WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- A thunderous applause shattered the typically reverent silence at the National Museum of the United States Air Force April 9, as Air Force Materiel Command officials announced their top enlisted Airmen of 2008.
More than 300 family members, friends, and wingmen gathered to show their support at the awards banquet, held in honor of the command's 44 nominees.
Amidst a collection of modern Air Force aircraft and equipment, Staff Sgt. Jason Forcey, Tech. Sgt. Benjamin Horton, Master Sgt. Caroline Schmitzer and Master Sgt. Christina Kibler joined the ranks of living history as they won for the categories of outstanding airman, noncommissioned officer, senior NCO and first sergeant, respectively.
Gen. Donald Hoffman, AFMC commander, presided over the ceremony. After congratulating all the nominees on a job well done, he asked them to continue putting their expertise to good use.
"The Air Force is in good hands," the general said. "Now, take your talents and skills back to your workplace and mentor next year's winners to follow your stead."
Sergeant Forcey, of the 96th Civil Engineer Squadron at Eglin AFB, Fla., along with Sergeant Horton, of the 775th Civil Engineering Squadron at Hill AFB, Utah, were unable to accept their awards in person. Both winners are deployed - an experience many of the nominees could relate to.
"Nearly every one of our nominees has been deployed," General Hoffman said, "but this kind of expeditionary experience is important in today's environment."
Sergeant Schmitzer serves as the NCOIC of Quality Assurance for the Cryptologic Systems Group at Lackland AFB, Texas. She said the high deployment rate of her colleagues along with the types of things they've been doing all over the world were two of the reasons why she was so surprised to win.
"I still can't believe it," she said. "This is so unexpected."
Sergeant Kibler is assigned to the 78th Force Support Squadron at Robins AFB, Ga. She said winning the first sergeant award reflects a team accomplishment more than an individual award.
"This is a team effort," she said. "Our Robins Shirt Council is phenomenal and I live that every day."
Sergeant Schmitzer echoed that sentiment and added, "You never do anything by yourself."
Orchestrating the evening's events was Chief Master Sgt. William Gurney, the command chief master sergeant. Chief Gurney said honoring the top enlisted Airmen in the command is important because they are the future of the Air Force.
"We can go to sleep at night knowing we left the Air Force a little better than it was before," Chief Gurney said.
The theme of this year's banquet was "Joint Warfighting Airmen; Ready, Willing and Able." The focus on joint warfighting echoes Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz's message that the Air Force is "all-in", referring to its commitment and joint involvement in overseas operations.
The four winners will now represent AFMC in the Air Force 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year and First Sergeant of the Year competitions later this year.