Airlifter of the Week: SERE NCOIC can’t escape recognition

Brig. Gen. Mark August, 86th Airlift Wing commander, poses for a photo with U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Christian Martin, 86th Operation Support Squadron Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape Training non-commissioned officer in charge, in recognition of Martin receiving Airlifter of the Week Oct. 31, on Ramstein Air Base. Martin maintains just under one million dollars worth of facilities and training equipment in order to sustain aircrew currencies for missions spanning three geographic combatant commands.

Staff Sgt. Christian Martin, 86th Operations Support Squadron Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape Training non-commissioned officer in charge, might be able to evade capture in the wilderness, but he couldn’t escape the surprise when leadership recognized him as Airlifter of the Week, Oct. 31 on Ramstein Air Base.

Martin leads the 86th Airlift Wing SERE Refresher Training program. As program lead, he schedules 36 training events annually, as well as impromptu training events to support more than 500 flyers annually.

Martin maintains just under one million dollars worth of facilities and training equipment in order to sustain aircrew currencies for missions spanning three geographic combatant commands. During a recent deployment, Martin led a five-day training event for Kenyan Defense Forces, increasing the response capabilities in remote areas by ten percent.

He has recently been certified to operate maritime surface vessels in order to expand current personnel recovery training during bilateral flying exercises, enabling full mission profile search and rescue operations with partner nations.

Finally, as a government purchase card holder, Martin diligently worked to acquire vital equipment for the 86th OSS to expand their personnel recovery support for high risk of isolation personnel within United States Air Forces in Europe and Africa. Martin’s dedication to his personnel recovery and training missions enable aircrew to perform their missions across multiple theaters.

In a conversation with Brig. Gen. Mark August, 86th AW commander, Martin said he is both proud and grateful to be named Airlifter of the Week.

“Although unnecessary, it’s always nice to be recognized,” said Martin.

Martin went on to provide several ideas to improve the efficiency of SERE training held on Ramstein. He has proven himself capable of being both a master and student in his field through his competence and unrelenting desire to improve.