Key Field Air National Guard Base, Miss. -- Ask a logistician about their job, and they might mention something about “putting out fires.” While most would use the tongue-in-cheek phrase to describe working through stressful situations, Capt. Richard “Addison” Swink, a Logistics Readiness Officer in the 186th Air Refueling Wing (ARW) of the Mississippi Air National Guard literally put out a fire during a recent deployment.
But putting out a fire was just a footnote in Swink’s file after a stellar year.
He was named winner of the G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery Leadership Award by the National Guard Association of Mississippi in May 2024. Then—in August, he was named a winner of the Theodore Roosevelt Leadership Award by the National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS) at their annual conference in Detroit, Michigan.
These prestigious awards followed his deployment in Kuwait. While there, Swink served as the Installation Deployment Manager at Ali Al Salem Air Base. He was responsible for moving personnel and cargo through the base. During his time there, he redesigned reporting instructions for the installation and even jumped into action to extinguish a fire when a pallet of paper towels ignited.
Swink was so effective he won Company Grade Officer of the Quarter at the Wing level after twice winning it at the Squadron level. He eventually left the installation after being recognized for his accomplishments during the deployment.
However, Swink says his team really deserves the credit for a job well done.
“Yeah, I had a really great deployment experience.” Swink said when asked about his awards. “But I had great people around me. They made everything so easy. These awards are really just a reflection of their hard work.”
While Swink was quick to credit others, Col. Cynthia Smith, Commander of the 186th Air Refueling Wing, lauded him. “His awards are well deserved and distinguish him from his peers across the entire Air National Guard,” she said. “Capt. Swink’s hard work during his deployment embodied our Wing’s vision to be the ‘standard by which others are measured.’”
Swink’s commanding officer at the 186th Logistics Readiness Squadron (LRS), Lt. Col. Kevin Ryals agreed. “I've worked with Capt. Swink for the past 15 years, and his selection for these awards was a no-brainer,” Ryals said. “These awards acknowledge his leadership skills and commitment to excellence.”
Now back home and serving as the Installation Deployment Officer for the 186th ARW, Capt. Swink has had some time to reflect on his service in the Mississippi Air National Guard, which began when he enlisted as a Fuels Management Specialist at Key Field in 2009. He recalls being surprised after a commissioning board selected him to become a LRS officer, but he’s now been recognized as one of the most outstanding Company Grade Officers in the entire National Guard.
“When I joined the Air National Guard, I never thought my career would turn out like this,” Swink said while being interviewed in his office after winning the NGAUS award. “It’s an honor to be recognized like this, but the real honor has been working with such an incredible team here at Key Field.”
Asked what’s next for him after such a busy year, Swink said he hopes to complete Squadron Officer School—a professional education requirement for promotion—along with some other personal goals. Through a wry grin, he then added, “Whatever it is, I just hope it doesn’t involve flames.”