Honoring excellence

SATHER AIR BASE, Iraq -- Capt. Troy McGath, left, Staff Sgt. Justin Cook, center, and Master Sgt. Donald Sawyer fold a flag flown here Nov. 10 in honor of the anniversary of Sergeant Cook's first day of Air Force Basic Military Training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. Captain McGath, then a technical sergeant, was Sergeant Cook's technical instructor in 1998. Inspired by Captain McGath’s “consistent demonstrations of excellence as a TI,” Sergeant Cook applied, and was selected to be a technical instructor in October 2008. Captain McGath, who served as a TI from 1993-2000 and currently serves as the 447th Air Expeditionary Group commander’s executive, is deployed from Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. Sergeant Cook, a 447th Expeditionary Communications Squadron network controller, is deployed from Robins Air Force Base, Ga. Sergeant Sawyer, 447th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron Transient Alert, is an Air National Guardman deployed from Wichita, Kan. (Staff Sgt. Jennifer Lindsey)