Loadmasters win Team of the Year award

Every year one career field is selected as the Air Force Team of the Year. This year’s recipient of the award was in the loadmaster career field.

Loadmasters participated in multiple operations throughout the year. Some examples include humanitarian operations in the Pacific and Turkey to noncombatant evacuation operations and hundreds of training missions.

As a part of winning the award, five loadmasters have been selected to receive the award from across the Air Force.

Senior Airman Nicholas Cunningham, an aircraft loadmaster with the 37th AS was one of five Airmen selected from more than 3,000 loadmasters to receive the award in their field.

He was selected due to the way he carries himself as an Airman.

“Cunningham epitomizes the professional aviator image,” said Staff Sgt. Rob Bowman, 37th Airlift Squadron loadmaster instructor.  “With impeccable job performance both on and off the flightline coupled with a strict adherence to guidance and leadership direction. When candidates were being considered to receive this award, Cunningham was the obvious choice.”

The selection to represent his career field came as a surprise, Cunningham said.

“Being selected was a very pleasant surprise, I’ve had a few smaller level awards in the past but nothing anywhere near this scale,” Cunningham said. “To be where I’m at in my career, representing not only the people I work with but people who have been doing this a very long time is a privileged responsibility.”

Bowman said that selecting Cunningham was an easy choice.

“Cunningham was a great selection to accept this award, he keeps a very high standard of appearance and is well versed in customs and courtesies,” Bowman said.

But his performance isn’t about winning awards, it’s about doing what he loves.

“I love what I do, I have a fantastic job,” Cunningham said. “There are few jobs out there where you can see an immediate impact on what you do.”