COMMENTARY>>19 Airmen promotions through below the zone

Nineteen Little Rock Air Force Base airmen first class have been selected for Senior Airman below-the-zone promotions.

The below-the-zone promotion is a competitive early promotion program restricted to elite airmen first class who stand out from their peers and perform duties at a level above their current rank.

The BTZ means Airmen are able to get promoted to senior airman six months earlier than they would normally sew on that rank.

This is not only a financial benefit to the Airmen, but it also affects their testing dates required for the next promotion to staff sergeant, officials said.

The selectees are:

19th Maintenance Operations Squadron

Airman 1st Class Miesha Johnson

50th Airlift Squadron

Airman 1st Class Carlos Lopez

53rd Airlift Squadron

Airman 1st Class Matthew Derda

19th Airlift Wing

Airman 1st Class Barron Dietrich

19th Civil Engineer Squadron

Airman 1st Class Parker Smith

19th Aerospace Medicine Squadron

Airman 1st Class Amanda Mobley

19th Logistics Readiness Squadron

Airman 1st Class Kevin Crowder

Airman 1st Class Andre Westmoreland

19th Equipment Maintenance Squadron

Airman 1st Class David Rudd

Airman 1st Class Jeffrey Mikulan

Airman 1st Class Joshua Moore

Airman 1st Class Andrew Rupipper

Airman 1st Class Vincent Boyd

Airman 1st Class Anthony Owens

19th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron

Airman 1st Class Andrew Dittman

Airman 1st Class Brandon Harris

Airman 1st Class Joshua Lyford

19th Security Forces Squadron

Airman 1st Class Matthew Kelm

Airman 1st Class Tyler Wells

(From compiled reports)