USAFE annual award nominees

Perhaps after he arrives here March 20 for the U.S. Air Forces in Europe Annual Awards Banquet, the reality may finally settle in for Tech. Sgt. Alvaro Magana that he has been nominated as one of USAFE’s most outstanding Airmen.

“When I fly up to Germany it’ll start hitting me,” said Sergeant Magana, one of seven representatives from the 39th Air Base Wing from Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, who will be competing for USAFE honors in the category of Noncommissioned Officer of the Year. The other categories are Airman, Senior NCO, Company Grade Officer, First Sergeant, and Civilian – Categories I and II. USAFE leaders will announce the winners at the USAFE Annual Awards Banquet on March 24 at the Ramstein Officers’ Club.

Winning at USAFE and continuing on for possible Air Force-level honors is a possibility, but simply being among the 83 nominees is a “great honor,” said Sergeant Magana, the noncommissioned officer in charge of bioenvironmental engineering with the 39th Medical Group at Incirlik.

“It just made the year for me,” said Sergeant Magana, who entered his current job after nine years of special duty at Brooks City-Base, Texas, where he served as a health physics technician and a technical instructor at the school of aerospace medicine.

It was a challenging year making the transition back to his job at the wing level, but Sergeant Magana said he was able to succeed thanks to the same mentorship from his boss and the support from fellow Airmen that probably benefited all of his fellow nominees.

“Last year I never even thought of winning at the wing level,” said Sergeant Magana. “It was a great honor just to win at the group level.”
Staff Sgt. Rebecca Baker knows how he feels at this point, and she also knows what’s in store for the nominees emotionally during their upcoming week here leading up to the awards banquet.

“It was unbelievable. I’ll never forget that week – it was amazing,” said Sergeant Baker, who was named the USAFE Airman of the Year for 2004. She said the nominees were made to feel special during a week that included cultural tours off base and the opportunity to meet the USAFE commander.

And when her name was called out as a winner, “I was completely overwhelmed … the red carpet, the honor guard and the flash of the cameras. I was so touched that I was even nominated to be there in the first place,” Sergeant Baker said.

And the feeling continues. Sergeant Baker, an armament weapons
journeyman at Aviano Air Base, Italy, said it’s always in the back of her mind that people thought highly enough of her to nominate her for the award, and that inspires her to maintain high standards both personally and professionally at all times.

The nominees for this year’s awards are:

HQ USAFE:
Airman: Staff Sgt. Twan Knoten, HQ USAFE/A6 (Communications)
NCO: Tech. Sgt. Travis Goodman, HQ USAFE/A4 (Logistics)
Senior NCO: Senior Master Sgt. Herbert D. Battern, HQ USAFE/A3 (Operations)
Civilian Category I: Suzanna S. Day, HQ USAFE/A7
Civilian Category II: Virginia Thompson, HQ USAFE/SG (Medical)
CGO: Capt. Damian Schlussel, HQ USAFE/A7 (Mission Support)
 
86th Airlift Wing – Ramstein Air Base, Germany:
Airman: Senior Airman Tobi J. Zimmerman, 86th Maintenance Squadron
NCO: Staff Sgt. Robert S. Henshaw, 1st Air and Space Communications Operations Squadron
Senior NCO: Senior Master Sgt. Mark D. Marson, 786th Security Forces Squadron
1st Sgt: Master Sgt. Matthew L. Rosema, 1st Combat Communications Squadron
Civilian Category I: Derrick A. Richardson, 1st Air and Space Communications Operations Squadron
Civilian Category II: Dirk Seifert, 86th Operations Support Squadron
CGO: Capt. John C. Dereix, 86th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
 
65th Air Base Wing – Lajes Field, Azores:
Airman: Senior Airman Danielle K. Shest, 65th Mission Support Squadron    
NCO: Staff Sgt. Cheick A. Bah, 65th Medical Support Squadron
Senior NCO: Senior Master Sgt. Henry Parker III, 65th Services Squadron
1st Sgt: Master Sgt. Douglas C. Koonst, 65th Operations Support Squadron
Civilian Category I:  Melissa K. Servillon, 65th Comptroller Squadron
Civilian Category II: Franklin P. Carney, 65th Civil Engineer Squadron
CGO:  Capt. Angela M. Thompson, 65th Medical Support Squadron
 
52nd  Fighter Wing – Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany:
Airman: Airman 1st Class Dallas E. Smith, 606th Air Control Squadron
NCO: Staff Sgt. Mark A. Lebedzinski, 606th Air Control Squadron
Senior NCO: Master Sgt. Sheldon D. Sukut, 606th Air Control Squadron
1st Sgt: Master Sgt. Christopher A. Miller, 52nd Equipment Maintenance Squadron
Civilian Category I – Heather M. Hughes, 52nd Medical Operations Squadron
Civilian Category II – Derek N. Williams, 52nd Equipment Maintenance Squadron
CGO: 1st Lt. Brian Cooper, 52nd Equipment Maintenance Squadron.
 
