JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. --
Every year the Outstanding Airmen of the Year awards are
earned by service members who exemplify what it means to be a great Airman in
the U.S. Air Force.
This year U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Melissa Beam,
Air Combat Command Air Force Specialty Manager, earns the Air Combat Command Senior
Non-commissioned officer OAY award.
“Being the ACC Senior Non-commissioned OAY nominee is humbling and mind blowing,”
said Beam. “I did not do it alone and must give credit where credit is due. My
Airmen are rock stars who give 110 perecent to the Air Force, the mission and
the unit.”
Beam had many reasons to earn the award, including leading a
team of 134 total-force Airmen, civilians, and contractors conducting
operations in support of Central Command’s Combined Joint Task Force-Operation
Inherent Resolve and Combined Forces Air Component Command’s J2. She also
completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Intelligence Studies and is currently pursuing
her Master’s.
Beam acknowledges how important pursuing higher education
is, and encourages her Airmen to do the same.
“I am a firm believer of training your replacement and
reducing or eliminating the single point of failure,” said Beam. “I
continuously mentor, mold the junior Airmen on not only life, but how to
perform front-line supervisor duties, coupled with their job requirements of
critical thinking/analysis.”
Beam’s mentorship and hard work was recognized by not only
her Airmen, but her supervision.
“Senior Master Sergeant Beam epitomizes the whole Airman
concept,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Nishawn Smagh, 497th Operation Support Squadron
commander. “She always strives to better herself and her Airmen. Through
innovation, Senior Master Sergeant’s Beam's team pioneered tactics, techniques
and procedures to fuse multiple intelligence disciplines, near-real time, in
order to pinpoint and characterize activity that served as the catalyst for
dynamic targeting, deliberate targeting, and indications and warning for
deployed warfighters.”
As for the future, Beam aims to continue to mentor and mold
her airmen.
“My future Air Force goals are first and foremost to be the
best SNCO I can be,” said Beam. “But I would also like to make Chief one day
and truly take care of my Airmen in a way that I never could previously.”
The winners of the ACC OAY will compete at the
U.S. Air Force level with all other MAJCOMS to determine the Air Force
Outstanding Airmen of the Year.