Edwards EOD sergeant 'blows up' AFMC competition

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Julius Delos Reyes
  • 95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Detonating improvised explosive devices and explosive ordnance helped propel an Edwards Airman to the top.
 
Master Sgt. David Larriva, Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit superintendent, was recently selected as the Air Force Materiel Command's Senior Noncommissioned Officer of the Year.

"It is pretty overwhelming," Sergeant Larriva said. "I know there is heavy competition in every level of awards. To win it at the (95th Air Base Wing) is one thing, and for Edwards is another. When you go up at the command level and come out winning, it is a bit of a surprise." 

Sergeant Larriva was chosen from the 11 nominees recommended by leaders in each of their chains of command and respective centers, as the best senior NCO. 

"Today's enlisted corps exhibits more professionalism than when I first joined the Air Force in 1971, and is more technically proficient," said Gen. Bruce Carlson, AFMC commander, during the award ceremony. "I'm fortunate to be part of a ceremony that honors a cross section of Air Force Materiel Command's outstanding enlisted members." 

Winning an award is a team effort, Sergeant Larriva said. He said he owes his award to the EOD team and the base leadership. 

"You don't do everything by yourself," he said. "You are placed in the position by your leadership, and they set you up for success. The team that is behind you, the people you work with everyday, whether you are in Edwards or deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan, they play a big part in your success. Even though one person gets recognized, it is really an accumulation of success from the leadership and the team."

The sergeant said he also wants to thank his wife, Diana, for the support she provides in his Air Force career.

"Over the course of our 11-year marriage, she has been a stabilizing influence in our home, enduring two short tours, three deployments and countless (temporary duty) assignments," Sergeant Larriva said. "She is simply an amazing woman, and I do not know where I would be in my career without her by my side."

Because Sergeant Larriva was deployed on April 2, when Gen. Bruce Carlson, AFMC commander, announced Sergeant Larriva as AFMC's top senior NCO, Diana accepted the award on her husband's behalf during the ceremony held at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

Being in the Air Force for 16 years, the San Pedro, Calif., native said he chose EOD as a career because he didn't want a desk job. 

"I wanted something that is fun, exciting, challenging, and EOD provides that and so much more," Sergeant Larriva said. "It has been a great opportunity for me, and it is probably the best decision I have made in my life." 

Even with the inherent danger that EOD emanates, dealing with military ordnance and a lot of dangerous situations, the sergeant said he still loves being part of EOD. 

"As far as I am concerned, it is the best job in the Air Force," he said. "Our job is to identify and render safe any explosive hazards, whether it is just a bullet that gets found all the way up to nuclear weapons, IEDs, military ordnance and everything in between. An EOD technician is trained to recognize those hazards and render them safe and ultimately dispose them." 

The team is the most important factor that makes the job looks great, Sergeant Larriva said. 

"It is always a team effort," he said. "You have to trust them as well as they have to trust you." 

That trust was experienced firsthand by Senior Airman Oscar Ortega, an EOD technician who deployed with Sergeant Larriva in Iraq from August 2006 through February 2007. 

"He was always about the big mission," Airman Ortega said. "When I was in Iraq with him, I never felt safer. I know he knows his stuff. I felt secure having him by my side." 

The EOD unit here always had good leadership, and Sergeant Larriva helped transform it to a great place to work, he said. 

"He just asks us to make sure we get our work done," Airman Ortega said. "I trust him to lead me in the right path." 

In 2007, Sergeant Larriva deployed twice to Iraq. He recently returned back from his second deployment in April 2008. During his first deployment, Sergeant Larriva received a Bronze Star Medal for his outstanding performance in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. 

Currently, he is working on his Bachelor of Science in Environmental Management. 

"A senior NCO is there to provide leadership and to be an example for all the (noncommissioned officers) and Airmen," Sergeant Larriva said. "Receiving the award was a very humbling experience." 

Sergeant Larriva will represent AFMC in the Air Force 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year competition. Results will be announced later this summer. 

(John Scaggs contributed to this article)