Academy Gets Air Guard Military Trainer

MSgt. Donald Steven Sanders, a veteran KC-135 maintainer with the Tennessee Air National Guard’s 134th Air Refueling Wing at McGhee Tyson ANG Base, became the first Air Guard member selected to serve as an academy military trainer at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., according to a release. “He’ll represent us well,” said Col. Burl Lambert, commander of the 134th Maintenance Group. “I think it’s a great thing for the Guard and I think it’s a great thing for the Air Force Academy,” added Lambert. Sanders is a veteran repair and reclamation craftsman, with more than 23 years as an airman and extensive experience working on KC-135s, states the April 13 release. He received the new assignment through the Air Force’s Developmental Special Duties program, which places qualified airmen in roles outside of their given career field in order to foster their leadership skills and leverage their experience. Sanders said he looks forward to being an AMT because he’ll have the opportunity to “get out there and grow a little bit more.”