Las Vegas staff sergeant selected Guard NCO of Year

Dick Benoit

Thursday, Feb. 28, 2002 | 9:16 a.m.

Staff Sgt. Steven Golladay of the Det 5 Medical Unit was named Nevada Army National Guard's non-commissioned officer of the year during ceremonies at Nellis Air Force Base on Saturday.

Golladay was nominated by his unit, then passed an intense NCO of the Year review board, answering questions on leadership, military bearing and military knowledge.

The soldier, in his civilian life a production supervisor for Cintas Corp., a uniform manufacturer in North Las Vegas, has been a member of the National Guard for eight years. He formerly served as instructor with the Illinois National Guard before relocating to Nevada.

"Golladay has demonstrated strong leadership ability by carrying out support missions for units being deployed," his first sergeant, Kelly Cusanelli, said. "These include the 1864th Truck Co.'s deployment to Egypt, the 72nd Military Police being deployed to support Operation Noble Eagle and the airport security mission in support of homeland security. He clearly knows his job as a medic, which makes him a valuable asset to the Army National Guard."

Nevada's role in fight on terrorism

The commander of the Nevada Air National Guard, Brig. Gen. Steve Vonderheide, has been keeping close tabs on the deployed troops of the 152nd Airlift Wing.

"We have Air Guard members spread all over the world," Vonderheide said. "Most are deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, but we've been called upon frequently in the past, so these missions come as no surprise."

The recent announcement of the Nevada security forces being deployed in Afghanistan was significant in opening up some of the closely held classified locations of Nevada's deployed troops.

"I am pleased that the citizens of Nevada are now aware of the challenging mission the Air Guard has undertaken," Vonderheide said. "We can now speak of our airmen with respect and pride as to their great dedication to duty in such a demanding situation."

The 152 Intelligence Squadron, on active duty since October, has members deployed to Europe, and the East and West coasts of the United States. The squadron is deployed as the lead Air Force unit involving some of the most advanced imagery collection available today.

"Our unit has retained this valuable asset of imagery excellence," the general said, "and when this expertise is needed, we are the first ones called." They receive, review, analyze and report on the imagery findings to the war operations center that is responsible for the planning and the operations efforts in Afghanistan, he said.

Vonderheide said the 152nd Airlift Wing members, flying the C-130H transport aircraft, just returned from South America after a 90-day rotation. In addition there are Air Guard security forces on active duty guarding the local base and the three Nevada commercial airports, he said.

Nineteen members of Air Guard personnel worked in Las Vegas in support of Operation Gateway supporting the Olympics.

"No one knows where this will end, but we will be ready and honored to do our part," Vonderheide said. "Our community, our state and our families should be very proud and excited about the profound effect that the Nevada Air National Guard airmen are having on the war effort."

In brief

Cuhna, the son of Tony Cunha of Las Vegas and Tami Ledesma of Henderson, trained to troubleshoot, and repair suspension systems, internal combustion engines and power trains, wheel-hub assemblies, hydraulic brake and steering systems, and operate a wheeled vehicle crane, hoist, and winch assemblies.