COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- Senior Airman Samuel Miller, 14th Medical Operation Squadron Aerospace and Operational Physiology Technician, recently won several awards while stationed at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi.
Miller was selected as the 14th Flying Training Wing Airman of the Year at the 2016 Annual Awards Banquet, 19th Air Force Outstanding Airman of the Year and was recognized by the Air Force Medical Service as the U.S. Air Force Aerospace and Operational Physiology Airman of the Year.
“Last year, I won Airman of the Quarter and it kind of snowballed from there,” Miller said. “It set me up for being competitive with other awards. They told me I had a good shot at winning if I continued to work hard.”
He is from Cincinnati, Ohio and achieved a Bachelor’s Degree in Business before starting his Air Force career.
“I went to college before I joined the Air Force,” Miller said. “After trying for a year or two to get a job with my degree, I started looking at joining the military. I thought, ‘why not?’ and got put in AOP.”
Miller thrived in his new job and became very proficient in his craft.
“I didn’t really know much about my job, but I found I really liked it after I got here,” Miller said. “The leadership here is really great and has pushed me to succeed. They tasked me more than before and challenged me to improve.”
He was initially uncomfortable with teaching students, but with experience, came confidence, leading him to better his performance both on and off duty.
“The Air Force has done good things for me,” Miller said. “The last two years have taught me to be much more independent, given me a skill and of course I met my wife here. I’ve thought about furthering my career and commissioning as well.”
Miller has been identified by his leadership as “a step above the rest” and was given the tools to succeed. He was nominated by his supervisor for his award packages.
“Over the last year, we have had low manning in the shop and so Airman Miller has been working at an NCO level position as an Airman,” said 2nd Lt. Vikas Kumar, 14th MDOS AOP Element Chief of Operations. “This is just one of the things he has done to tell me he is a high-speed Airman who deserves to be recognized for his contributions. He always brings in a smile and a good attitude and is always willing to do what we ask of him.”
His professionalism, job experience and leadership led him to be the best Airman he can be and to bring pride to himself and his unit by winning these awards at such a high level.
“Sam is truly an asset to the flight,” said Maj. Eric Chase, 14th MDOS AOP Flight Commander. “His success stems largely from having a true vision of how we can improve the flight and the training we offer to student pilots, as well as seasoned aircrew. That type of drive can be difficult to instill in anyone, regardless of rank. But for Sam, it simply comes naturally.”