Air Force recognizes Cannon NCO

USAF photo: Greg Allen Staff Sgt. Carla Plummer, 27th Special Operations Support Squadron, received the Air Force’s 2009 Airfield Management Training Achievement Award recently for her efforts in overhauling the training program at Cannon Air Force Base. Her notable achievements included revamping the training program to meet new mission requirements and creating a local certification guide to provide solid training.

The Air Force recognized an NCO for her development of a training program that was praised by inspectors as the program for other units to emulate.

Staff Sgt. Carla Plummer, 27th Special Operations Support Squadron, was lauded for her achievements in airfield management in the 2009 Airfield Operation Awards program.

When Plummer arrived at Cannon in 2008 from Elmendorf, Alaska, she was put in charge of training and began to revamp the entire airfield management training program that that ultimately resulted in zero write-ups on more than 800 tasks.

Airfield operations, a flight within the operations support squadron, is responsible for airfield operations and control, specifically airfield management and air traffic control.

“I wanted to get everybody trained correctly so that down the road in their career they would be better leaders,” she said. She changed the training that had once been Air Combat Command-specific to a program that met the mission needs of Air Force Special Operations Command.

Her accomplishments included revising the guide for new airfield management airmen and creating a 24-page certification guide that provided a solid training foundation. She added 12 tasks for her airmen, but simplified procedures as she reviewed 150 records monthly and identified and corrected overlooked deficiencies.

Plummer also found time to earn a degree in aviation sciences while she was here and hopes to earn a commission. But first she will pack her bags once more and head to Turkey in two months for her next assignment.

“She’s leaving some big shoes to fill,” said her supervisor, Tech. Sgt. Bryan Green. “She implemented a lot of good training for the airmen coming in and added new flight-planning software that will cut down the time it takes to get the mission done.”