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Show 4 HILLTOP TIMES TIMES Feb. 16, 2012 Airman 1st Class Show Staff Sgt. Trachte Master Sgt. Ball Master Sgt. Garcia Hopkins Cope Capt. Boland Crago Farver 388TH From page 1 the Brave," in describing military warriors: "Every morning in cities across the world, 2.4 million Americans wake up, put on the uniform, and kiss their loved ones goodbye and head out the door to defend freedom. In exchange they ask for nothing when the spotlight is on them, they fidget uncomfortably as if they somehow have been given undue attention. I'm no hero, they will tell you. The Soldiers, Marines, Airmen and Sailors of the United States military are simply the best among us." In addition to thanking Col. Scott Long, 388th FW commander, for the opportunity to talk to some of the top Airmen at Hill Air Force Base the general said, "The bottom line is (that) the nominees, the ones with the medallions, have an inner life of integrity, service, and excellence -- the core values that make our Air Force what it is today." Rand highlighted some qualifications of the nominees: • A nominee who loaded more than 300 JDAMs to be delivered against the enemy. • A key spouse who took on the duties of another spouse who was ill. • A nominee who volunteered for deployment outside of his weapon system bringing his Viper expertise to 160 combat missions in the MC-12. He posited the question: Why do we serve? Rand reviewed some of the previous accomplishments of warriors who fought against uncertain odds aboard B-17 bombers in World War II when it was probable 40 percent of them would not return to their home base. He mentioned the Phantom pilots' accomplishments in Vietnam who pointed the nose of their aircraft at the enemy forces on the ground when they could not save themselves, and the intense focus of an F-16 Falcon pilot Troy Gilbert, who became so focused he drove his aircraft into the ground trying to save Army rangers and others overrun by insurgent forces. While quoting a famous Spartan general at the battle of Thermopoly, the general went on to suggest that the reason Airmen serve is for the man on the left of them, the man on the right. Two Airmen were fired upon during an air operations break at Baghdad International Airport in Iraq. One received a fractured collar bone, a lacerated spleen, and other injuries. The other fared almost as badly. They were so severely injured they were put into induced comas, and the men were not able to be airlifted from the ICU they were being treated in to better care. Their commander wanted to deliver their Purple Hearts to them when they finally became conscious. When told they were near their departure and conscious, he visited them. In the ICU tent containing nearly 12 beds, across the aisle from each other, he found that one could not reply, except to have tears form in his eyes, because of all the tubes in his body. The other Airman, when presented with his Purple Heart, motioned with his arm. The commander paused thinking he was angry because of the morphine and uncertain of his reaction, but a nurse described the action as asking for a pen. When provided one, he wrote the name of his badly injured comrade with a question mark. "What do you think he asked?" Rand said. Lt. Col. Jay Sabia, 4th Fighter Squadron commander, acknowledges the 4th FS achievement upon its receiving the 388th Fighter Wing Squadron of the Year honors. Master Sgt. Kristopher Kiger holds the guidon for the 4th FS after the honorary streamer was added to it. "Do not forget what we ask of these men and women and what they do," he said. "It is an honor to be in your midst. Thank you." Eleven awards were given out at the ceremony including: Airman of the Year: Airman 1st Class Oliver Show, 388th FW Noncommissioned Officer of the Year: Staff Sgt. Arthur Trachte, 388th Maintenance Group Senior Noncommissioned Officer of the Year: Master Sgt. Ryan Ball, 388th MXG First Sergeant of the Year: Master Sgt. Jeffrey Garcia, 388th MXG Company Grade Officer of the Year: Capt. Gregory Boland, 388th FW Field Grade Officer of the Year: Maj. James Murphy, 388th FW (not pictured) Category I Civilian of the Year: Anthony Crago, 388th Range Squadron, also 12th Air Field winner Category II through Category V, Civilian of the Year: Karen Farver, 388th RANS Tiffany Volunteer of the Year: Hopkins, 388th MXG Holly Key Spouse of the Year Cope, 388th MXG Squadron of the Year 4th Fighter Squadron Tech. Sgt. Anderson Matthews, NCOIC of Fixed Facilities, 75th LRS, was an AFMC honoree. Liaison with hydrant fuels system honored www.accucolor.biz MARY LOU GORNY/Hilltop Times BY MARY LOU GORNY 801/79.2420 (tforlRIVERSIDE ILIA STORAGE Hilltop Times editor T ech. Sgt. Anderson Matthews, 75th Logistics Readiness Squadron, recently received notice that he had won Air Force Fuels Noncommissioned Officer of the Year at the AFMC level. The honor includes work he did as lead on the new hydrant fuel system in which he served as liaison with the contractor responsible for the $20 million installation. While the time period for his award was Oct. 1, 2010, through Sept. 30, 2011, a good deal of work went into the preparation and liaison work needed with the contractor prior to the hydrant system coming online. The hydrant system was officially turned over to Hill on April 22. "We had a variety of warranty issues that we had (to work through), problems with pieces of equipment or systems flaws that were identified and then corrected," said Matthews. The 75th Logistics Readiness Squadron technical sergeant said that those challenges were overcome with the assistance of the Army Corps of Engineers, Hill AFB civil engineers and personnel from the water and fuel maintenance shop areas. "I know it sounds like a cliché, but it was a team effort," he said His nomination package mentions that even after the official commission ceremony there were six post commission hydrant warranty defects detected; Matthews scheduled the repairs and made sure that the warranty defects he had found were corrected. According to his nominating commander, Matthews was instrumental in the first hydrant system hot pits in the Air Force Materiel Command — an aircraft flies in, is refueled without shutting down its engines and can then take off more quickly. These 671 F-16 hot refuels helped ensure that the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings were combat ready. As the noncommissioned officer in charge of Fixed Facilities, he also detected a 5,000 gallon tank leak of liquid oxy- ALEX R. LLOYD/U.S. Air Force We Appreciate Your Service! Enjoy our Military Discount • Managers Live On-Site • Security Gale w/Coded Access • 16 Digital Infrared Cameras • Access 365 Days a Year • Office Open Tue-Fri 9-6, Sat 9-3 3490 Parker Drive, Riverdale Just off I-15's 31st Street Exit :Jona/ r As ai Thank You Bring t.hrs• race MS OFF any of your choos ing. T- Nosiosej 801-627-1115 gen and conducted a three-day cryotainer purge which prevented a $1,300 loss with a full return to 100 percent capability of the equipment. Matthews led a team of four, issuing 12.8 million gallons of JP-8 fuel for 11,000 training sorties for the base. He created a missile propellant inventory tracker; identified a contaminated oxygen cart which led to the grounding of six aircraft to prevent the potential loss of those aircraft and personnel; mentored Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets and conducted multiple training, seasoning programs on fuels and the hydrant system for active duty, Reserve, and temporary duty personnel bolstering flight performance for the base. If that's not enough, he managed the tool program, inventorying and etching 2,000 tools worth an estimated $75,000 to help prevent potential foreign object damage on the flightline. When asked about what strikes him the most about seeing the hydrant fuel system up and running, and its effective use in the hot pits, Matthews said, "I get satisfaction out of everything being normal. When we are doing our job there are no issues. Things do happen that we are ready to react to at a moment's notice, but a normal day around here is great!" 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