KINGSLEY FIELD, Ore. --
KINGSLEY FIELD, Ore. -- The 173rd Fighter Wing named its Airmen of the Year for 2017.
Senior Airman Daniel Fry, the Airman of the year, was selected as the winner for the state of Oregon and will go on to compete for the 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year at the national level. He was directly responsible for the safety and security for both here at Kinglsey Field and abroad while deployed. He is credited with not only preventing more than $500,000 worth of equipment loss but also preventing the loss of life for a fellow Airman here at home. Overseas he assisted in providing security to high value American assets as well as Patriot battery and munitions sites.
Tech. Sgt. Michael McCormick, the non-commissioned officer of the year, was also the state of Oregon winner and will move on to the 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year at the national level. He provided logistics and construction support to multiple overseas bases in support of Africa Command (AFRICOM) missions. He also oversaw the maintenance more than 15 separate generator sites with more than 100 separate service inspections. Here at home, McCormick manages the Wing Drug Demand Reduction program, responsible for wing wide testing and processing and is an active leader in the local cub and boy scouts.
Master Sgt. Brian Monson, the senior non-commissioned officer of the year, represented the 173rd fighter wing as its maintenance ambassador while training the Israeli Air Force on 20mm Gatling gun maintenance. He also contributed to the wing receiving an excellent rating on the 2017 quality assurance inspection as well as being personally responsible for saving an aircraft from a possible inflight emergency when he identified and reported faulty wing pylon fuel connections to the air force engineering level. Monson is also an active volunteer for events here locally, the local food bank and also volunteers in support of the State Awards Banquet.
Master Sgt. Laduska Miller, the First Sergeant of the Year, was also selected at the state-level and will new move on to the national level. Her accomplishments include fostering good relations with the Turkish Airforce through organizing member language courses, while deployed. Here at home, she organized Kingsley’s first 5K race and trained volunteers at homeless shelters in life saving techniques and self-defense. She was also part of a civilian aircraft incident focal point, working with law enforcement and recovery and support agencies.
Master Sgt. Kyle Hood, the unit career adviser of the year, is also selected to move on to the national competition. His accomplishments include creating the “Paperless” phase inspection and reducing the entire phase inspection by 15 days. Hood also oversees more than 1.5-billion dollars in aircraft maintenance on base. On top of being personally responsible for 12 new recruits during the 2017 fiscal year. Hood conducted more than fifty retention interviews while working to enhance unit retention.