LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Senior Airman Kodi Tomassi, 47th Flying Training Wing command post emergency actions controller, was chosen by wing leadership to be the “XLer” of the week, for the week of Feb. 5, 2018.
The “XLer” award, presented by Col. Charlie Velino, 47th Flying Training Wing commander, is given to those who consistently make outstanding contributions to their unit and the Laughlin mission.
When his unit was faced with a manning deficit, Tomassi picked up an additional 24 hours to support emergency and convalescent leave amongst his wingmen.
“With a unit as small as ours, we are constantly helping each other out both inside and outside of work,” said Tomassi. “This time I saw an opportunity to contribute due to the situation at hand.”
Tomassi also reacted to two in-flight emergencies (IFE), coordinating with different agencies and notifying leadership within five minutes.
“Ever since the unfortunate event with the IFE in November, every single IFE must be treated as if the outcome could be the same,” said Tomassi, referring to a fatal T-38 Talon crash. “Time is of the essence when it comes to notifying the proper agencies, leadership and headquarters because members of Laughlin's lives are at stake.”
Outside of his duty hours, Tomassi coaches youth basketball, which lets him share his passion for the sport with younger generations.
“Basketball has so many different life applications that can be found in a person’s overall development,” he said. “Patience, perseverance, dedication, teamwork, trust, awareness — these are things that I hope to instill into the upcoming generation of kids in a way that [we all] enjoy.”
While Tomassi has gained recognition for his hard work, he is quick to give credit to his wingmen and mentors in the command post.
“This award is a total command post team award,” Tomassi said. “I couldn't be where I'm at right now without learning something almost every day from each individual in my unit. I'm just happy to bring recognition to us and everything that we do at the command post.”