Photo By Capt. Traci Howells | The Missouri Air National Guard 2017 Outstanding Airmen of the year are joined by...... read more read more
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. — The Missouri Air National Guard’s top performers of 2017 were announced at the Outstanding Airmen of the Year Banquet held here Thursday.
Maj. Gen. Steve Danner, Missouri Adjutant General, recognized more than a dozen Citizen-Airmen from the 131st Bomb Wing, headquartered here, the 139th Airlift Wing, based at Rosecrans Air National Guard Base, in St. Joseph, and from the Jefferson City-based Joint Forces Headquarters for their unit-level awards, with his recognition coin, prior to kicking off the evening’s event.
Winners in the wing-level enlisted categories competed for state-level honors. Those winners are:
Airman category: Senior Airman Jael Watson, 131st BW
Non-Commissioned Officer category: Staff Sgt. Nanci Young, 139th AW
Senior Noncommissioned Officer category: Senior Master Sgt. Matthew Mullins, 131st BW
First Sergeant category: Master Sgt. Kirsten Inwood, 131st BW
Brig. Gen. Michael Francis, assistant adjutant general-air, and Chief Master Sgt. Hamlett, Missouri command chief, presided over the ceremony, and presented each enlisted winner with a Minuteman statue trophy and the Air Force Commendation Medal in recognition of their service and accomplishments across the year.
“These Airmen have performed admirably — in their AFSCs and in demonstrated leadership in their wings and in their communities,” said Francis. “Each deserves great personal credit for this accomplishment, but for every winner that I spoke with, each also had a mentor that gave them coaching and critical feedback that helped them along the way. Thank you to those leaders and supervisors for being a catalyst for excellence, by our winners and across our wings.”
Master Sgt. Bernadine Eastridge, 139th AW Staff, received the Missouri Air National Guard Command Chief Award. This special recognition is awarded to a top performer amongst all enlisted nominees not otherwise recognized in their category, and was selected by the three Command Chief Master Sergeants: Joseph Hamlett from Joint Forces Headquarters; Kris Neros from the 139th AW; and Jessica Settle from the 131st BW.
“The process to select our winners was rigorous, and the margin that separated our winners was razor-slim,” said Hamlett. “I’m incredibly impressed by the quality of the packets submitted that reflect the exemplary performance of our Missouri Air Guardsmen. Each Airman recognized is a credit to themselves, to their state of Missouri and to the Air National Guard.”
Unit-level award winners were:
Airman of the Year category:
- Senior Airman Jael Watson, 131st Maintenance Squadron
- Senior Airman Chayla Hurd, 139th Medical Group
- Senior Airman Mitchel Cochran, Joint Force Headquarters
NCO of the Year category:
- Tech. Sgt. Matthew Lakin, 239th Combat Communications Squadron
- Staff Sgt. Nanci Young, 139th AW Staff
SNCO of the Year category:
- Senior Master Sgt. Matthew Mullins, 131st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
- Master Sgt. Bernadine Eastridge, 139th AW Staff
- Senior Master Sgt. Paula Runyon, Joint Force Headquarters
First Sergeant of the Year category:
- Master Sgt. Kirsten Inwood, 131st Medical Group
- Master Sgt. Paul Jackson, 139th Mission Support Group
Company Grade Officer of the Year:
- Capt. Ryan Forristal, 131st Logistics Readiness Squadron
- 1st Lt. Michael Lewis, 139th Mission Support Group
- 1st Lt. Sean Navarro, Joint Force Headquarters
Field Grade Officer:
- Maj. Jeffrey Bishop, 131st BW Staff
- Maj. Kristie Miller, 139th Medical Group
The state-level enlisted award winners will go on to compete at the Air National Guard level.
| Date Taken: | 01.06.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 01.06.2018 10:38 |
| Story ID: | 261444 |
| Location: | WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, MO, US |
| Web Views: | 764 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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