JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas – Two members of the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center team earned Headquarters Air Force Security Forces annual honors recently.
Master Sgt. Thomas Bautista was named Security Forces Senior NCO of the Year and Tech. Sgt. Guthrie McMahon won Security Forces NCO of the Year.
MASTER SGT. THOMAS BAUTISTA
Bautista is a key member of the Air Force Security Forces Center’s strategic resources team.
“Thomas is dedicated and driven to increase the lethality of Air Force Defenders, ensuring they are always prepared and ready for any threat,” said Michael Courtney, chief of AFSFC’s Equipment Management Division.
During the award period, Bautista filled a four-month gap in the senior enlisted leader position, serving as the principal advisor to 10 major command security forces staffs and providing logistical guidance for the purchase of $300 million in equipment, weapons, ammunition and vehicles. He said he’s most proud of his work on E-Blanks systems acquisition and Combat Support Training Range development at the first three sites.
Bautista guided a $7 million acquisition for the Department of the Air Force’s first E-Blanks systems. The electronic platform provides end-users with simulated sounds, flashes and recoils that users would experience with live ammunition during firearms training. The electronic training helped alleviate a nearly 1,600% ammunition inventory shortfall and restored a greater training capacity in support of the Air Force Reoptimizing for Great Power Competition vision.
“The E-blanks systems help address ammunition shortfalls while providing realistic exercises and supplementing live-fire training,” he said
He collaborated with AFIMSC headquarters on a $100 million Mission Ready Airmen Program equipment acquisition to purchase standardized Individual Protective Equipment and Agile Combat Employment sustainment gear for 4,800 Airmen to equip DAF’s first 12 Air Tasks Forces.
He also took courses toward his master’s degree, earned his Defense Acquisition University Acquisition Program Manager certification, won a quarterly wing senior NCO and team of the quarter awards, and mentored a local high school band and orchestra.
Bautista said he’s “proud to work with some of the finest people in the enterprise and although this is an individual award, it was truly a team effort.”
TECH. SGT. GUTHRIE MCMAHON
McMahon is an AFIMSC major command functional manager.
“He’s a leader in our efforts supporting re-optimization for Great Power Competition and establishing the new unit of action. His operations are crucial in providing Airmen in the field the resources they need to succeed against peer threats,” said Col. Anthony Figiera, director of operations at AFIMSC. “I’m supremely proud of Guthrie’s accomplishments and the efforts of the entire A3 team as we shape the future structure of the Air Force.
During the award period, McMahon developed an innovative self-enrollment site that streamlined the processing of 4,000 seats across 19 Mission Readiness Training courses, reducing email communications by 75% and decreasing errors by 20%. This effort earned him Air Force Materiel Command’s 2024 Sijan Leadership Award from a pool of 9,600 eligible candidates.
He was also selected to attend the inaugural Combat Support Instructor Course at Fort Bliss, Texas, where he gained expertise in deployment exercise planning and shooting concepts over three weeks. During the CSIC for combat leaders, a training event with a washout rate of 40%, he was selected to lead the class during a 24/7, three-day culminating field training exercise and earned the prestigious Top Shot Award for his marksmanship skills. His outstanding performance also led to him winning the Annual Federal Executive Board Police Award presented by 75 federal agencies in South Texas.
As an evaluator for the Department of the Air Force’s first Air Base Wing/Defensive Combat Wing exercise, the technical sergeant also spent a month at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, validating 5,100 warfighters across 40 major graded areas. His efforts refined the Global Power Competition Concept of Operations and contributed to him winning the Air Force-level Award.
McMahon also spearheaded an initiative to add 440 seats in four Counter Small Unmanned Aircraft System courses to the training portfolio. This expansion ensures 110 security forces squadrons across the Air Force will have the capabilities they need to counter emerging threats by 2026.
“It’s an incredible honor to be recognized by both my leaders and my career field,” McMahon said of the award. “I’ve been fortunate to work on some remarkable projects alongside highly talented individuals.”
The NCO said his most important achievements during 2024 were graduating from the 35-day CSIC and being selected as vice president of the JBSA-Lackland Air Force Sergeants Association.
“Both experiences have been pivotal in my career, allowing me to make a meaningful impact on others. Through these roles, I’ve contributed to the development of Airmen and played a part in shaping the future of the Air Force as a whole,” he said.
- Published Jan. 15, 2025
- By Debbie Aragon
- Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center Public Affairs
