Leading and Winning

2018 was a hard year for Jared at work. He worked hard and did well but he was also really down and just not happy at work. He has always loved his job and being in the Air Force so it was a strange situation. There were a lot of things that contributed to the whole thing, but none of that is super important. The end result was a man who came home most days feeling frustrated, unappreciated, and as if every good idea he had was shut down.  Jared just kept his head down and kept doing what he does best, which is leading and winning.

For most of the year, Jared was the S4 Superintendent which is just the Security Forces way of saying that his section was responsible for deployments, weapons training and qualification, vehicles, resources (or spending all the unit's money), and supply and logistics. I'm not really sure how many people he supervised in the S4, but he worked with a great group of Airmen that made a tough year bearable.

The Air Force has a pretty robust awards program to recognize outstanding achievement from active duty members and civilians because awards build morale and reward hard work. Awards are given quarterly in several categories or grades (Airman, NCO, SNCO, FGO, CGO, and civilians) starting at the squadron level, then the group level, and finally at the wing. I don't think they go up to command after that, but maybe they do? There are also annual awards in all the same levels. Jared submitted an awards package for Senior Noncommissioned Officer (SNCO) of the year for his squadron and was a little bit surprised to find that he was the winner. I mean, after the way the year went he wasn't expecting to be selected by his squadron leadership as their representative. It was cool and really just nice for him to be recognized as the best SNCO in the squadron. Plus, his troop TSgt Pellegra was chosen as the NCO of the year for the squadron. That was a big win for Jared and the entire S4. Being recognized for the work they did in his section helped to take the sting out of a tough year, you know?

After the squadron level, a winner is chosen at the group level. A group is just a bunch of squadrons - I think the group at the base here is composed of six squadrons. So all the Mission Support Group squadrons put their SNCOs of the year up against each other and a panel of people choose the best out of those individuals. Jared was again selected as the winner and was named SNCO of the year for the 48th Mission Support Group. Not only that but TSgt Pellegra was selected as the NCO of the year so that was two more wins for the 48th Security Forces S4 section!

Jared with the MSG Commander and Chief, after being announced as the winner in the SNCO category

The next step in the awards process is the Wing or the awards for the entire base. Jared was not expecting to win at the group, so he didn't have high hopes for his chances at the wing level. Mostly he wanted to see Nick Pellegra continue to be recognized for all the work he did in 2018. So when they called his name after reading the wing nominees for SNCO of the Year, he was so surprised that he won that he forgot to salute the wing commander when he went up to accept his award. Whoops. To put the award into perspective, there are approximately 600 SNCOs stationed here and Jared was recognized as the best in the wing. And guess what? TSgt Pellegra won in his category as well! 

Jared and I after the Wing Annual Awards Banquet. He's attributing his success in 2018, in small part, to the power of that mustache!

After the Wing Awards, the next level is the Command. We're currently stationed in USAFE (US Air Forces in Europe) so Jared was competing at the SNCO level against eleven other Wing winners from across Europe and Africa. Each individual's awards package, also known as a 1206, was reviewed by a board in Germany where USAFE is headquartered. The board chose the top three packages from the twelve in each category and those three individuals participated in an awards board, which is an in-person interview, where the final winners were determined. Again, Jared and TSgt Pellegra were standouts and they were both in the top three in their respective categories so they both had the opportunity to go in front of the board and be interviewed for the chance to be the USAFE level winners. Last week Jared found out that he WON AT USAFE!! And so did TSgt Pellegra! This is super exciting news you guys. Not only will Jared go to Germany for a week in May for the Annual Awards festivities (and I get to tag along), but Jared, and let's not forget Nick Pellegra, now have the chance to be chosen as one of the Air Force's Twelve Outstanding Airmen of the Year.  

The Air Force Outstanding Airmen Program recognizes enlisted members for leadership, job performance, community involvement, and personal achievements. The twelve OAY winners are chosen from the winners at the command level Air Force wide. Once the commands around the world have selected their annual winners there are thirty-six people who are eligible to be chosen as one of the twelve OAY recipients. That means that Jared has already been recognized as one of the top 36 airmen in the entire United States Air Force and has a chance to be selected as one of the top twelve. To put it another way, out of the 261,272 enlisted members in the Air Force, Jared and his troop are in the top thirty-six. That's pretty amazing! 

We're always proud of Jared and the heartfelt service he gives to our country and it's so wonderful to see that service and dedication recognized. The girls and I know that he's the most amazing man in the world and are just happy that other people agree with us. Next time you see our favorite guy, tell him congratulations!