AIA announces First Sergeant of the Year

MSgt. Dennis Gilroy has been a first sergeant since November 1988 and is 1999’s First Sergeant of the Year.

Today he is the first sergeant at the Air Force Technical Applications Center, an AIA administratively-supported unit, at Patrick Air Force Base, Fla., where he oversees the welfare of nearly 400 military members. A few of the duties performed by Gilroy during the past year included, helping a 17-person team deal with the death of a member following an explosives accident, providing Thanksgiving basket supplies for six families with 24 family members, reviving AFTAC’s Safe-Ride program, and participating in two officer professional development classes and one Airman Leadership School class.

Gilroy also volunteered for a 120-day TDY to Saudi Arabia, where he established the squadron’s first unit advisory council and instituted an anthrax vaccination program that resulted in 98 percent wing completion rate within 30 days for more than 4,500 people.

After nearly 23 years, Gilroy said that his secret to success “is the dedication and support I receive from my family and the fact that my unit allows me to perform my job.” He also said, “My idea of success is giving 100 percent of myself and skills to take care of our Air Force people and to do the right thing.”