Fitness leader of the month: Senior Airman Tyler Cerney

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Shane M. Phipps
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Editor's Note: This is part of an ongoing series highlighting exceptionally fit Airmen.

It's Monday afternoon and the gym is alive with action. The weight room stirs with sounds of clanking metal and steady grunts. Outside, the thumping bounce of basketballs hitting the hardwood rings out.

Amidst all the chaos however, one senior airman couldn't feel more comfortable as he begins his, almost daily, ritual.

"Normally I try to work out six days a week for at least an hour," said Senior Airman Tyler Cerney, 544th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group, detachment 1, intelligence analyst. "I always try to do both weight training and some kind of cardio because I think a balanced approach to fitness is essential. You might have all the cardio in the world, but if you couldn't even carry an injured wingman out of harm's way -- what's the point?"

Cerney's hard-working mentality and dedicated demeanor don't go unnoticed by even the fittest members of his unit.

"He is really a natural athlete who enjoys fitness and is definitely one of the top performers in our unit," said Senior Airman D'andre Hughes, 544th ISRG, detachment 1, intelligence analyst and fellow Physical Training Leader. "He's a self-starter who works hard simply because he genuinely wants to."

For Cerney, the benefits of staying in peak physical condition, especially while in the military, are abundant.

"Personally I feel fitness is extremely important for multiple reasons," said Cerney. "If you are tasked to deploy downrange, you need to be ready to take care of others as well as yourself. It also has great benefits while at home station because it really builds your resiliency in all ways - physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually."

Displaying such a high commitment to fitness came as no surprise to Cerney's leadership, as his first sergeant feels he embodies Air Force core values. 

"Senior Airman Cerney is an Airman who exemplifies the Air Force core values," said Tech. Sgt. Jeffery Walldren, 544th ISRG, detachment 1, acting first sergeant. "He always does the right thing for himself, his family and his fellow wingmen. He has stepped up and volunteered for a deployment, even knowing he might have to go outside the wire. Finally, he excels at all tasks put in front of him, no matter how difficult."

Although being a Unit Fitness Program Monitor, and trained PTL, can be demanding, Cerney not only accepts the responsibility - he relishes it.

"It's a big responsibility because I know I'm in a position to help people better themselves, but I enjoy it just because I love helping people," he said. "I really feel like I'm making a difference."

Co-workers maintain Cerney's recent accomplishment of winning the John Levitow award, given to the top performer of each Airman Leadership School class, is but one example of how he approaches all challenges, including fitness.

"He's independent and doesn't need a lot of direction, which I think transfers to everything he does," said Hughes. "You can see his high level of self-discipline in all things from his daily work, to winning the Levitow, to how he approaches fitness."

Through his devotion to bettering the lives of those around him, Cerney has fostered a great deal of pride and respect from his leaders.

"Having been in the military now for 17 years, I have had the opportunity to work with many Airmen," said Walldren. "Senior Airman Cerney is truly one of the best I have ever had the pleasure of working with. Looking at his character and working with him over the past two years, I can see him following after his father and becoming the next Chief Master Sgt. Cerney."

 

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