USAFE announces annual award nominees winners Published March 10, 2006 RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (USAFENS) -- Perhaps after he arrives here Mar. 20 for the U.S. Air Forces in Europe Annual Awards Banquet, Tech. Sgt. Alvaro Magana said the reality may finally settle in that he has been nominated as one of USAFE’s most outstanding Airmen.“When I fly up to Germany it’ll start hitting me,” said Sergeant Magana, one of seven representatives from the 39th Air Base Wing from Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, who will be competing for USAFE honors in the category of Noncommissioned Officer of the Year. The other categories are Airman, Senior NCO, Company Grade Officer, First Sergeant, and Civilian -- Categories I and II. USAFE leaders will announce the winners at the USAFE Annual Awards Banquet on Mar. 24 at the Ramstein Air Base Officers’ Club.Winning at USAFE and continuing on for possible Air Force-level honors is a possibility, but simply being among the 83 nominees is a “great honor,” said Sergeant Magana, the noncommissioned officer in charge of bioenvironmental engineering with the 39th Medical Group at Incirlik.“It just made the year for me,” said Sergeant Magana, who entered his current job after nine years of special duty at Brooks City-Base, Texas , where he served as a health physics technician and a technical instructor at the school of aerospace medicine.It was a challenging year making the transition back to his job at the wing level, but Sergeant Magana said he was able to succeed thanks to the same mentorship from his boss and the support from fellow Airmen that probably benefited all of his fellow nominees.“Last year I never even thought of winning at the wing level,” said Sergeant Magana. “It was a great honor just to win at the group level.”Staff Sgt. Rebecca Baker knows how he feels at this point, and she also knows what’s in store for the nominees emotionally during their upcoming week here leading up to the awards banquet.“It was unbelievable. I’ll never forget that week -- it was amazing,” said Sergeant Baker, who was named the USAFE Airman of the Year for 2004. She said the nominees were made to feel special during a week that included cultural tours offbase and the opportunity to meet the USAFE commander.And when her name was called out as a winner, “I was completely overwhelmed ... the red carpet, the honor guard and the flash of the cameras. I was so touched that I was even nominated to be there in the first place,” Sergeant Baker said.And the feeling continues. Sergeant Baker, an armament weapons journeyman at Aviano Air Base, Italy, said it’s always in the back of her mind that people thought highly enough of her to nominate her for the award, and that inspires her to maintain high standards both personally and professionally at all times.The nominees for this year’s awards are:HQ USAFE:Airman: Staff Sgt. Twan Knoten, HQ USAFE/A6 (Communications)NCO: Tech. Sgt. Travis Goodman, HQ USAFE/A4 (Logistics)Senior NCO: Senior Master Sgt. Herbert D. Battern, HQ USAFE/A3 (Operations)Civilian Category I: Suzanna S. Day, HQ USAFE/A7Civilian Category II: Virginia Thompson, HQ USAFE/SG (Medical)CGO: Capt. Damian Schlussel, HQ USAFE/A7 (Mission Support)86th Airlift Wing -- Ramstein Air Base, Germany:Airman: Senior Airman Tobi J. Zimmerman, 86th Maintenance SquadronNCO: Staff Sgt. Robert S. Henshaw, 1st Air and Space Communications Operations SquadronSenior NCO: Senior Master Sgt. Mark D. Marson, 786th Security Forces Squadron1st Sgt: Master Sgt. Matthew L. Rosema, 1st Combat Communications SquadronCivilian Category I: Derrick A. Richardson, 1st Air and Space Communications Operations SquadronCivilian Category II: Dirk Seifert, 86th Operations Support SquadronCGO: Capt. John C. Dereix, 86th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron65th Air Base Wing -- Lajes Field, Azores:Airman: Senior Airman Danielle K. Shest, 65th Mission Support SquadronNCO: Staff Sgt. Cheick A. Bah, 65th Medical Support SquadronSenior NCO: Senior Master Sgt. Henry Parker III, 65th Services Squadron1st Sgt: Master Sgt. Douglas C. Koonst, 65th Operations Support SquadronCivilian Category I: Melissa K. Servillon, 65th Comptroller SquadronCivilian Category II: Franklin P. Carney, 65th Civil Engineer SquadronCGO: Capt. Angela M. Thompson 65th Medical Support Squadron52nd Fighter Wing -- Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany:Airman: Airman 1st Class Dallas E. Smith, 606th Air Control SquadronNCO: Staff Sgt. Mark A. Lebedzinski, 606th Air Control SquadronSenior NCO: Master Sgt. Sheldon D. Sukut, 606th Air Control