First Knight

Published Sept. 4, 2008

THULE AIR BASE, Greenland -- Tech. Sgt. Samuel I. Toro Del Toro was selected for this week's First Knight award. This award is designed to recognize outstanding Airmen each week for the work they do every day.

Name: Tech. Sgt. Samuel I. Toro Del Toro

Unit: 821st Support Squadron

Duty Title: Vehicle Operations and Maintenance Quality Assurance Evaluator

Time in service: 11 years

Time assigned to the unit: More than 10 months

Hometown: Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico

Hobbies: Hiking, mountain biking, working on my 1974 Mazda RX-4 (money pit), turbo Volkswagon (ultimate sleeper), my motorcycles and taking them to the track

Favorite music: Ska, Industrial and Spanish rock

Last good movie: "Lord of War"

Last good book: Military Commander and The Law

If you were Chief of Staff of the Air Force for one day, how would you change the Air Force?: "Recently the Air Force managed to make the wrong kind of headlines. We need to refocus in order to fix our problems; ownership and accountability are out of style nowadays. When the process works there's no shortage of people claiming involvement. However when something is difficult or goes wrong, not one person or team can be found. We need to stop chasing accolades, and concentrate on our responsibilities. Do it right especially when nobody's looking!"

Why selected: "As the Vehicle Maintenance QAE, Tech. Sgt. Toro Del Toro voluntarily crossed over to cover for the Transportation QAE while he went on leave. Tech. Sgt. Toro Del Toro learned the job quickly, this was essential because he was stepping up during our annual resupply operation, which is always the busiest time of the year for us." - Maj. Dayton Nooner III, 821st Support Squadron commander

First Knight -- Sept. 11, 2001