CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
A Charleston captain was recently named the top graduate of the year for Squadron Officer School, the second consecutive year an Airmen here received that honor.
Capt. Michele Lobianco, a 437th Airlift Wing executive officer previously assigned to the 14th Airlift Squadron, finished first in her class in June and won the Commandant's Leadership Award. She then competed against six other winners for the year to win the 2006 Secretary of the Air Force Leadership Award for SOS. Capt. C.B. Cain, formerly of the 16th Airlift Squadron and now in the Air Force Intern Program at the Pentagon, garnered the 2005 Secretary of the Air Force Leadership Award.
"There's something very special about Team Charleston. Everyone raises their game and pushes each other to new heights ... that's what makes this wing the premier mobility wing in the United States Air Force," said Col. Glen Joerger, 437th Airlift Wing commander. "Winning this award -- the number one SOS graduate out of all 117 Air Forces bases for the second year in a row -- is remarkable. I'm proud to have Michele on our team."
Captain Lobianco said she didn't have a specific goal to be the top grad but went with the goal of doing well.
"I wanted to learn from my peers and offer anything I could to contribute to the class. I took it seriously and at the same time wanted to have fun with it," she said. "If I learned to be a better officer and a better peer, I met my goal."
She said teamwork is the key to success and that's what she focused on while in SOS.
"I did what I felt was right. I worked hard and tried to build a cohesive team. Everyday I would ask myself, 'What have I done today for them (my classmates)?' and 'How could I do it better?' she said. "If I remembered to take care of them then everything else worked itself out."
Captain Lobianco will travel back to Maxwell AFB, Ala., to receive her award May 17.
"I feel extremely grateful," she said. "I had a wonderful class that was supportive of one another. I feel that this award is as much theirs as it is mine."