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AETC’s Best in Safety for 2022

  • Published
  • By Timothy Barela
  • Air Education and Training Command Safety Office

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas – Air Education and Training command has announced its winners of the Fiscal Year 2022 Safety Awards. According to Col. Will Phillips, AETC director of safety, these individual and organizational honors recognize the outstanding performance of the entire safety community.

“It cannot be overstated how impressive these award winners had to be to come out on top this year,” Phillips said. “The competition proved fierce, to say the least. They truly had to beat the best to be the best. When you consider they not only had to maneuver around pandemic restrictions, but then also adjust as those restrictions eased and more and more people started flooding back into their primary workstations, it made their efforts all the more remarkable.”

The following award recipients will go on to compete at the Air Force level:

  • AETC Aviation Maintenance Safety Award, Tech. Sgt. Matthew E. Kidwell, 314th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
  • AETC Director of Safety Aircrew of Distinction Award, BREW 71 (Maj. Zachary L. Sauerman, 560th Flying Training Squadron, and Capt. Urban M. Dishart, 12th Training Squadron), JBSA-Randolph.
  • AETC Koren Kolligian Jr. Award, Tech. Sgt. James A. Hurst, 714th TS, Little Rock AFB.
  • AETC Outstanding Achievement Award for Occupational Safety, Category I, 502nd Air Base Wing, JBSA, Texas.
  • AETC Outstanding Achievement Award for Occupational Safety, Category II, 82nd Training Wing, Sheppard AFB, Texas.
  • AETC Outstanding Achievement Award for Occupational Safety CAT IV, Special Warfare Training Wing, JBSA-Lackland, Texas.
  • AETC Safety Civilian Professional of the Year Award, Mark A. Garner, 42nd ABW, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
  • AETC Safety NCO of the Year Award, Tech. Sgt. Dillon J. Neth, 502nd ABW, JBSA-Randolph.
  • AETC Safety SNCO of the Year Award, Master Sgt. Jamie L. Bearce, 502nd ABW, JBSA-Lackland.
  • AETC Safety Officer of the Year Award, Maj. Brett T. Neilson, 36th Rescue Squadron, Fairchild AFB, Wash.
  • AETC Special Achievement Award, Tech. Sgt. Thomas J. Little, 56th Logistics Readiness Squadron, Luke AFB, Ariz.
  • AETC Weapons Safety Award, Staff Sgt. Riccardo De La Torre, 58th Special Operations Wing, Kirtland AFB, N.M.

The following include AETC-specific Awards (major command-only):

  • Lahm Trophy, 58th SOW, Kirtland AFB.
  • AETC Unit Safety Representative of the Year, Russell E. Dunlap, 312th TS, Goodfellow AFB, Texas.

 “I sincerely appreciate all the nominees for their outstanding contributions,” Phillips said. “Likewise, I greatly appreciate the time and effort invested by those supervisors and commanders to recognize their superior performers. Congratulation to the winners, and good luck at the Air Force-level competition!”