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7th MUNS officer selected for top award at 12 AF

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Alexander Guerrero
  • 7th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  It's not every day that an Airman who has been in a new career for barely a year wins a numbered Air Force-level award. For one Dyess Airman, that day has arrived.

Capt. Jenna Rederus, 7th Munitions Squadron maintenance operations officer, received notice she had won the 12th Air Force Lt. Gen. Leo Marquez Award shortly after transferring to the 7th MUNS. Rederus had originally been an acquisitions officer but will now be assigned to a munitions squadron for the next three years through the Acquisitions and Logistics Experience Exchange Tour program.

"Before coming to MUNS, I was an acquisitions officer. I applied and got accepted into the ALEET program," Rederus said. "I jumped on the opportunity, and I get kind of nerdy about it because I'm pretty excited to be here."

Being new to the career field didn't keep Rederus from being put into a supervisor position right away, although she has had help along the way.

"When I first got here, I got put into an operations officer position, which is pretty crazy for someone who is brand new to munitions. Both my supervision and my Airmen gave me the tools I needed," Rederus said. "But it's the Airmen who work for me, who've really helped me get where I am. They're the ones who help me do the best job possible, so any accolades I receive are a direct reflection upon the Airmen in my squadron."

In the end, her hard work and her ability to put what she had learned into practice did not go unnoticed. Her supervisor wrote her a package and put her in in for the Lt. Gen. Leo Marquez Award.

"I kind of knew my boss was putting me in for something," Rederus said. "Being so new I really didn't know how these kinds of things worked at the higher levels, so when I found out I had been selected, I was pleasantly surprised."

The award is presented to top performers in the logistics and maintenance career fields. Marquez had a long and decorated career and served from November 1954 to August 1987. He was an important figure in Air Force maintenance history and even designed the maintenance occupational badge.

"I didn't expect to win this award, especially one with such an important name attached to it," Rederus said. "It makes me confident in myself, not because of the award directly but because my supervision believes in me enough to put me up for something like this."

Rederus may have won the award for 12th Air Force but there is still more in store for her.

"Every year they select one officer from each munitions squadron from each base," Rederus said. "Now that I've won at the 12 AF, I'll be competing at Air Combat Command. If I win, it would be amazing, and if I don't it's still been an amazing experience because I was recognized at a high level against my fellow peers."