Flight Safety NCO of the Year: TSGT Sebastian J. Schmidt

TSGT Sebastian J. Schmidt
43d Air Mobility Operations Group,
Pope Army Airfield, NC

TSGT Sebastian J. Schmidt, Flight Safety Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) of the 43d Air Mobility Operations Group, Pope Army Airfield (PAAF), NC, has been named the 2021 Air Mobility Command (AMC) Flight Safety NCO of the Year.

While deployed to Africa, Schmidt revamped three base safety programs and fortified the building partnership capacity with the Niger Armed Forces.

PAAF’s runway will reopen on time after a $91 million runway replacement project, thanks in part to a safety program Schmidt led for AMC’s second-busiest airfield.

He directed three wing-level program assessments at Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy, identifying two deficiencies and four hazards. Schmidt wrote six recommendations, correcting a 2-year delinquency in the process.

Schmidt elevated airfield depredation capability by 50 percent when he built a weapons safety program forging standard operating procedures.

He guided three 82d Airborne Division deployment readiness exercises, supporting 277 missions with 636 cargo tons and 12,000 passengers.

Schmidt tackled three programs and 28 tasks, overseeing occupational and flight safety, eliminating a 50-percent manpower deficit.

He instructed a training class about C 17s, C 130s, and C-5s, provided system training for 27 fire department personnel and elevated emergency procedure qualification by 36 percent. He taught three maintenance Bird/Wildlife Aviation Safety Hazard reporting courses, enabling 132 Special Assignment Airlift Missions and 497 Joint Airborne/Air Transportability Training missions.

Schmidt advanced a $166 million Army Special Operations Aviation Division mission and was key to the safe execution of 656 intelligence–surveillance– reconnaissance deployments.

He revitalized the geographically separated unit flight safety inspection program. He identified deficiencies and coordinated six memoranda of agreement with two host installations, tripling their evaluation rates.

Schmidt earned 11 credit hours for completing five Community College of the Air Force courses. He graduated from the 40-hour Senior Enlisted Joint Professional Military Education I course, maintaining a 3.8-grade point average as he worked toward his completed degree.

He led the Crash Damaged or Disabled Aircraft Recovery response for a disabled C-208 and crafted a nose landing gear support brace to reset the international airport to be fully mission capable in less than 2 hours.