ARPC SNCO wins AFRC-local board award, to compete at AFRC-level

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Belinda Petersen
  • Air Reserve Personnel Center Public Affairs
BUCKLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. --  Air Force Reserve Command officials recently announced Outstanding Airmen of the Year local board-level winners, held at Robins Air Force Base, Ga.

Master Sgt. Javier J. Castro, a member of the Air Reserve Personnel Center, won Outstanding Airman of the Year in the Senior Noncommissioned Officer category.

Brig. Gen. Jay Flournoy, commander of ARPC, honored Castro during a Defense Council meeting, a community relations event attended by more than 100 people including Aurora Chamber of Commerce members, congressional staffers, and unit commanders. "One of our super heroes is Master Sgt. Castro. He was nominated from ARPC and now selected to represent the headquarters, Air Force Reserve Command ," Flournoy said. "He will compete across the command with three numbered Air Forces for Outstanding Airman of the Year."

Castro was responsible for designing the Military Personnel Data System and writing the Air Force-wide migration policy. As a result, the Air Force successfully upgraded and transferred the system to the Defense Information Systems Agency Defense Enterprise Computing Center.

"We're pleased that the MilPDS upgrade took less time than anticipated, and we are well on our way to getting information updated in the system," said Joe Thele, Air Force Personnel Operations Agency director. "The quick turn and successful upgrade is due to the meticulous planning and hard work of our Total Force team."

During this time frame, Castro graduated from the University of Phoenix with highest honors, summa cum laude, earning a bachelor's degree in business management with a 3.92 grade point average. He also graduated from the Air Force Senior NCO Academy and earned Distinguished Warrior Flight as the number one flight out of 20.

Outside of ARPC, Castro was the NCO in charge of Buckley's Honor Guard Team and volunteered 624 hours in the community.

He will now go on to compete at the Air Force Reserve Command-level.