WASHINGTON — Personnel from Hill Air Force Base were named recently the winners of the 2017 Nuclear Deterrence Operations Award.
The Nuclear Deterrence Operations Award recognizes the outstanding accomplishments of Airmen contributing to nuclear deterrence operations.
Winners from Hill AFB:
Category III Civilian of the Year
Keith Hedgepeth, Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, AFMC
Professional Team of the Year
Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent, AFMC (Col. Heath Collins, Jim Webster, Karl Rogers, Maj. Todd Rotramel, Keith Lucas, Lt. Jorge Martinez, Lt. Robert Rodgers, Lt. Blake Branton, Phillip Ingraham, Garrett Veenendaal, Justin Hinman, Jason Henrie, Jamie Marsh, Chase Darlington, Jodi Messenger, Robert Watson, David Hamblin, Sean Reiter, Lt. Jerrod Mertz, Micki Mitchell, Tyler Hodson, Jared Anderson, Paul Stoker, Drake Mailes, Destry Grogan, Capt. Jake Bradosky, Lt. Col. Joe Hank, Kortnie Frye, Charles Alvey, Maj. Cheronda Spann, Lt. Jourdan Harris, Matt Woolley, Col. Don Hunt, Brian Zwerdlin, Capt. Chris Benson, Sharen Wirkus, Brooke McNally, Paul Catmull, Kyle Fox, Jay Jacobs, Steven Knight, Michael Hensley, John Corriea, John Stedge, Candice Gebhardt, David Turner, Mari Meguro, Maj. Marcus Wells, Lynn Betts, Godwin Shelley, Bruce Arnold, Darren Rabosky, Lt. Col. Chad Searle, Jeremy Bodin, Phil Jones, Roy Ramey, Mark Elkins, Kevin Zimmerschied, Bruce Dennison, Lt. Yazmin Garcia-Smith, Scott Wessell, Wesley Pound, Jaime Veglia, Nicholas Maughan, Stephen Huve, Logan Harris, Irvin Jacobs, Sandi Marino, Paul Chisholm, David Garrett, Alex Landon, Casey Sherman, Kurt Schmidt, Michael Davenport, Tyler Deamer, Christiansen Christian, Don Jacob, Lt. Christopher Hopkins, John Palmer, Jeffrey Nusser, Megan Wheeler, Cindy Aguillard, Yvonne Romero, Lauri Clark, Donald Sandberg, Kelsey Porto, Shannon Clugston, Micheal Bowles, Matthew Poll, Gavin Poston, Paul Chisholm, Howard Eugh, Matt Regan)
“Congratulations on a job well done to the winners of the 2017 Nuclear Deterrence Operations Awards and the Nuclear & Missile Operations Awards. The service members and civilians charged with the mission of nuclear deterrence, nuclear strike, and nuclear surety hold a great responsibility in protecting our Nation. We’re recognizing the best of the best among that group. Their stellar performance correlates directly to the standards our Air Force expects,” said Lt. Gen. Jack Weinstein, Deputy Chief of Staff, Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration, Headquarters Air Force.
These outstanding nuclear professionals were selected from a diverse field within the Air Force’s major commands, unified combatant commands and other agencies including the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard.
Other winners:
Airman of the Year
Senior Airman Joshua Roberts, 791st Missile Security Forces Squadron, Air Force Global Strike Command
Noncommissioned Officer of the Year
Staff Sgt. Tyler Dalton, 377th Weapons System Security Squadron, AFGSC
Senior NCO of the Year
Master Sgt. Jeffrey Malone, 39th Security Forces Squadron, U.S. Air Forces in Europe
Company Grade Officer of the Year
Capt. Daniel Merkh, 509th Security Forces Squadron, AFGSC
Field Grade Officer of the Year
Maj. Claus Fasting, 701st Munitions Support Squadron, USAFE
Category I Civilian of the Year
Jared Cragun, 581st Munitions Maintenance Squadron, Air Force Materiel Command
Category II Civilian of the Year
Chad Smith, 377th Security Forces Group, AFGSC
The Nuclear Operations Awards Program is administered and overseen by deputy chief of staff, Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration, Headquarters Air Force in accordance with AFI 36-2870, Nuclear Operations Awards Program.
