Base rolls out red carpet for 95th Air Base Wing 2011 awards Published Jan. 30, 2012 By Gary Hatch 95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Edwards rolled out the red carpet for the 95th Air Base Wing 2011 Annual Awards Dinner on Jan. 27 -- themed a night at the Academy Awards -- with the spotlight fixed firmly on honoring accomplishment. The storyline for a successful 2011 was set with the many challenges the base faced, and the wing penned an award-winning script that culminated with its earning the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award. With that backdrop, the stage was set. The challenges the wing faced and the success stories that led to the Outstanding Unit Award also filled the resumes of this year's nominees. "I wish I could give you all the awards data that we saw. You would see absolute genius," said Col. Gregory E. Schwab, Commander of the 95th Air Base Wing, as he described the level of accomplishment of this year's nominees. Additionally, there were several other factors that weighed into planning for the year that upended the status quo to the extent that it was going to be a challenge trying to figure out how to accomplish the mission, he said. "We had in-sourcing, we had hiring freezes, we had budgets that were 23 percent below break-even points," Schwab said. But the team met the challenge head on. "There have been such amazing things going on around the wing. We have a critical mission to keep Edwards going for all of its users." "We told you right from the start that the [mission] was going to get done by the inspirational work that you do every day - by the smarts of the individuals," Schwab said. Everyone who was nominated already is a winner, Schwab said That sentiment was echoed by Staff Sgt. Priscila VazquezPerez 95th Force Support Squadron, who was one of the two emcees for the event. "All our nominees tonight are winners because each person nominated by their respective organization has already excelled and distinguished themselves from their peers." "Tonight, we are here to honor each of them, but also to announce a select few for additional recognition," she said. Schwab also had praise for not only the winners and nominees, but also the entire wing. "It is with great pride I say that there is not one member of this wing who didn't deserve to be up here tonight, great job to you here representing them all. Thank you all for what you do." The winners and nominees in each category follow: Airman Winner - Senior Airman Robert Sotler, 95th Mission Support Group Other nominees - Senior Airman Haley Santos, 95th Air Base Wing staff agencies; and Airman 1st Class Danielle MacGregor, 95th Medical Group Non-Commissioned Officer Winner - Tech. Sgt. Robert Novak, 95th Mission Support Group Other nominees - Staff Sgt. Jakob Won, 95Air Base Wing staff agencies; and Tech. Sgt. Luis Magana, 95th Medical Group Senior Non-Commissioned Officer Winner - Master Sgt. Alexander Erb, 95th Mission Support Group Other nominee - Master Sgt. Carlos Labrador, 95th Medical Group First Sergeant Winner - Master Sgt. Charles Sanders, 95th Mission Support Group Other nominee - Master Sgt. William Russell, 95th Air Base Wing staff agencies Honor Guard Winner - Tech. Sgt. Harold Padua, 95th Mission Support Group, geographically separated unit, March Air Reserve Base Company Grade Officer Winner - 1st Lt. Austin Barnes, 95th Mission Support Group Other nominee - Capt. Erin Sturgell, 95th Medical Group Secretarial/Clerical Winner - April Narramore, 95th Mission Support Group Other nominee - Julie Brater, 95th Air Base Wing Staff Agencies Civilian Staff, Specialist/Analyst Winner - William Gamboa, 95th Mission Support Group Other nominees - John Quinlan, 95th Air Base Wing staff agencies; Melissa Buchanan, 95th Air Base Wing staff agencies; Linda Radford, 95th Medical Group; and Stephen Thompson, 95th Civil Engineer Division Civilian Technician Winner - Timothy James, 95th Civil Engineer Division Other nominee - Rebecca Perez, 95th Air Base Wing staff agencies Trades and Labor Winner - Helen Hernandez, 95th Civil Engineer Division Scientific/Engineering Winner - Gerald Boetsch, 95th Civil Engineer Division Other nominee - Steven Nastally, 95th Mission Support Group Supervisory/Management Winner - Michelle Campbell, 95th Mission Support Group Other nominees - Monika Zuccaro, 95th Air Base Wing staff agencies; and Richard Morris, 95th Civil Engineer Division Project/Program Manager Winner - Yusuf Ahmed, 95th Civil Engineer Division Other nominee - Steffany Moran, 95th Air Base Wing staff agencies Student Trainee Winner - Bradley Runblade, 95th Air Base Wing staff agencies Team Winner - Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team, team leader Master Sgt. Denny Hart, 95th Civil Engineering Directorate Other nominees - 95th Comptroller Squadron, team leader Maj. Scott Smith, 95th Air Base Wing staff agencies; Bioenvironmental Engineering Flight, team leader Lt. Col. Tiffany Morgan, 95th Medical Group; Dining Facility Team, team leader Paul Martin, 95th Mission Support Group