I am honored for the opportunity the Air National Guard has given me to serve our country and state, in addition to my duties as State Representative,” said Roberts. He has served as a member of the Missouri Air National Guard since January 2018.
“This commission marks one of the most meaningful accomplishments of my career in public service,” Roberts said. “The Air Force has offered me a unique opportunity to serve my country and I look forward to the challenges and responsibilities of this new role.”
The officer training course included leadership development, team management, academic courses in Air Force history and cross-cultural competence, and military and weapons training. The rigorous nine-and-a-half-week program culminated in a mock deployment, during which Roberts was selected to lead his flight as an intelligence officer and was responsible for planning and executing the unit’s war game simulation and his squadron’s combat communications.
“Officer Training School was definitely tough,” Roberts said. “But anything worth doing is difficult, and this is one of the most worthwhile things I have done.”
The mission of the Officer Training School, according to a message to OTS selectees from Commandant Peter G. Bailey, is “to educate and train officers of character, who are committed to the Air Force Core Values—equipped to lead and ready to win.” The program is designed to instill confidence and discipline, and to test participants both mentally and physically. Roberts credits the experience with that and more.
“At officer training, I have grown as a leader, a public servant, and a person. What I’ve learned in my training will not only benefit me in my military service, but in my work in the state legislature and daily life, as well.”
Roberts views his role in the Missouri Air National Guard as a natural extension of his other work in the public service arena. “This experience gave me a greater insight into the commitment and sacrifice that the men and women in uniform give to serving our nation. I will continue to be an advocate for veterans and their families,” he added.
“I am committed to using my skills to serve in any way that I can,” Roberts said. “Whether it’s as a prosecutor working on the front lines for criminal justice reform, as a state representative fighting for social and economic justice, or now as an officer in the Air Force supporting our active duty troops, I am grateful for any and all opportunities to be of service to the people of Missouri and our country.”
Roberts was a member of the Air Force’s historic “Godzilla” class 19-07, the school’s largest ever graduating class, with over 800 officer trainees.
“It was a humbling experience to be a part of something so big, so important, and with so much history,” Roberts said.
In addition to his work as a state representative and in the Air National Guard, Roberts is a candidate for
the Missouri Senate, 5th District of St. Louis, in the August 2020 election.
About Steve Roberts
Roberts is a fourth generation St. Louisan, whose parents and grandparents overcame segregation and discrimination to establish successful careers and become civic leaders. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Communication Studies from the University of Miami and received his law degree from Pepperdine University School of Law. While in law school, Roberts worked in the US Congress as a legislative intern, as a certified law clerk with the District Attorney’s Office in the city of Compton, CA, and assisted the Counsel to Secure Justice in New Delhi, India, to help victims of violent sexual assault.
Following the events in Ferguson, MO, in 2014, Roberts returned to serve his community as a prosecutor for the city of St. Louis, where he participated in over 100 cases, from minor weapons offenses to homicides.
He is a member of the Missouri Bar and US District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, a lifetime member of the Mound City Bar Association, a lifetime member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. and a founder and former president of the St. Louis chapter of the National Black Prosecutors Association. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Missouri Legislative Black Caucus for the House and Senate. Roberts is also a member of the Air National Guard.
