Thirty-six Airmen and two Sailors recently graduated from Tinker’s Airman Leadership School.
Graduates are:
138th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
Senior Airman Andrew Schweighardt
157th Air Refueling Wing
Senior Airman Joshua Grant, John L. Levitow Award Winner
552nd Air Control Network Squadron
Staff Sgt. Zachary Goyer, Freedom Citation Winner
Senior Airman Christopher Foster Jr.
552nd Air Control Wing
Senior Airman Shawn Butler II
552nd Aircraft Maintenance Group
Senior Airman Trever Sheehan
552nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
Senior Airman Paul Buerger, Academic Achievement Award
Senior Airman Kasey Krumwiede
Senior Airman Daniel Lucas, Distinguished Graduate
Senior Airman Ryan Maasry
Senior Airman Donald Cox
Senior Airman Daniel Davies
Senior Airman Larry Edwards
Senior Airman Scott Rimbach
Senior Airman Kurtis Dement
Senior Airman Joshua Hart
Senior Airman Jackson Henretta
552nd Maintenance Squadron
Senior Airman Jessica Banzuelo
Senior Airman Jesse Kane
Senior Airman Ian Mclain
Senior Airman Keegan Biasi
Senior Airman Grant Jackson
552nd Operations Support Squadron
Senior Airman Andrew Sanchez
Senior Airman Unity Corona
Senior Airman Adam Khrais
72nd Logistics Readiness Squadron
Senior Airman Sara Weaver
72nd Medical Support Squadron
Senior Airman Brandon Hill
72nd Security Forces Squadron
Senior Airman Caleb Epp
Senior Airman Ryan Plambeck
Senior Airman Gianni Santa Cruz
960th Airborne Air Control Squadron
Senior Airman Evan Hedrick
963rd Airborne Air Control Squadron
Staff Sgt. Austin Lawton, Distinguished Graduate
964th Airborne Air Control Squadron
Staff Sgt. Samuel Katchen
965th Airborne Air Control Squadron
Senior Airman Jerome Reid
Senior Airman Bryce Boyer
966th Airborne Air Control Squadron
Senior Airman Michael Rodriguez
Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron THREE
Petty Officer 3rd Class Cesar Aldape, Leadership Award and Distinguished Graduate
Petty Officer 3rd Class Emory Schamel
Freedom Citation:
What freedom means to me
Staff Sgt. Zachary Goyer
552nd Air Control Network Squadron
When you ask most people what “freedom” means to them, you’ll probably get an answer along the lines of “being free to do what I want,” which is true, to an extent. Being free to think, speak, believe, worship (or not worship) and generally live as you want is a freedom we enjoy in America. But I do not think that those ideals fully encompass what freedom really is.
French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre once said, “Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does. It is up to you to give [life] a meaning.” Truly enough, we all have our own responsibilities: to ourselves, to our loved ones and friends. Freedom is, in some ways, an enormous burden to bear. However, in other ways, the ultimate responsibility we all bear for our own actions can be intensely liberating and inspiring. To realize that you, and you alone, are responsible for your actions and no one else’s, can be a source of immense relief and comfort in a world that so often feels outside our control.
In a letter to Nikita Khrushchev, then-premier of the Soviet Union, President John F. Kennedy said, “The great revolution in the history of man, past, present and future, is the revolution of those determined to be free.” I believe that what he meant by this was that each individual has a choice to make: between being free and being limited. To be limited means to not have to make any difficult choices, to not have to deal with uncomfortable situations and not have any truly hard thinking to do. Surely there are other people more qualified or more intelligent than me, to do those things? But to be free, to me, means to be able to face all of life’s challenges head on, with all the risks of failure and the rewards of success; to greet this challenge with determination and a firm conviction; to keep pursuing my goals, no matter how often I may fall or how many others may say it would be easier to settle for something less.
Many times, it may be far easier to settle for less than to pursue more. But settling, to me, is not what freedom is about. Freedom is difficult, far more than most people believe. But it is also far preferable to any alternative. So, when you ask most people what “freedom” means to them, you’ll probably get an answer along the lines of “being free to do what I want.” But to me, it is much more than that. It is the responsibility to choose our own path in life; to struggle to maintain our own individual goals and personality; to pursue those goals with vigor and hearty enthusiasm. And, when all is said and done, to experience the rewards of our efforts, whatever those may be. That, put simply, is what freedom means to me.