Sgt. Matthew Staggs (r) saved Amy Lynn Samulenas (l), an Air Force spouse, with a kidney transplant. It was the difference between life and death. Courtesy photo
691st Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Group TSgt. Matthew Staggs (r) saved an Air Force spouse whose kidney made a transplant the difference between life and death. Amy Lynn Samulenas (l), the wife of 29th Intelligence Squadron TSgt. Christopher Samulenas, could not find a donor match until Staggs stepped up after learning about the situation from a public affairs newsletter. The transplant was performed in March.
SSgt. Christian Ramos, a Reserve airman with the 9th Combat Operations Squadron, was part of the team that helped shield the International Space Station. Photo: SSgt. Laura Turner
SSgt. Christian Ramos, a Reserve airman with the 9th Combat Operations Squadron, was part of the team that helped shield the International Space Station and its astronauts from harm after an April Indian missile test took out a low-orbit satellite and launched debris toward the station. His civilian job as a coder with the NASA Johnson Space Flight Center helped him become the first and only enlisted airman to get his Reserve job.
Air Force ROTC Detachment 410 Cadet Savannah Johnson, a junior mechanical engineering student at the University of St. Thomas, is being honored for her leadership, scholastic achievement, and more. Photo: University of St. Thomas
Air Force ROTC Detachment 410 Cadet Savannah Johnson, a junior mechanical engineering student at the University of St. Thomas, is being honored for her leadership, scholastic achievement, and more. In addition to being the inaugural cadet-category winner of the SECAF Leadership Award, she was chosen for a 2019 Air Force Association Outstanding Cadet of the Year Award and a Society of American Military Engineers Award of Merit.
SSgt. Brittany Eley earned a Navy warfare device while deployed to Djibouti. Photo: MSgt. Amanda Currier
A JBSA-Lackland airman earned a Navy warfare device while deployed to Djibouti. On April 1, SSgt. Brittany Eley (r), a Joint Network Control Center team lead attached to Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa at Camp Lemonnier, was designated as a US Navy enlisted information warfare specialist. Eley is the first non-sailor to earn the distinction in the task force’s history, though the program is open to all enlisted personnel assigned to the task force.
Lt. Col. Barry “J.R.” Cupples amassed 10,000 hours in a C-130H aircraft April 5. Photo: USAF
757th Airlift Squadron navigator Lt. Col. Barry “J.R.” Cupples amassed 10,000 hours in a C-130H aircraft April 5. Cupples, a reservist who started his USAF career when he was still in high school, joined up as a loadmaster with dreams of becoming a pilot. But after learning that he couldn’t get a waiver for his poor eyesight, he charted a new course and trained as a navigator, instead. “Anything’s attainable if you work hard for it,” he said of the milestone.
A1C Gene Gunter of the 134th ARW Security Forces Squadron took second place in the Soldier of the Year category. Photo: SSgt. Darby Arnold
A1C Gene Gunter of the 134th ARW Security Forces Squadron took second place in the Soldier of the Year category at the Tennessee Army National Guard’s 2019 Best Warrior Competition. The contest, which tests participants physically and mentally, feeds a national competition. While Gunter didn’t take the top prize, he was named runner-up in the Soldier of the Year category. Although airmen aren’t allowed to move past the state level, Gunter said it was an honor to represent USAF and his wing.
US Air Force Academy cadet Kyle Haak won the 2018-19 Senior CLASS Award for men’s hockey. Photo: USAFA
US Air Force Academy cadet Kyle Haak won the 2018-19 Senior CLASS Award for men’s hockey. The awards, sponsored by Premiere Sports Management and deliberated by Division 1 coaches, the media, and fans, recognize the most stellar senior D-1 student-athletes in a variety of sports. “The Air Force coaching staff gave me a chance to play Division I hockey when no one else was willing to fully commit to a third-year, age-out, junior hockey player,” the Falcons forward said.
Maj. David Abel is the first B-Course graduate out of Holloman to come back as an instructor pilot and graduate out of the same unit. Photo: SSgt. BreeAnn Sachs
When F-16 instructor pilot Maj. David Abel (r) graduated from Hill Air Force Base’s 311st Fighter Squadron for a second time this April, he made history. “I’m the first B-Course graduate out of Holloman to come back as an instructor pilot and graduate out of the same unit,” he explained. Abel, a former T-6 Texan II instructor pilot, first came to the 311th FS for his F-16 Basic Course. “It’s not about me anymore,” he said. “I get to help bring new pilots up and build on their experiences.“
A1C Josephino Cambosa (r) is the first non-prior service airman to complete the Cyber Warfare Operations Apprentice Course. Photo: 2nd Lt. Anh Bui
A1C Josephino Cambosa (r) is the first non-prior service airman to complete the Cyber Warfare Operations Apprentice Course at Keesler AFB, Miss. Until this year, only cross-training airmen who had already completed their first enlistment were allowed to take the course and enter the cyber transport systems pipeline. “It is definitely more challenging than an average technical training I’ve been through,” said Cambosa.
Colorado ANG MSgt. Gregory Elrod retired from the Air Force in February, after over a quarter-century of service. Photo: Maj. Darin Overstreet/CANG
Colorado ANG MSgt. Gregory Elrod retired from the Air Force in February, after over a quarter-century of service. He has been conditionally offered a spot in the US Foreign Service. The former security forces airman previously managed the Colorado National Guard’s Air Active Guard and Reserve Program. He will pursue the management officer career track. “Part of the job is responding to challenging and unique situations. … My military career has definitely prepared me for that,” Elrod said.