Story and photo by
Airman 1st Class Noah D. Coger
86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
An 86th Airlift Wing Law Center Airman was awarded Airlifter of the Week, Aug. 9.
Col. Matthew S. Husemann, 86th Airlift Wing vice commander, and Chief Master Sgt. Ernesto J. Rendon Jr., 86th Airlift Wing command chief, coined Airman 1st Class Sidney A. Diaz, a general law paralegal. He was recognized for his attention to detail, great attitude, and outstanding customer service skills.
As a general law paralegal, Diaz supports customers at the law center’s front desk by reviewing packages and requests. Since his arrival at Ramstein Air Base last November, he’s reviewed multiple driving revocations, five private organization constitutions, and eight fundraising requests. He has also written dozens of legal reviews, drafted 18 wills, produced 2,001 powers of attorney, and notarized more than 5,256 documents.
“He never complains, he’s always hard-working, and is always willing to learn,” said Master Sgt. Adam McConnaughy, law center noncommissioned officer in charge of training and readiness. “He’s a self-starter that really knows how to overcome and adapt to any problems. I’d pick him for my team any day.”
Diaz is said to perform well above his rank by training Airmen, noncommissioned officers, and junior officers on various tasks. He also volunteered to be the sole legal representative at the exercise pre-deployment line and at the Emergency Operations Center. Additionally, as the cyber-security liaison for the office, Diaz has been credited with re-imaging over 30 office laptops which resulted in minimum downtime for personnel and customers.
“You do what we expect of NCOs that are much older than yourself,” said Rendon. “I’m very proud of you and you should be very proud of yourself. Don’t lose that mindset because that is what is going to continue to make you successful.”
Diaz was grateful that his hard work did not go unnoticed and credits his leadership for making his recognition possible.
“It’s an honor to be recognized, I have a lot of great leaders that have invested a lot of time into me and I just try and follow their example,” said Diaz. “I hope I can keep on doing the work that has made me worthy of this award.”
The Airlifter of the Week program recognizes Ramstein Airmen who, through their hard work and dedication, make the 86th AW the “World’s Best Wing.”