ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- The Air Education and Training Command’s 2022 Blacks in Government (BIG) Meritorious Service Award was awarded to Senior Master Sgt. Byron Ball, 97th Civil Engineer Squadron deputy fire chief, at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma, April 2022.
The BIG Meritorious Service Award honors both military and civilians who have supported the DoD mission and overseas operations, and whose qualities best represent the core values of integrity first, service before self and excellence in all we do.
“This award is special because they’re able to highlight the things service members do that normally wouldn’t get recognized,” said Ball. “I know I’m getting recognized, but there were so many people that helped me get to this point and it was a team effort.”
Over the past year, Ball served as the first sergeant for the 97th Training Squadron, 407th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron at Al Jaber Air Base, Kuwait, as well as a senior enlisted leader when forward deployed to Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar.
Ball guided Air Force Central Command’s only joint Security Forces Squadron, supporting a team of 297 Airmen and Marines. They safeguarded 2,400 allied forces, securing 2.9 billion assets and enabling 2,200 combat sorties in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. Additionally, he forward deployed to Qatar in support of Operation Allies Refuge, where he led the daily operations of the largest operating location by directing 200 personnel during the arrival, screening, housing, feeding and clothing of 10,000 total evacuees and reuniting 145 refugee families.
“One of the most memorable things was reuniting those families,” said Ball. “Families were diverted to different places, and to have the chance to reunite them together, it was a cool and gratifying experience.”
When asked about Ball, Lt. Col. Austin Pruneda, 378th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron commander, reflected on his “cool and calm” presence in Qatar.
“His demeanor allowed our team to support a warehouse that had more than six thousand people in it at its peak,” he said. “It was an extremely unstable environment in some of the harshest conditions, but his efforts led those people to freedom across the globe.”
Once informed about the forward deployment to Qatar and asked to find several first sergeants to send, Ball was the first to volunteer.
“Senior Ball is the epitome of a selfless servant, foremost, and practices servant leadership,” said Lt. Col. Matthew Tarnowski, 97th TRS commander. “Within hours of arriving in Qatar, he was personally in charge of the health and welfare of more than 10,000 refugees. It’s a monumental sacrifice of one’s physical and emotional well being for the care of strangers.”
During his deployment, Ball worked with many people including Senior Master Sgt. James Marier, 157th Air Refueling Wing’s first sergeant, who illustrated how Ball best represented the Air Force core values.
“Integrity first right? People say integrity is doing the right thing when nobody’s looking. For Senior Ball, doing the wrong thing isn’t an option,” he said. “Service before self? His service before self is his people; anybody that’s in the service, that’s the service where he takes care of all them before taking care of himself. Excellence in all we do? There’s no stopping him, he doesn’t rest until he’s done.”
When given the chance to express his feelings about receiving the BIG award, Ball reflected upon his career.
“I joined when I was 17,” he said. “To look back at all the things that I’ve been able to accomplish and the friends I made, then to get recognized, it was probably one of the most special ones. I just don’t want to take credit for something that so many people helped out on and I wouldn’t be able to do by myself.”
While he would be too humble to do so himself, Ball’s former commander gives him the credit for this distinction.
“We train exceptional Airmen,” said Tarnowski. “Senior Ball IS an exceptional Airmen, and at his core he has always been one to do what’s right, and that’s what we need in leaders today for tomorrow’s fight.”