Dover SNCO wins AF-level award Published Sept. 27, 2007 By Tech. Sgt. Kevin Wallace 436th AW Public Affairs DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- A Dover Air Force Base master sergeant was named the Air Force's 2006 Outstanding Base Bio-environmental Engineer Senior NCO of the year. Master Sgt. John Rinker, 436th Aeromedical Dental Operations Squadron, competed against representatives from 117 other wings for the award. From ensuring the safety of 316 bio-medical employees across 202 research laboratories to being selected as the John Levitow Award winner from his NCO Academy class, the sergeant has numerous accomplishments. During a C-130 fuel spill, the sergeant led the bioenvironmental control center response, contained the spill, ensured protection was in place for 15 emergency responders and prevented the fuel from penetrating containment barriers and possibly contaminating the environment. When Sergeant Rinker was tasked with managing a medical research waste program, he optimized the opportunity and trained more than 400 medical personnel on environmental protection agency-compliant handling and disposal procedures. But the single achievement he's most proud of is being part of a committee that raised money for families hosting Hurricane Katrina victims. "The money we raised went directly to the families hosting Katrina victims," said the sergeant, who raised $1,400 in three days. "Knowing that we helped several families in that time of need is something that will stay with me all my life. But the task was not a solo endeavor, said the sergeant. Like his accomplishments here at Dover, he raised the money as part of a committee - part of a team. He said in every venture he "gets lucky to be part of a team of talented and committed people who know how to execute." In any case, something propelled the sergeant to the top and earned him the title of Best Bio-environmental Senior NCO in the Air Force. The 'something,' he explained, was a mix of belonging to an outstanding unit and having his number-one wingman. "Being part of one of the best Bioenvironmental Engineer team in the Air Force is definitely a motivator," he said. The men and women of Team Dover's bioenvironmental engineer office have a wealth of experience dealing with unique and special circumstances for him to draw from, he said. "Two of my coworkers provided (hazardous material) detection for the 9/11 Pentagon response, two responded to anthrax attacks that same year at Capitol Hill, most of us responded to the C-5 incident in 2006 and there's a lot of deployment experience as well," he said. Sergeant Rinker led the control center operations in response to the C-5 incident. In doing so, he identified hazards and organized a multiple-agency response plan. Indeed, the Team Dover bioenvironmental office knows what being part of something bigger than themselves means to the Air Force mission. "We work together to execute the mission and we take care of each other," he said. But the sergeant explained his office does not have the monopoly on this concept at Dover. "Team Dover looks out for its own," he said. "I'm really enjoying my time and counting my blessings while I'm a part of it. We have great leadership - from my flight commander up to (Col. Steven Harrison, 436th Airlift Wing commander), I know without a doubt that my leadership is behind me." A special woman follows Sergeant Rinker and supports him through every challenge he embarks upon. The woman, he explains does not wear the timeless Arnold Stripes of his fellow warriors, nor does she don the same uniform he does every morning. Yet, she is his wingman, none-the-less. Sergeant Rinker attributes much of everything he's done, to include the award to his wife, Julie. "She's my number-one wingman," he said.