ACC names its top Airmen of 2007

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  • Air Combat Command Public Affairs
LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. (ACCNS) --  Out of more than 96,000 enlisted in Air Combat Command, only six were selected as the command's outstanding Airmen of the year April 4 here.

This year the winners are:

- Airman category: Senior Airman Amanda Perkins, 1st Air Force, Tyndall AFB, Fla.

- NCO Category: Tech. Sgt. Earl Covel Jr., 12th Air Force, Fort Lewis, Wash.

- Senior NCO Category: Master Sgt. Tammy Turnbull, 9th Air Force, Shaw AFB, S.C.

- First Sergeant Category: Senior Master Sgt. Leslie Gould, 1st Fighter Wing, Langley AFB, Va.

- Honor Guard Airman Category: Senior Airman Tony Sutphin, 8th Air Force, Beale AFB, Calif.

- Honor Guard NCO Category: Staff Sgt. Ruben TrejoSanchez, 12th Air Force, Ellsworth AFB, S.D.

"It's probably the highest honor you can have as an enlisted man in the Air Force," said Sergeant Covel. But even the nominees were honored before the award ceremony.

There were 20 Airmen nominated who traveled to Langley for the ceremony, and four nominees who are deployed. Before the names were released, the 20 nominees who traveled to Langley were taken to the D.C. area where they toured historical sites. Following this, they took a trip to the USS Enterprise where they saw Navy personnel in action on an aircraft carrier.

According to Sergeant Turnbull, this award is "a cherry on top of a very wonderful career."

Sergeant Gould directed the attention to younger Airmen, saying those coming in the Air Force today are of a higher quality than those coming in when he did.

"If we live up to their expectations they will exceed our expectations," he said, referring to success in leadership. As for himself, "I am nothing more than a representative for my unit. I think it's my unit that is truly deserving of the recognition." He said.

The ACC winners will go before a board in May to compete for the same award at the Air Force level.