WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio — The Office of Personnel Management recognized recipients of the prestigious Presidential Rank Awards for 2015 on Dec. 15, and the list includes six Air Force Materiel Command civilians. One of the AFMC recipients is the command headquarters’ own Executive Director, Michael A. Gill.
“Each year, the President selects a very small cadre of Senior Executive Service civilians to receive a Presidential Rank Award in recognition for their long-term accomplishments in providing exceptional service to the American people,” Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James said in an e-mail message announcing the winners. “The recipients of this prestigious award are outstanding leaders who consistently demonstrate strength, integrity, and a relentless commitment to public service.”
There are two categories of rank awards: distinguished and meritorious. Award winners are chosen through a yearlong rigorous selection process. They are nominated by their agency heads, evaluated by boards comprised of private citizens, and approved by the President. The evaluation criteria focus on leadership and results.
“This is well-deserved recognition for Mike Gill and all of our AFMC honorees,” said Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski, commander of AFMC. “They set the bar high and delivered outstanding leadership, dedication and hard work. They are public servants of the highest caliber.”
Gill appreciated the award but acknowledged the others who contribute to his success.
“I am very honored by this recognition, but it also recognizes the great team we have at AFMC,” he said. “From our senior leaders to our some 80,000 military and civilian Airmen, they make AFMC the world’s best provider of agile combat capabilities.”
Specific categories and AFMC recipients include:
2015 Distinguished Executive
Michael A. Gill, Air Force Materiel Command Executive Director, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Gill advises the commander in managing the delivery/support of agile, war-winning capabilities through leading-edge S&T, life cycle management, T&E, and supply chain management.
2015 Meritorious Executive
• Ricky L. Peters, Air Force Research Laboratory Executive Director (retired). Peters partnered with the AFRL Commander, managing a $5 billion portfolio, and delivering science and technology breakthroughs for the warfighter.
• John S. Wilcox, Air Force Research Laboratory Munitions Director (retired). Wilcox led the discovery, development and integration of affordable warfighting conventional air-launched weapon technologies for the Air Force.
2015 Meritorious Senior Professional
• Robert E. Peterkin, Air Force Chief Scientist for Directed Energy. Peterkin is responsible for all Air Force research and development of high energy lasers, high power microwaves/dense plasmas, and advanced optical technologies.
• Steven K. Rogers, Air Force Senior Scientist for Automatic Target Recognition and Sensor Fusion. Rogers pioneered efforts advancing machine intelligence for Air Force data-to-knowledge challenges, to defeat terrorist networks and cyber attacks.
• Gregory G. Spanjers, Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate Chief Scientist. Spanjers is also the Capability Lead for science and technology investments in both Space Superiority and Nuclear Deterrence.
