Civil Engineer wins Armed Forces Salute award

by Airman 1st Class Emili Koonce
509th Bomb Wing Public Affairs

8/1/2014 - WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. -- The USO recognized a member of Team Whiteman for outstanding achievements during a ceremony July 25 at Mission's End.

Staff Sgt. Cody Foreman, 509th Civil Engineer Squadron's NCO in charge of training for emergency management was presented with the USO Armed Forces Salute Award for the state of Missouri, which recognizes military members for their leadership, military accomplishments and service to others.

"When I knew that it was a USO award, I knew there were other services involved and it makes me feel like I am not even on the same level as some of those people," Foreman said. "The amount of respect I have for the USO is above and beyond because they're an organization that puts the military first and there's not a ton of organizations that do that. The USO is a leader in that field and to be honored by them I honestly feel like I am not even worthy of that. I can't tell you how happy it makes me."

Foreman's achievements in 2013 included coordinating multiple unit-wide field training exercises, revamping the wing shelter program by identifying and correcting 103 issues that prevented mission resiliency and devoting 120 hours to Habitat for Humanity, raising $10,000 to construct homes for local residents.

"It's an honor to be here" said Mark Lear, USO's vice president of the board of directors. "I couldn't be more proud to present this award to Staff Sgt. Cody Foreman."

Foreman stated he invested his time in various organizations because he believed in what they were doing for the communities, but also because it helps make him a better person overall.

"Investing in things you believe in was the first step for me because I believed in [their] mission, and so forth," he said.

"The more and more things I could sink my hands into, it focused me so much more on where I felt I needed to be, and doing those things rounded me out both professionally and personally."

Although Foreman is humbled by winning this award, he says biggest achievement in 2013 was not on any awards package.

"I have a two-year-old son and a six-month-old daughter. If I am able to bring something like them into this world, it makes all my other achievements irrelevant," he said. "Those are my two proudest accomplishments."

Whether investing his time changing diapers, or training first-term Airmen, for Foreman, it is more about being confident in what you do and doing it because it is the right thing to do.

"If you believe in what you are doing, you are going to succeed," he said.