EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- The 33rd Fighter Wing recognized several of its members during the 2018 Annual Award Ceremony Jan. 25, 2019, at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.
The annual awards ceremony provides an opportunity to recognize the hard work that Nomads have displayed all year and distinguish Airmen who epitomize the core values.
At the beginning of the ceremony, Lt. Gen. Steven L. Kwast, Air Education and Training Command commander, and Chief Master Sgt. Juliet Gudgel, AETC command chief, thanked the nominees for their hard work and encouraged them to continue developing themselves as professionals and effective team members.
“When you take these awards and celebrate your greatness, remember that recognition should be a story you tell about the team that made you great.”
The winners were as follows:
Airman: Senior Airman Topiltzin Cornejo-Arroyo
Noncommisioned Officer: Staff Sgt. Cooper Zartman
Senior Noncomissioned Officer: Master Sgt. Angela Taylor
First Sergeant: Master Sgt. Pablo A. Perez-Gonzalez
Company Grade Officer: Capt. Nicholas Detloff
Field Grade Officer: Maj. Stephen Fogle
Civilian Category I: Mrs. Kristina Campana
Civilian Category II: Mrs. Margaret Gilbert
Civilian Category III: Mr. Wayne Wilson
Colonel Paul Moga, 33rd FW commander, presented the Bronze Star Medal to Lt. Col. Toby Walker, 33rd Maintenance Group deputy commander, for meritorious achievement. Walker served as the Deputy Commander, 370th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group at the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center, Iraq. During that time, Walker led over 200 Airmen from 58 different Air Force specialties across six geographically separate locations in direct support of Operation INHERENT RESOLVE. He helped maximize the integration of aviation capabilities and created an organic maintenance training and certification plan for Iraqi C-130J aircraft technicians.
Moga also presented a special token of appreciation to Mr. Jerry Williams, an outgoing member of the AETC commander’s civic leader group. Williams devoted his time and resources to champion the needs of the 33rd FW at the major command level and provided support to the local AETC community.
Moga ended the ceremony by reflecting on the past year and assuring the audience there is much more in store for next year.
“We closed out 2018 in typical Nomad fashion,” said Moga. “We went above and beyond the accomplishment of our mission, a mission that nobody is better at than all of you. And I know for a fact, that it is not easy but one of your problems is that you make it look easy.”