TSgt. Michael Asuncion, a pavement and equipment craftsman with the 45th Civil Engineer Squadron at Patrick AFB, Fla., is one of the Air Force’s 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year for 2016. Asuncion was vital in the construction of the Royal Air Force’s 44,000-square-foot aircraft maintenance area, enabling coalition forces to obliterate more than 500 ISIS targets. He filled the noncommissioned officer in charge position across two work centers, leading 51 airmen for 130 days, enabling 16 space launches with more than $6.3 billion in payload. He presided over two junior enlisted organizations, influencing more than 1,500 members across two areas of responsibilities. His leadership led to six quarterly awards, culminating in his team earning the Heavy Equipment Shop Team of the Year award. This contributed to his squadron and operations flights being named the best in Air Force Space Command in 2015. Air Force Magazine is shining the spotlight on each OAY in the days leading up to AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference, which starts Sept. 19 in National Harbor, Md. Also featured were: SMSgt. Mark Farmer, SMSgt. Jeremiah Grisham, SMSgt. Rebecca McNelley, and MSgt. Marcus Mader.
A-10 Thunderbolt II attack planes in the Middle East are flying with fresh modifications as the Air Force looks to make the plane more versatile amid America’s ongoing blockade of Iranian ports and a tenuous ceasefire in the U.S. air war against Iran.