23d MXS NCO Earns AFSA International NCO of the Year

MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. — Tech. Sgt. Garrett Jenkins, 23d Maintenance Squadron wing corrosion manager, earned the Air Force Sergeants Association (AFSA) International Non-commissioned Officer of the Year award after advancing through local and division-level competition.
Jenkins learned he had earned the international recognition while attending AFSA’s International Conference in Orlando, Florida, where nominees representing divisions from around the world gathered for the organization’s annual event.
Growing up in a small Virginia town, Jenkins parents instilled qualities in him that continue to have a great impact on his life and shapes how he approaches professional development.
“If I can do it, I think that anybody can do it,” Jenkins said. “The one thing they instilled in me is work ethic, and I think that’s something that’s kind of transferred over to my Air Force career.”
While the award recognizes an individual, Jenkins said the accomplishments behind it were the result of the Airmen and NCOs working alongside him.
“My team is what made me successful,” Jenkins said. “I would not have been able to have been as successful as I was without them.”
Jenkins’ involvement with AFSA began in 2023 while he was serving as an Airman Leadership School instructor at Buckley Space Force Base, Colorado. He attended an AFSA International Conference, initially drawn to the professional development opportunities offered through Summit 365.
There, Jenkins learned more about AFSA’s broader mission. Founded in 1961, AFSA advocates for enlisted service members, veterans and their families, with efforts ranging from legislative advocacy to professional development and community involvement. The organization also provides enlisted members a collective voice on quality-of-life issues affecting military members and their families.
For Jenkins, learning about that mission gave him a reason to become more involved. His involvement continued after arriving at Moody, where he took on leadership responsibilities within Chapter 460 and eventually became its president. Jenkins also serves as a division membership trustee, focusing on membership efforts beyond the local chapter.
His approach to leadership was shaped long before receiving international recognition.
During his eight years in the Air Force, Jenkins credits the mentors who’ve helped him develop from a young Airman who focused primarily on doing his job into an NCO who understands the larger responsibility of leading others.
“I’ve been very blessed,” Jenkins said. “I’ve been put in positions where I had good leadership around me, that’s for sure.”
Those experiences now influence how he approaches the Airmen he leads.
“I try to do that for my people,” Jenkins said. “I try to be that for my Airmen who may not have had those great supervisors or those great opportunities that I have been presented with.”
Jenkins’ selection marks the third consecutive year a member of Moody’s AFSA Chapter 460 has earned recognition at the international level. One of Jenkins’ mentors at Moody is Master Sgt. Justin Heitzmann, 23d Wing Plans and Programs superintendent and the 2025 AFSA International Senior Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year. After previously serving as the Chapter 460 president, Heitzmann transitioned into the chapter’s senior adviser role, where he helped mentor Jenkins and other members of the executive council as they assumed new leadership responsibilities. As senior adviser, Heitzmann’s role is less about making decisions for the chapter and more about providing guidance while allowing its current leaders to establish their own direction.
“I wanted him to kind of step into that role,” Heitzmann said. “I learned how to be able to give that information to him from my win and from my transition from being the prior AFSA president down to now the senior advisor role.”
Jenkins arrived with previous AFSA leadership experience and quickly demonstrated his commitment to both the association and Chapter 460. Jenkins later moved into the chapter president position, taking on responsibility for leading its more than 400 members.
“He has an embedded love for the association,” Heitzmann said. “He also cares about leading this chapter and its constituents.”
The recognition is an opportunity to show junior Airmen that accomplishments at this level are within reach.
“The one thing I hope they see is that this can be them too,” Jenkins said. “It’s people that go out there and do their job every day, those people that go out there and volunteer and try to better themselves each and every single day.”
Jenkins encourages Airmen to pursue opportunities outside their primary duties, whether through professional organizations, education, certifications or other avenues that help them grow personally and professionally. That development is less about chasing a specific award or position and more about consistently finding ways to improve.
“If you can make yourself one percent better each and every single day, you’re already making yourself better,” Jenkins said

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