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ANG's Outstanding First Sergeant of the Year: Senior Master Sgt. Jack N. Minaya

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. John E. Hillier
  • Air National Guard Readiness Center Public Affairs
JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. --  Taking care of his people is what motivates Senior Master Sgt. Jack N. Minaya, the Air National Guard's Outstanding First Sergeant of the Year.

Minaya is a first sergeant assigned to the 214th Reconnaissance Squadron, 162nd Wing, of the Arizona Air National Guard, and was selected for his tireless devotion to ensuring his Airmen's high levels of morale and readiness.

Minaya was selected for this honor among all other Air National Guard members serving in the first sergeant special duty career field. First sergeants serve as a dedicated point of contact for health, morale, readiness and quality of life issues within their units.

He was actually considering retirement, when the opportunity to be a first sergeant came up.

"My wing's First Sergeant Council sought me out for the position," said Minaya. "They asked me to put my package in and board for the job. Making the transition to the job and doing something new has been great for me. Getting to know our people is the best thing I do, finding out about their families, or how things are going."

Minaya spent most of his Air Force career in the communications and cyber fields, working in a variety of positions. After seven years in the active component, he joined the Arizona ANG. As a Guardsman, he's also had the opportunity to work with the Joint Counter-Narcotics Task Force, and now, as a first sergeant.

"I'm a first generation American; my parents came from the Dominican Republic," Minaya said. "One thing that my mother said that stuck with me was that we owe this country a lot. It's one of the things that inspired me to join. The other reason is teamwork - I wanted to be part of a team."

"I chose to leave the active component for my family, but I still continue to serve. In the Guard I can do both - I can still serve my country, but my family can stay in one place and put some roots down."

Minaya joined the Air Force searching for a chance to experience teamwork, and as a first sergeant, he's certainly found it.

"Being a first sergeant, you get to see people when they're at their lowest point, and you get to see them when they succeed," he said. "I especially enjoy handing out awards and seeing people progressing. My experience on active duty was that you only saw the first sergeant when you were in-processing, out-processing or in trouble. But when I joined the Guard, I got to see exactly what the first sergeant did; we are way more than processing and people in trouble. I think that's what drew me to being a first shirt."

As a training unit's first sergeant, Minaya is responsible for more than 200 Airmen. Being able to communicate openly with a wide variety of people is a necessity in his job.

"You have to be approachable to be a first sergeant, you have to get to know your people," Minaya said. "You can't ride the seat; I'm rarely at my desk, I'm out walking around making sure that I'm seen. Some people aren't like that - they'd rather work with equipment than people. Not me. I like to go talk to people."

First sergeants also have to ensure they mirror the standards they enforce.

"It's about integrity," said Minaya. "It goes to always trying to do the right thing the first time. Eventually, you have to face yourself in the mirror and say 'I did my best.' And if you can't do that, you've just lied to yourself."

In his civilian life, Minaya is an information technology officer for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

"Working on newer technologies that Customs uses is a lot of fun," said Minaya. "Every day's a different challenge. You're never sitting still doing the same thing over and over. A lot of agents I work with are Guard and Reserve, prior service, or retired from active duty themselves. So that connection, those same shared experiences really never go away."

When Minaya needs a pick-me-up, he laces up his shoes and goes for a run.

"I love running, said Minaya. "I'm not a marathoner or anything like that, but I like to challenge myself. Of course I don't go out and run in Tucson when it's 100-something degrees, I like running indoors."

"PT for me is a great stress outlet; I love doing it," he said. "I can disconnect, just work on myself and energize through the day. If I can't take care of myself, how can I take care of anyone else?"