Fort Worth airman named National Guardsman of the Year for ‘heroic acts’ on U.S. border

A Texas Air National Guard staff sergeant stationed in Fort Worth has been named USO National Guardsman of the Year for helping save the lives of a mother and 3-year-old child at the U.S./Mexico border.

“Staff Sgt. (Cody) Foster embodies the standards of the core values, and foremost he demonstrated service before self,” said Gary Cole, regional president of the USO, as he presented Foster with the award Saturday at the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth.

Every year, the United Service Organizations presents Service Member of the Year Awards to seven junior enlisted service members — one for every branch of the military. The leadership of each branch is responsible for nominating their award recipient.

Foster, who enlisted in the Air National Guard more than 11 years ago, serves with the 136th Airlift Wing at the Naval Air Station. Three generations of his family have been aviators, he said. He wants to be the fourth generation and the first military aviator in the family.

Opportunities for service were what attracted him to the Air National Guard.

“(It’s) serving in the highest capacity that I could think of,” Foster told the Star-Telegram. “Again, directly helping the community is a big part of it.”

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The National Guard is composed of the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard. Unlike active-duty members of the military, members of the National Guard live in their local communities, hold civilian jobs during the week and train one weekend a month. They can be deployed either by the president or the governor of their state, and they help with local disaster relief.

Tony Whitehead, senior enlisted advisor to the chief of the National Guard Bureau, said the core values of integrity, service before self and excellence are instilled in Guard members, and they learn to keep calm in high-pressure situations.

“You’ll see muscle memory just kick in, so it becomes instinctive to be responsive, to be helpful and to try to remain as calm as you can,” Whitehead said.

Foster was deployed to the U.S./Mexico border for Operation Lone Star, Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security initiative. He told the Star-Telegram that his time there was “heartbreaking and humbling.”

The evening of Aug. 13, 2022, Foster saw a migrant mother and 3-year-old child who were desperately in need of medical care after crossing the Rio Grande. According to Foster’s online bio, the woman was carrying the child when she became enmired in a mud flat on the Mexican side of the border. The woman was injured as she struggled to move forward and her feet were bleeding.

When they reached the U.S. side of the border, Foster saw that both the mother and child were dehydrated and severely malnourished. Foster provided them with immediate help and then coordinated transportation so they could receive professional medical care.

“They’re people in need,” he told the Star-Telegram. “It’s just a part of who I am. Part of what needed to be done and so we needed to help people.”

Cole said that Foster’s quick actions likely saved the life of the mother and child.

“He stood out among all those who were considered (for this award) for his heroic acts there on the border,” Cole said.

According to Cole, the Service Member of the Year Award recognizes selfless acts, but also brings public attention to the important work of U.S. military members.

“In order for us to bring positive attention to the military — the contributions, the service, the sacrifice — we look for opportunities like this,” Cole said. “Not only because they’re important — and they are, you know, this kind of recognition is well deserved — but It brings attention to the general public, that hey, we’ve got people who wake up every day defending our freedoms.”

Foster said he sees himself as just an extension of the members of the 136th Airlift Wing.

“We have incredible people doing incredible things all the time,” he said. “And I think that’s the big takeaway is yes, I’m receiving this award, but we have such incredible people doing stuff every day.”