Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas –
Staff Sgt. Madeline De La Garza, 433rd Airlift Wing command post controller, was named the Air Force Reserve Command's 2016 Command Post Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year award March 9.
De La Garza, a Mercedes, Texas native, served over 8 years on active duty before transitioning to the Reserve's less than two years ago. Her career field plays a critical role as the central nervous system of the wing.
"We follow missions and keep track of where they are going and then pass that information to the appropriate agencies," said De La Garza. "We deal with emergency actions, which come down from headquarters, so we might have to go into a war crisis because we have first knowledge."