Air traffic control apprentice SrA. Joshua Matias is the 2006 winner of the Air Traffic Control Association’s Lingiam Odems Memorial Award. Currently deployed to the 332nd Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron at Balad AB, Iraq, for the second time, Matias actually got the award for the work he did on his first deployment to Balad, from May through September 2005.
Air Force depots are not typically meant for quick repair jobs, but during Operation Epic Fury, the service moved some of its stateside heavy maintenance capability forward to fix battle-damaged aircraft closer to the fight.