Squadron1st Sgt: Master Sgt. Christopher A. Miller, 52nd Equipment Maintenance SquadronCivilian Category I - Heather M. Hughes, 52nd Medical Operations SquadronCivilian Category II - Derek N. Williams, 52nd Equipment Maintenance SquadronCGO: 1st Lt. Brian Cooper, 52nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron501st Combat Support Wing -- RAF Mildenhall, England:Airman: Senior Airman Cynthia E. Atilano, 423rd Air Base SquadronNCO: Tech. Sgt. John R. McKinney, 423rd Air Base SquadronSenior NCO: Senior Master Sgt. Joseph A. Carenza, 422nd Communications Squadron1st Sgt: Master Sgt. Terry W. Grimm, 420th Air Base GroupCivilian Category I: Andrea E. Gaunt, 423rd Civil Engineer SquadronCivilian Category II: Lisa C. Sweat, 420th Air Base GroupCGO: Capt. Benjamin C. Cook IV, 423rd Air Base Squadron48th Fighter Wing -- RAF Lakenheath, England:Airman: Airman 1st Class Brandie L. Stone, 48th Aircraft Maintenance SquadronNCO: Staff Sgt. Joseph A. Berberich, 48th Medical Support SquadronSenior NCO: Master Sgt. Daniel J. Lambert, 48th Security Forces Squadron1st Sgt: Master Sgt. Michael R. Hatcher, 85th Mission Support SquadronCivilian Category I: Ronald E. Anderson, 48th Civil Engineer SquadronCivilian Category II: Timothy J. Moore, 48th Logistics Readiness SquadronCGO: Capt. Matthew W. Worling, 494th Fighter Squadron435th Air Base Wing -- Ramstein Air Base, Germany:Airman: Senior Airman Christopher Gerdes, 435th Civil Engineer SquadronNCO: Tech. Sgt. Edward Watson, 435th Materiel Maintenance SquadronSenior NCO: Senior Master Sgt. Rene Guionnaud, Jr, 435th Logistics Readiness Squadron1st Sgt: Master Sgt. Steve Watson, 435th Civil Engineer SquadronCivilian Category I: Bruno Kappel, 435th Civil Engineer SquadronCivilian Category II: Christina Fornander, 435th Mission Support SquadronCGO: Capt. Jason Campbell, 735th Civil Engineer Squadron39th Air Base Wing -- Incirlik Air Base, Turkey:Airman: Senior Airman Christopher M. Flanagan, 39th Communications SquadronNCO: Tech. Sgt. Alvaro Magana, 39th Medical GroupSenior NCO: Senior Master Sgt. Eric J. Stone, 39th Logistics Readiness Squadron1st Sgt: Master Sgt. Benjamin Leal Jr., 39th Maintenance SquadronCivilian Category I: Samantha D. Mindel, 39th Medical GroupCivilian Category II: Randall P. Cummins, 39th Contracting SquadronCGO: Capt. Cliff T. Reimer, 39th Civil Engineer Squadron38th Combat Support Wing:Airman: Airman 1st Class Ashley N. Struckmann, Det 5, 2nd Air Postal Squadron, RAF Alconbury, UKNCO: Staff Sgt. Thedore A. Saxman, 703rd Munitions Support Squadron, Volkel Air Base, NetherlandsSenior NCO: Master Sgt. Jamie L. Woody, 38th Construction and Training Squadron, Ramstein Air Base, Germany1St Sgt: Master Sgt. Rebecca S. Brauer, 703rd Munitions Support Squadron, Volkel Air Base, NetherlandsCivilian Category I: Michelle M. Austin, 38th Combat Support Wing, Ramstein Air Base, GermanyCivilian Category II: Dieter Flachsland, 38th Construction and Training Squadron, Ramstein Air Base, GermanyCGO: 1st Lt. Davis M. Knight, 569th U.S. Forces Police Squadron, Vogelweh, Germany31st Fighter Wing -- Aviano Air Base, Italy:Airman: Senior Airman Sheila L. Fish, 31st Aircraft Maintenance SquadronNCO: Staff Sgt. Amanda J. Johnson, 31st Maintenance Operations SquadronSenior NCO: Master Sgt. Lisa G. Finuff, 31st Medical Support Squadron1st Sgt. Master Sgt. Jeffrey J. Jacobson, 31st Aircraft Maintenance SquadronCivilian Category I: Anna Jackson, 31st Services SquadronCivilian Category II: Gianpietro Bulli, 31st Civil Engineering SquadronCGO: Capt. Joshua D. DeMotts, 31st Civil Engineer Squadron16th Air Force:Airman: Senior Airman Daniel Strom, 2nd Air Support Operations SquadronNCO: Tech. Sgt. Shane Hobrecht, 2nd Air Support Operations SquadronSenior NCO: Master Sgt. Howard Teesdale, 32nd AOC1st Sgt: Senior Master Sgt. Russell Hastings, 2nd Air Support Operations SquadronCivilian Category I: Lisa Hames, Det 3Civilian Category II: Hunter Hustus, Det 3CGO: Maj. Bryan Tash, 2nd Air Support Operations Squadron100th Air Refueling Wing, RAF Mildenhall, England:Airman: Airman 1st Class Paul J. Bradford, 100th Civil Engineer Squadron NCO: Tech. Sgt. Russell C. Anderson, 100th Maintenance Squadron Senior NCO: Master Sgt. Scott L. Smith, 100th Maintenance Squadron 1st Sgt: Senior Master Sgt. John L. Dunham, 100th Logistics Readiness Squadron Civilian Category I: Darrell Pojas, 100th Logistics Readiness Squadron Civilian Category II: Selina Williams, 100th Comptroller Squadron CGO: Capt. Rafael H. Garza, 100th Operations Support SquadronTo purchase tickets for the banquet, contact your wing command chief master sergeant or first sergeant.