COMMENTARY: An American Airman

  • Published
  • By Senior Master Sgt. William Gardner
  • First Sergeant, 932nd MXS
Scott AFB, Ill. --  I recently attended a conference with First Sergeants and had the humbling experience to meet Tech. Sgt. Israel Del Toro. 

He was an Airman working in Afghanistan, along with his Army comrades
with "JTAC" Joint Terminal Attack Controllers. Their job was to provide a direct line of
communication to fighter and bomber pilots in the air. His humvee was planted with an
IED, which exploded, causing Sergeant Del Toro to be thrown from his vehicle sustaining massive burns to his body, (over 70 percent). 

A few things that inspired me most about Sergeant Del Toro is the pride in the job he
was doing; he is a devoted father and husband to his family, and his love for our Air Force family. He pleaded with the over 250 First Sergeants in the briefing to take care of our members. Even though he has been through so much, Sergeant Del Toro wants to remain part of the Air Force family! 

We all, as Airmen, are tasked with answering our nation's call. Everyday, whether we
our in uniform or not, we represent the Air Force in our actions. Leaders are calling us to be proud of what we do. 

You might be a pilot, a maintainer, flight attendant, medical professional,
supervisor, logistics, safety, or any one of the over 200 Air Force specialties. You
are defending America's freedom. Keep being proud and professional!
I'm expanding on some of the visions from our staff leaders; they want us to be proud
of our heritage. Take a few moments (maybe after each UTA, or tour of duty), to reflect on what you accomplished during that time. It has been noted that in the past, we know of brilliant leaders who have come and gone. We know of some of the major accomplishments they have made. 

However, there always remains a question with a lot of us, "Do we
know how those leaders rose through the ranks to get to those accomplishments and how did they contribute significantly afterwards?" 

Let's not forget that we are American Airman who will strive to live the Airman's
Creed each and everyday. Document YOUR accomplishments so the Airman who will
follow us will know what accomplishments we made and what it took to get to achieve our goals!