512th Airlift Wing names annual award winners

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Marnee A.C. Losurdo
  • 512th Airlift WIng Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  The 512th Airlift Wing selected its annual award winners for 2006. They will be recognized at the June 10 commander's call.

Airman of the Year
Senior Airman Anthony Palma, 46th Aerial Port Squadron air transportation apprentice, is the Airman of the Year. After less than a year in the Air Force Reserve, Airman Palma volunteered for a four-month deployment to the Central Command Area of Responsibility, where he worked as an air transportation operations specialist responsible for coordinating aerial port actions such cargo and passenger movement on airlift missions. While deployed, his unit supported the movement of 275,000 passengers and 24,000 tons of cargo on 9,500 aircraft in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He's enrolled at the University of Phoenix pursuing a Bachelor of Science. He's also a coach and referee for Philadelphia youth basketball programs.

NCO of the Year
Staff Sgt. Sean Barnum, 709th Airlift Squadron loadmaster, is the NCO of the Year. Sergeant Barnum has amassed more than 100 combat-flying hours in support of Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom. When the primary UTA pay representative needed surgery, he volunteered for the duty and ensured prompt pay for 78 loadmasters. He completed his bachelor's degree in history through the University of Maryland earning a 3.74 GPA and is working on his Master of Arts with a specialty in teaching. He also manages an after school program Partnering to Youth, which promotes positive youth development through tutoring, enrichment activities and helping children with their homework.

Senior NCO of the Year
Master Sgt. Larry Reed, 709th AS flight examiner loadmaster, is the Senior NCO of the Year. He has flown more than 5,000 incident-free hours. He initiated and implemented the Loadmaster Mission Qualification Training program overseeing the 12-month training of 22 of the 66 currently qualified loadmasters in the 709th AS. He also assisted the 89th Airlift Squadron, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, with their transition by overseeing the qualification of five loadmasters in six months. The sergeant graduated with honors from Wilmington College completing his bachelor's degree in finance. He was also awarded the Reserve Volunteer Service medal for his service at his church where he serves as the director of the children's church ministries.

Company Grade Officer of the Year
Capt. Jason Pennypacker, 326th Airlift Squadron executive officer and pilot, is the Company Grade Officer of the Year. Captain Pennypacker has flown 1,000 flight hours to include 66 combat hours supporting OEF and OIF. He completed the Air Force Reserve Command Junior Officer Leadership Development Course and received the Lance P. Sijan Leadership award for his leadership and devotion to duty. The captain volunteers with the Delaware Veteran's Organization, American Legion and Trinity Wesleyan church. He also raised $500 for his church's softball team.

Crew Chief of Year
Tech. Sgt. James K. Baker, 512th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, is the Crew Chief of the Year. As a maintenance technician and crew leader, Sergeant Baker's efforts contributed to Team Dover flying more than 1,400 OIF missions. During an aircraft inspection for an OEF mission, he discovered a cracked component on a C-5 and directed the replacement of that part as well as a system leak check, which ensured the mission wasn't delayed. As the subject matter expert for flightline safety and maintenance, he was key to AMXS receiving no quality assurance failures or safety observations for 60 days. His 23-member section had no discrepancies for five consecutive months. He also served on the committee that organized the 2006 Dover AFB Chief's Group Golf Tournament raising more than $2,000 supporting Dover programs that assist Airmen and their families.

Civilian of the Year
Marilyn Larson, 512th Maintenance Group secretary, is the Civilian of the Year. Ms. Larson maintained the MXG commander support staff while the executive officer and administrative assistant positions were vacant. She trained maintenance personnel on the new online awards and decorations program and also monitored the time and attendance records ensuring there were zero discrepancies on a recent pay audit. She revamped the MXG share drive by building a new file plan and deleted about 100 redundant files and folders, reducing the amount of files stored on the share drive by 25 percent. She also donated time to the community by spearheading a Thanksgiving food drive that provided turkeys to charitable organization such as the House of Pride and Shepherd Place as well as her church members, which ensured 50 Delaware families had food for their holiday meals.