Three 167th Airmen to vie for national titles

  • Published
  • By SSgt Sherree Grebenstein
  • 167AW
Martinsburg, W.Va. --  After being given the nod as the top Airmen of the Year from the 167th Airlift Wing, three Wingmen based in Martinsburg, W.Va., captured their respective categories during the state-wide competition held in January.
Now Senior Airman Luke A. Shambaugh, Tech Sgt. Brandon J. Layman and Staff Sgt. Glenn F. Macher III will vie for top Airmen in the nationwide competition that will be held at Andrews Air Force Base.
In December, 2009 Senior Airman Shambaugh was named Airman of the Year for the 167th Airlift Wing in the E-2 to E-4 category with Sgt. Layman garnering the top spot for the E-5 to E-6 category. Sgt. Macher was named as best Airman representing the Wing's Honor Guard.
Command Chief Master Sgt. John Alderton of the 167th Airlift Wing was on the state's selection board, but neither he nor Command Chief Master Sgt. Marshall Adkins with the 130th Airlift Wing cast a vote in the process. Chief Alderton said three chiefs from each Wing were charged with voting for the top Airmen with State Command Chief Master Sgt. Ronald D. Bowe II serving as president of the board.
"We are all the West Virginia Air National Guard," Chief Alderton said. "Each Wing has outstanding folks."
In an e-mail, Command Chief Bowe lauded the accomplishments of those Airmen chosen to represent West Virginia in the national competition.
"Every year it is a hard task in selecting our finest Airmen and this year was no different," he said. "Anyone of the Airmen who meet the board could have been selected. That's how close they were."
Master Sgt. Carrie A. Schlichtenmyer with the 130th Airlift Wing was named the Senior Noncommissioned Officer for the state and also awarded the James Kemp McLaughlin Award. Master Sgt. Charles E. Brown with the 130th Airlift Wing was awarded the honor of being the best first sergeant in the West Virginia Air National Guard.
Chief Alderton said the best in the 167th and 130th Airlift Wings will represent West Virginia when they vie against Airmen from across the country who serves on active duty as well as in the Guard and Reserves.
The Airmen will vie for the top 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year spots, Chief Alderton said. They will vie in five different categories to include the Airman, E-2 to E-4 category; NCO, E-5 to E-6 category; Senior NCO, E-7 to E-9 category; Base Honor Guard member; Base Honor Guard Manager and First Sergeant of the Year.
Chief Alderton encourages supervisors and commanders to start looking at Airmen to possibly nominate for the 2011 Outstanding Airmen of the Year.
Airman Shambaugh is an installation entry controller with the 167th Security Forces Squadron. He is a 2006 graduate of Berkeley Springs High School and graduated from the West Virginia State Police Academy's Basic Law Enforcement Officers Course in 2009. His military career began when he enlisted in the 167th Airlift Wing in May 2007. He became the first Airman First Class in recent history to be certified as a flight armorer.
He applied for and was hired as a deputy for the Morgan County Sheriff's Department, becoming the youngest deputy for that agency. He is also the youngest deputy to graduate from the West Virginia State Police, Basic Law Enforcement Academy for Morgan County.
Sergeant Layman is a security response team leader with the 167th Airlift Wing. He began his military career by enlisting in the United States Army in May 1997. He joined the 167th Airlift Wing's Security Forces Squadron in July, 2004, and attended the Security Forces Academy in San Antonio, Texas, where he earned the Distinguished Honor Graduate award.
Sgt. Layman completed his Level 5 and Level 7 courses in record time and completed the Non-Commissioned Officers Course in January 2009. He is also a graduate of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glenco, Ga.
Deployed to the 447th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron at Sather Air Base, Baghdad International Airport, Iraq, he was assigned as a security response team leader. He was responsible for security and integrated base defense operations through combat patrolling and providing force protection to personnel and Air Force assets.
He was a major player in providing security for President George W. Bush, U.S. Sen. John McCain, the British Prime Minister, President of Iraq, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Air Force and the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force when they visited the international airport in Baghdad, Iraq. He was also an integral part of the team responsible for the enormous mission of securing Air Force One during the Presidential Visit.
Sergeant Macher is a firefighter for the 167th Airlift Wing's Civil Engineer Squadron. He
entered military service in 2000. He graduated from the Security Forces Academy in November 2001. After returning to the 167th Airlift Wing's Security Forces Squadron, he received mobilization orders to support base defense operations as a result of the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. He worked many different details within the squadron such as a base entry controller, a base patrol unit as well as providing security for the flight line.
He attended the Lewis F. Garland Fire Academy at Goodfellow Air Force Base in Texas where he was honored with the distinguished graduate award.
Sgt. Macher worked at the Wing's fire department as a fulltime state employee until February 2005 when he left to seek employment as a civilian firefighter in the local area. In August 2005 he was activated for 120 days in support of the 429th Expeditionary Operations Squadron in the Netherlands Antilles. His duties included crash rescue, emergency medical services to the base and fire inspector.