Photo By 94th Airlift Wing | U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. David Ordway, center, 100th Civil Engineer Squadron fire...... read more read more
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RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany - Tech. Sgt. David Ordway, 100th Civil Engineer Squadron fire protection station chief from Cabot, Arkansas, recently received the U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces-Africa NCO of the Year award at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.
Airmen competed within their units, followed by wing level, then major command level, where USAFE-AFAFRICA named their winners. Now they will go on to compete at the Air Force-level for the coveted 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year Award, which will be announced later this year.
“I had the opportunity to compete for the USAFE/AFAFRICA NCO of the year for 2014 as well as a 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year nominee,” said Ordway. “The criteria were leadership and performance in primary duties, significant self-improvement, as well as base and community involvement.”
Ordway thanked his leadership and family for setting him up for success.
“I was really lucky this year and I’m not saying that half-heartedly,” the fire protection station chief said. “I had the opportunity to be a part of a lot of really good teams, had awesome leadership, even better teammates and an incredibly supportive family that helped me throughout the year.”
This year was busy for the technical sergeant; prior to coming back to the fire station he was the section chief of wing readiness inspections, a member of the inspector general inspections agency, and also served as the superintendent of that section. Additionally, he was temporarily the 100th Air Refueling Wing staff agencies first sergeant, and had numerous involvements with other agencies.
Ordway acknowledges the people he works with that enabled him to succeed.
“This was in no way a singular effort, I’m really excited and very humbled at the opportunity to be recognized at such an awesome level,” the Arkansas native said. “I can look at every single line on that awards package and see faces of individuals, leaders and my family who supported me. They worked just as hard, if not harder, and invested just as much on each one of those actions or initiatives.
“They gave me the tools to succeed and supported me through the process, and as a team we were successful,” he said. “So really it’s a win for each level — 100th CES and the 100th ARW IG, but really the 100th and Team Mildenhall as a whole. It was the remarkable Airmen of this base, and the love and patience of my family that helped me get to where I am today.”
Ordway enjoys his role on RAF Mildenhall and hopes to have a positive impact on the Airmen of tomorrow.
“I enjoy developing and building Airmen, that is wholeheartedly my favorite part of being an NCO,” Ordway said. “I love being able to have that initial influence on an Airman, to invest in their personal growth and to set a positive precedence. As NCOs, we’re empowered with the awesome responsibility of building professional Airmen and leaders, while reinforcing positive characteristics. I love doing that.”
The Airman is looking forward to a long Air Force career.
“Carry on in the Air Force? Absolutely!” he exclaimed. “Yesterday I had the opportunity to reenlist on a CV-22B Osprey, so that was pretty amazing! That will take me to 14 years of service. I was able to acquire retainability to go become a military training instructor at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, later this year. I’m really excited to gain that perspective of the Air Force and continue along my personal goal, which is development. I get the unique opportunity to be at the ground level of building Airmen. I know I’m going to serve at least 20 years and go wherever the Air Force takes me, progressing however they’ll let me.”
The award-winning NCO explained his passion for continuing to have a positive impact and build effective teams and leaders. His energy hasn’t gone unnoticed by his superiors.
“Hands down Tech. Sgt. Ordway has the personal drive and commitment to consistently get the job done, being the first to take on the challenging tasks,” said Master Sgt. Jason Ramirez, 100th CES assistant chief of operations and fire emergency services from Honolulu, Hawaii. “Sergeant Ordway is phenomenal in living our Air Force core values, especially ‘Excellence in All We Do.’ His focus on developing our future leaders is his passion. I'm excited for his next assignment where his leadership and guidance can impact more teams and individuals.”
| Date Taken: | 03.05.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 03.18.2015 09:26 |
| Story ID: | 157334 |
| Location: | GB |
| Web Views: | 80 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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