4th Air Force commander visits 445th Airlift Wing

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  • 445th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

Maj. Gen. Jeffrey T. Pennington, 4th Air Force commander, met with Airmen from the 445th Airlift Wing during his visit to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio Nov. 6 and 7, 2021.

The general visited with Airmen across the various squadrons and watched various training events both days. He recognized the following Reserve Citizen Airmen selected by the units as being outstanding performers;

Tech. Sgt. Roselys Baugh, 445th Force Support Squadron force management NCO in charge. Baugh has been instrumental in navigating the challenges associated with processing more than 200 Air Reserve Technician to Air/Guard Reserve conversions for two wings while simultaneously mitigating pay errors, evaluations, classification action and all accessions. During the current delay of transfers and hires, she has been the ultimate professional by operating the force management office with expertise of what is expected of a Senior NCO.

Staff Sgt. Melvin Castro, 445th Aeromedical Staging Squadron NCO in charge of immunizations. Castro’s positive attitude and all around knowledge of vaccination protocols has made him a subject matter expert in efficiently being able to provide Influenza and other mandatory vaccinations as required by the Department of Defense.  With the accessibility of the COVID-19 vaccination to Air Force Reserve Command members, Castro has facilitated a process so that members of the 445th Airlift Wing and 655th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing are able to receive the vaccine in an efficient and timely manner. Through his expertise and knowledge of vaccination protocol, he facilitated a plan for administration of the vaccine therefore ensuring more than 74 percent of the 445th AW and 47 percent of the 655th are vaccinated and mission ready with numbers increasing daily.

Staff Sgt. Jhon Huerte, 445th Maintenance Squadron aerospace ground equipment craftsman. Huerte led a three-member JLG fire investigation team. In less than nine days, his team determined the root cause of the fire and fully repaired critically needed piece of equipment. To mitigate any future catastrophic events, his team performed a fleet wide inspection of all assigned JLG’s. Recently while deployed in support of Joint Task Force Liberty, assigned to the 335th Air Expeditionary Group, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, Huerte led a foot patrol company responsible for safeguarding 19 housing units covering more than 30 acres. In performance of his duties, Huerte directed 17 medical calls relaying critical information to EMS that directly attributed to the avoidance of three casualties. He also implemented a park safety standard operating procedure that promoted the positive behavior of 1,800 Afghan children.

Staff Sgt. Paula Newman, 445th Security Forces Squadron and 445th Airlift Wing Development and Training Flight program manager. After her first year, of approximately 120 basic military trainee (BMT) accessions, 24 were appointed element leaders, five appointed as dorm chiefs, 36 earned physical training awards (Thunderbolt and Warhawk) and 12 achieved honor graduate distinction. Beyond BMT, 13 Airmen went on to be technical school ropes, nine class leaders and a combination of 23 members earned distinguished graduate, academic achievement, honor graduate and dean’s list honors. Despite the past year’s challenges, Newman has enjoyed a more than 99 percent graduation and retention rate.

Senior Airman Wally Jniyah, 445th Operations Support Squadron cyber systems surety journeyman. During his recent deployment, Jniyah was commended for enabling vital secure communications between both U.S. and coalition aircraft.  He issued more than 600 COMSEC kits to deployed aircrews which facilitated 250 combat missions resulting in more than 6 million pounds of JP-8 fuel delivered to tactical aircraft.  He also managed 11 communication kits flown by KC-135’s which ensured critical Wi-Fi connectivity was maintained over 100 percent of Afghanistan. Jniyah took several Defense Language Proficiency Tests spanning five different Arabic dialects in hopes of being able to utilize his linguistic talents in other capacities for the Air Force.  He volunteered and spent 48 days supporting thousands of refugees to include providing necessities such as food, clothing, and personal care products.  He also helped reunite displaced family members, guided refugees through immigration paperwork, and provided transportation to much needed medical care.  Wally’s various Arabic dialects enabled him to eliminate communication barriers and translate for many of the refugees.