JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO - RANDOLPH, Texas –
Air Education and Training Command has honored seven members from two Joint Base San Antonio security forces squadrons as recipients of its 2017 individual awards.
JBSA-Lackland’s 802nd SFS AETC award winners are Master Sgt. Jermaine King, Outstanding Security Forces Flight-Level Senior NCO; and Travis Cooper, Outstanding Security Forces Flight-Level Civilian Award, Supervisory Level.
Award winners from JBSA-Randolph’s 902nd SFS are Capt. Nathan Spradley, Outstanding Security Forces Company Grade Officer; Senior Master Sgt. Russel Raymundo, Outstanding Security Forces Support Staff Senior NCO; Tech. Sgt. Johnathan Kuenzli, Outstanding Security Forces Support Staff NCO; Staff Sgt. Rosa Padin-Cabada, Outstanding Security Forces Air Reserve Component NCO; and Staff Sgt. Stefany Davila, Outstanding Security Forces Air Reserve Component Airman.
Capt. Nathaniel Lesher, 802nd SFS operations officer, commended the work of King and Cooper.
“The 802nd SFS is so pleased that Master Sgt. King and Officer Cooper were selected as AETC’s best,” he said. “We are truly grateful for these two professional warriors; they make a huge impact on the execution of our mission.”
King serves as 802nd SFS NCO in charge of operations and oversees all law enforcement and security operations for JBSA-Lackland.
“His job is 24/7 and, in addition to protecting the public, he is also charged with ensuring his defenders are trained, equipped and taken care of,” Lesher said.
Cooper serves as a squadron flight chief and Department of the Air Force officer supervisor.
“His primary daily responsibility is effective employment of his 70-member flight while also directly supervising seven DAF officers and advising the operations section of all DAF concerns,” Lesher said.
Lt. Col. Brandon Edge, 902nd SFS commander, said he was “extremely proud” when he learned five of his squadron members had earned AETC recognition.
“Too often they do not get the recognition they deserve, so I was very pleased to see them win at AETC in five of the categories,” he said. “Our folks work hard every day to keep people and resources safe.”
Edge called Spradley and Raymundo “an amazing leadership team.”
“Captain Spradley is our operations officer and he is the best operations officer I have worked with in 16 years of service,” he said. “In the short time he has been here, he has made a huge positive impact on our readiness, expects the best from our people and leads by example.
“Senior Master Sgt. Raymundo, our operations superintendent, is Captain Spradley's right-hand man,” Edge said. “His selection for promotion to chief master sergeant his first time testing was not a surprise at all.”
Spradley and Raymundo lead an operations section of 110 defenders, which includes day-to-day security operations, the military working dog section and police services. Both were behind establishing the security concept of operations for the largest Federal Emergency Management Agency operation in Texas to support Hurricane Harvey relief and recovery efforts.
Kuenzli, 902nd SFS NCO in charge of training, is responsible for ensuring squadron members have the necessary training to do their jobs. His duties include overseeing mandated training mandated by the career field and training through local resources such as the San Antonio Police Department, Alamo Area Council of Governments and other entities.
“Technical Sgt. Kuenzli has a background in combat arms training and maintenance, but we put him in the NCOIC training position because of his ability to get things done,” Edge said.
Padin-Cabada and Davila, members of the squadron’s operations flight, perform duties such as entry control, patrol and emergency communications center control.
“They are individual mobilization augmentees and are vital to our mission,” Edge said. “In addition to excelling at their primary duties, they are involved with events such as National Night Out, a police-community partnership; Battle of the Badges, a competition between security forces and the fire department; and other community involvement activities.”