501st Combat Support Wing – RAF Mildenhall, England:
Airman: Senior Airman Cynthia E. Atilano, 423rd Air Base Squadron
NCO: Tech. Sgt. John R. McKinney, 423rd Air Base Squadron
Senior NCO: Senior Master Sgt. Joseph A. Carenza, 422nd Communications Squadron
1st Sgt: Master Sgt. Terry W. Grimm, 420th Air Base Group
Civilian Category I: Andrea E. Gaunt, 423rd Civil Engineer Squadron
Civilian Category II: Lisa C. Sweat, 420th Air Base Group
CGO: Capt. Benjamin C. Cook IV, 423rd Air Base Squadron
 
48th Fighter Wing – RAF Lakenheath, England:
Airman: Airman 1st Class Brandie L. Stone, 48th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
NCO: Staff Sgt. Joseph A. Berberich, 48th Medical Support Squadron
Senior NCO: Master Sgt. Daniel J. Lambert, 48th Security Forces Squadron
1st Sgt: Master Sgt. Michael R. Hatcher, 85th Mission Support Squadron
Civilian Category I: Ronald E. Anderson, 48th Civil Engineer Squadron
Civilian Category II: Timothy J. Moore, 48th Logistics Readiness Squadron
CGO: Capt. Matthew W. Worling, 494th Fighter Squadron
 
435th Air Base Wing – Ramstein Air Base, Germany:
Airman: Senior Airman Christopher Gerdes, 435th Civil Engineer Squadron
NCO: Tech. Sgt. Edward Watson, 435th Materiel Maintenance Squadron
Senior NCO: Senior Master Sgt. Rene Guionnaud, Jr, 435th Logistics Readiness Squadron
1st Sgt: Master Sgt. Steve Watson, 435th Civil Engineer Squadron
Civilian Category I: Bruno Kappel, 435th Civil Engineer Squadron
Civilian Category II: Christina Fornander, 435th Mission Support Squadron
CGO: Capt. Jason Campbell, 735th Civil Engineer Squadron
 
39th Air Base Wing – Incirlik Air Base, Turkey:
Airman: Senior Airman Christopher M. Flanagan, 39th Communications Squadron
NCO: Tech. Sgt. Alvaro Magana, 39th Medical Group
Senior NCO: Senior Master Sgt. Eric J. Stone, 39th Logistics Readiness Squadron
1st Sgt: Master Sgt. Benjamin Leal Jr., 39th Maintenance Squadron
Civilian Category I: Samantha D. Mindel, 39th Medical Group
Civilian Category II: Randall P. Cummins, 39th Contracting Squadron
CGO: Capt. Cliff T. Reimer, 39th Civil Engineer Squadron
 
38th Combat Support Wing:
Airman: Airman 1st Class Ashley N. Struckmann, Det 5, 2nd Air Postal Squadron, RAF Alconbury, UK
NCO: Staff Sgt. Thedore A. Saxman, 703rd Munitions Support Squadron, Volkel Air Base, Netherlands
Senior NCO: Master Sgt. Jamie L. Woody, 38th Construction and Training Squadron, Ramstein Air Base, Germany
1St Sgt: Master Sgt. Rebecca S. Brauer, 703rd Munitions Support Squadron, Volkel Air Base, Netherlands
Civilian Category I: Michelle M. Austin, 38th Combat Support Wing, Ramstein Air Base, Germany
Civilian Category II: Dieter Flachsland, 38th Construction and Training Squadron, Ramstein Air Base, Germany
CGO: 1st Lt. Davis M. Knight, 569th U.S. Forces Police Squadron, Vogelweh, Germany
 
31st Fighter Wing – Aviano Air Base, Italy:
Airman: Senior Airman Sheila L. Fish, 31st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
NCO: Staff Sgt. Amanda J. Johnson, 31st Maintenance Operations Squadron
Senior NCO: Master Sgt. Lisa G. Finuff, 31st Medical Support Squadron
1st Sgt. Master Sgt. Jeffrey J. Jacobson, 31st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
Civilian Category I: Anna Jackson, 31st Services Squadron
Civilian Category II: Gianpietro Bulli, 31st Civil Engineering Squadron
CGO: Capt. Joshua D. DeMotts, 31st Civil Engineer Squadron
 
16th Air Force:
Airman: Senior Airman Daniel Strom, 2nd Air Support Operations Squadron
NCO: Tech. Sgt. Shane Hobrecht, 2nd Air Support Operations Squadron
Senior NCO: Master Sgt. Howard Teesdale, 32nd AOC
1st Sgt: Senior Master Sgt. Russell Hastings, 2nd Air Support Operations Squadron
Civilian Category I: Lisa Hames, Det 3
Civilian Category II: Hunter Hustus,
Det 3
CGO: Maj. Bryan Tash, 2nd Air Support Operations Squadron
 
100th Air Refueling Wing, RAF Mildenhall, England:
Airman: Airman 1st Class Paul J. Bradford, 100th Civil Engineer Squadron
NCO: Tech. Sgt. Russell C. Anderson, 100th Maintenance Squadron
Senior NCO: Master Sgt. Scott L. Smith, 100th Maintenance Squadron
1st Sgt: Senior Master Sgt. John L. Dunham, 100th Logistics Readiness Squadron
Civilian Category I: Darrell Pojas, 100th Logistics Readiness Squadron
Civilian Category II: Selina Williams, 100th Comptroller Squadron
CGO: Capt. Rafael H. Garza, 100th Operations Support Squadron

To purchase tickets for the banquet, contact your wing command chief master sergeant or first sergeant.