Instructor of the Week: SSgt. Cunningham

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  • By Staff Reports
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs

Staff Sgt. Chad Cunningham, 364th Training Squadron aircraft hydraulic systems instructor and native of Cumberland Furnace, Tennessee, has been in the Air Force for nearly eight and a half years and is the Instructor of the Week at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, for the week of July 25 – Aug. 1, 2017.

 

Most significant accomplishments:

 

“I was selected for Senior Airman Below The Zone, completed my Community College of the Air Force degree, awarded ‘Performer of the Rotator,’ Operation Enduring Freedom 2011, and revived the Maintenance Professional of the Year award in 2010,” Cunningham said.

 

Airman’s story:

 

“I came from Cumberland Furnace, Tennessee, where I graduated from Creek Wood High School in 2006,” he said. “I joined the Air Force in 2009 and was stationed at Hurlburt Field, Florida. I then worked for seven years on several MC-130H aircraft. In 2014, I moved to a composite tool kit (CTK) custodian position and spent time as an equipment custodian and the mobility CTK NCO in Charge. In March of 2016, I was assigned to the 364th TRS to be a Hydraulic Instructor. I have also been deployed twice to Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan.”

 

Supervisor comments:

 

“Sergeant Cunningham has been a key player in the transition of the hydraulic apprentiace course to C-130E aircraft,” said Tech. Sgt. Daniel Cole, aircraft hydraulic systems master instructor. “The knowledge he brought with him from his previous base has allowed for him to educate our Instructor Corps on the operation and theory of the C-130E hydraulic systems. Furthermore, he has been a vital part in ensuring the CTK program is maintained at 100 percent compliance. His efforts have provided the students with a great example of what is to come in the field.”