Photo By Staff Sgt. Dakota Strait | U.S. Air Force Airmen from the 186th Air Refueling Wing are recognized with Prestigious 2026 Excellence and Leadership Awards at Key Field Air National Guard Base, Miss., Dec. 11, 2025. The award winners rose to the top among all Key Field’s high-performing personnel and join the ranks of previous winners of these awards at the 186th ARW—the standard by which other are measured. (Air National Guard Photo by Master Sgt. Justin Brown) see less
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Airmen from the 186th Recognized with Prestigious 2026 Excellence and Leadership Awards
Key Field Air National Guard Base, Miss. -- Six airmen of the 186th Air Refueling Wing (ARW), Meridian, Mississippi, have been honored with distinguished awards. The awards include the 2026 Airmen of the Year (AOY), Sonny Montgomery Patriot Award, and the Chief Master Sgt. Wayne Benthall Leadership Award. Each year, candidates are selected at the wing level and put forward for consideration at the state level.
“We are immensely proud of our Airmen of the Year and other distinguished award winners, whose performance and leadership reflect exceptional dedication, skill, and service,” said Deputy Commander Col. Joseph Reid. “Their outstanding accomplishments in both their duties and the communities they serve set a standard of excellence that inspires our entire Wing.”
The following individuals were recognized as AOY award recipients:
Airman of the Year: Airman First Class Ashton R. Bailey is a Systems Administrator at 186th Air Component Operations Squadron (ACOS) at Key Field. He provides communications support across multiple domains and systems to the 186th Air Operations Group, the 601st Air Operations Center, and the Joint Air Component Coordination Element. He also provides support for the First Air Force, Air Force Forces Staff, A6/Communications, National Level Exercises and Contingency Operations like the Defense Support to Civil Authorities (DSCA), and Homeland Defense Operations.
Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year: Tech. Sgt. Tyler Fleming serves as an Emergency Management Craftsman with the 186th Civil Engineering Squadron. His duties include maintaining installation emergency preparedness and response as well as providing Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense training to all Wing personnel. Recently, he overhauled the base’s Emergency Management Program to ensure the unit is prepared to respond to and recover from any emergency.
Senior Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year: Senior Master Sgt. Merche Copeland is the Senior Enlisted Leader of the 186th Medical Group. She oversees the Individual Medical Readiness for the 186th ARW and ensures timely medical service is provided to over 1,000 personnel across the Wing. Her keen sense of readiness management helped ensure hundreds of dental exams, immunizations, and other medical procedures were conducted to maintain a high Total Force Readiness rate.
First Sergeant of the Year: Senior Master Sgt. Ira Hamilton serves as the Wing First Sergeant for the 186th ARW and is a key advisor to the wing commander on matters involving personnel, morale, discipline, and welfare. In this role, Hamilton established the First Sergeant’s Council Diamond Sharp Award to recognize outstanding Wing members whose performance exemplifies the Air Force core values, strengthens team cohesion, and contributes to long-term mission success. Most recently, Hamilton served as the 506th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron First Sergeant, where he was responsible for over 200 personnel who offloaded more than 13 million pounds of fuel in support of approximately 600 receiver aircraft during a recent deployment.
The 2026 Sonny Montgomery Patriot Award winner is Senior Master Sergeant Richard A. Cavenaugh, who serves as the Quality Assurance Superintendent for the 248th Combat Airfield Operations Squadron (CAOS). He is the CAOS commander’s principal advisor on quality assurance and is responsible for ensuring the safety, integrity, and reliability of the unit’s combat and support assets. Senior Master Sgt. Cavenaugh leads a team of inspectors and oversees a comprehensive quality assurance program, enforcing stringent technical standards across radar, airfield, and weather system maintenance. His oversight is vital to ensure successful execution of the squadron’s mission.
The 2026 Chief Master Sergeant Wayne Benthall Leadership Award has been awarded to Master Sergeant Jason Horton, Flight Service Center Noncommissioned Officer in Charge in the 186th Logistics Readiness Squadron. Horton manages critical logistics functions and verifies mission capability requirements—ensuring accountability, sustaining daily mission capable parts readiness, and providing maintenance support to ensure aircraft achieved the United States’ national objectives.
These award winners rose to the top among all Key Field’s high-performing personnel and join the ranks of previous winners of these awards at the 186th ARW—the standard by which other are measured.
The 186th ARW provides over 1,100 personnel and eight KC-135R aircraft to Air Mobility Command for worldwide operations. Additional units at Key Field include the 238th Air Support Operations Squadron, the 248th Air Traffic Control Squadron, and the 186th Air Operations Group.
