Retiree continues to give back to his team Published March 17, 2014 By Lt. Col. Sharon Presley 345th Recruiting Squadron commander SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Brad Sanker, the 345th Recruiting Squadron's Unit Program Coordinator, knows how to support his team. A retired Air Force master sergeant and former vehicle operator, Sanker participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom convoy operations in 2006 and 2010. "We risked our lives every day to deliver basic necessities and war fighting equipment to the forward operating bases all across Iraq," he said. "Every day we faced an invisible enemy on the roadways. The risk of an (improvised explosive device) attack was constant. Every night you played the convoy lottery hoping your team was not the first out the gate." His knowledge of vehicle operators' contributions to OIF were integral to teaching Air Force history to squadron members. When the Convoy Warrior Association looked to remember one of its own at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., Sanker told the team about Airman 1st Class Zachary Cuddeback. "A1C Cuddeback was an O'Fallon, Ill., native who joined the Air Force in 2009 as a vehicle operator. His death made international news when a terrorist boarded his bus at the airport in Frankfurt, Germany, and fatally shot him. Although he never saw convoy action in Iraq, he joined the ranks of only five vehicle operators to be killed as part of OIF." He encouraged the team to remember Cuddeback's sacrifice at Scott AFB's 1st A1C Zachary Cuddeback Memorial 5K. On March 1, people from various squadrons, including the 345th RCS, convened at the A1C Cuddeback Passenger Terminal at Scott AFB. In spite of snow and ice in the forecast, the bad weather held off until after a successful race. "I can think of no better way to keep his story alive than bringing together Airmen from across the base to run in his honor. The runners in this race carried his memory," Sanker said. Proceeds from the 5K were donated in his memory to the USO, Wounded Warrior Project, and Fisher House.