Flight equipment student aces course

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Jelani Gibson
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Airman 1st Class Andrew Neal, a 361st Training Squadron aircrew flight equipment student, has earned the ACE award Jan. 16.

The ACE award, given for maintaining a 100 percent average, is a challenging feat to accomplish that is rarely done by Airmen going through technical training.

The Johnson City, Tenn., native, who is being based at McConell Air Force Base in Wichita, Kan., looks forward to applying that same excellence toward his operational time in the Air Force.

"I look forward to progressing in my career and mastering the items I will be working with at my base," Neal said.

Once he got the news that he had scored his last 100 percent test score to earn the ACE award, Neal felt as if a big weight was lifted off his shoulders.

"It feels good just doing the job," he said. "I studied a lot."

Staff Sgt. Colin Bucher, a 361st Training Squadron aircrew flight equipment teacher who taught Neal for the majority of the nine block course, is proud of his student and the drive he has shown.
 
"It was very impressive," he said. "I was happy for him. A lot of pressure was put on him from day one. He stepped up to the plate."

As Neal prepares to head to his next base, he views his accomplishment and his career field with a sense of humility and optimism.

"I love it," he said. "I lived up to the three core values."