DM Airman picks up logistician of the year

by Senior Airman Camilla Elizeu
355th Fighter Wing Public Affairs Public Affairs

8/12/2013 - DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz.,  -- A Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., Airman has been named Air Force logistician of the year.

Senior Airman Sammie Ervan, a base support plan manager, was nominated for the award in 2012 and selected Aug. 6, 2013. His supervisor at the time, Staff Sgt. Mariko McClain, prepared the package without his knowledge.

"The first I heard about it was through email from someone I know at the Pentagon," Ervan said. "I used to coach his children on the basketball and baseball teams here, and he recently moved to Washington, D.C. to take a special-duty job at the Pentagon."

In Ervan's nomination package, his supervisor referred to him as number one of 2,456 Airmen as well as terms such as masterminded, spearheaded, academically superior, dedicated, out in front, and many more.

Ervan filled a lot of the roles of a noncommissioned when deployments left his work-center short staffed.

"My leadership looked upon me to bridge the gap between the Airmen and NCOs in our office," said Ervan. "So, I stepped up and helped the other Airmen throughout the process."

Ervan proved himself worthy of Senior Airman Below the Zone when his unit's manning was slashed in half. BTZ is a competitive early promotion program offered to enlisted U.S. Air Force personnel in the rank of Airman 1st Class. This early promotion opportunity is restricted to elite Airmen who stand out from their peers and perform duties at a level above their current rank.

Ervan earned Airman of the Year 2012 and quarterly award winner two quarters in a row at base level.

"The most amazing part was the surprise," Ervan said. "I had no idea I was even thought of when it came to these awards, especially the Logistics Readiness Airman of the Year award."

Ervan finds that the Operational Readiness Inspection in 2012 was the most challenging event due to minimal manning.

"It was a real challenge for us as a shop to do the required work with half the shop," Ervan said. "But I do feel that I learned a lot, and the challenge was very well accepted."

After earning so many awards, Ervan is still humble.

"I understand that individual awards recognize an individual's hard work," Ervan said. "But I would like to see an award like this for our whole office. It wasn't just me in there, and I had to learn from somebody."

Ervan goes on to say that without the help and training of McClain, Staff Sgt. Nicholas Franklin, 355th Logistics Readiness Squadron, and Master Sgt. Anthony Bullen 355th Logistics Readiness Squadron, he would not have received recognition for this award or even been able to help their deployment control center pass an ORI.