Master Sgt. Raul Hernandez Jr., 326th Training Squadron acting superintendent, is not big on awards.
When he found out he earned the Air Education and Training
Command Military Training Instructor of the Year, the native of Goliad, Texas,
said he felt humbled.
“Out of the 506 MTI’s in Air Force Basic Military Training,
I think any of them could have won the award,” Hernandez said. “It just
happened to be my turn and I am proud to represent them.”
To earn the recognition, the master sergeant wrote the
policies and procedures for Airmen’s Week, a one-week course following BMT for
graduates that reinforces core values and what it means to be an Airman before
they head to technical school. In addition, Hernandez dedicated 28 hours to
Habitat for Humanity, mentored 27 troubled youth and organized two security
events as a North East Independent School District Bulldog Dad.
Lt. Col. Meghan Doherty, 326th TRS commander, commended him
for shaping the Airmen’s Week curriculum since its inception in March 2015.
“He is basically the focal point of the policy changes and
how we communicate policy to our Airmen,” she said. “Not only has he shaped
Airmen’s Week, but he has had a lot to do with our training group being
successful in how we went about preparing it. He started from scratch on how to
evaluate the course and is creating the standards for it and the Air Force. He
always goes above and beyond.”
That arduous work ethic stems from being around his
grandfather and parents. His grandfather was a ranch hand and his father was an
oil mechanic, while his mother was a retail salesperson, Hernandez explained.
“They are not flashy people,” Hernandez said of his family. “They are ‘do the best with what you can’ folks.
When I entered the Air Force, my family didn’t know what to expect because they
hadn’t been in the service. They told me ‘do what you can and we will be
proud,’ and that is what I tell my Airmen.”
Hernandez hopes to continue grooming future Airmen to
inherit his work ethic and take it with them for the rest of their Air Force
careers.
“I tell my Airmen when they get here their past doesn’t matter,”
Hernandez said. “They can be anything and everything they want to be, and I am
going to give them the tools and time to be successful. You don’t have to be
the troublemaker you may have been before. Instead, be the guy or girl who does
everything right because this is a new start.”