Air Force Honors 2010 Sijan Award Winners
(May 15, 2011) |
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WASHINGTON (AFNS - 5/12/2011) -- For demonstrating
outstanding leadership, four Airmen received the 2010 Lance
P. Sijan USAF Leadership Award during a ceremony May 11 in
the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes.
Named in honor of the
first U.S. Air Force Academy graduate to receive the Medal
of Honor, the award annually recognizes officer and enlisted
honorees in senior and junior categories who best exemplify
the service's core values of integrity, service and
excellence. |
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| Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz and Janine Sijan Rozina flank this year's recipients of the 2010 Lance P. Sijan USAF Leadership Award during a ceremony May 11, 2011, in the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes. The recipients are (starting second from left) Lt. Col. Tony Millican, 1st Lt. Kathryn Miles, Senior Master Sgt. Brett Rogers and Staff Sgt. Michael Pereira. Ms. Rozina is the younger sister of the award's namesake. The Sijan Award was created in 1981 to recognize individuals who demonstrate the highest qualities of leadership both in and out of uniform. U.S. Air Force photo
by Jim Varhegyi |
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Lt. Col. Tony Millican, deputy commander of the 98th Mission
Support Group at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.; 1st Lt.
Kathryn Miles, chief of simplified acquisition of base
requirements for the 56th Civil Engineer Squadron at Luke
AFB, Ariz.; Senior Master Sgt. Brett Rogers, superintendent
of the 377th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Branch at Kirtland
AFB, N.M.; and Staff Sgt. Michael Pereira, an EOD craftsman
at Eglin AFB, Fla., were honored during the ceremony.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz hosted the
event and described in his remarks the similarities
connecting the award recipients.
"There is devotion
to duty, there is a sense of persistence, there is
leadership and there is something inspirational in their
stories," General Schwartz said. "These are all attributes
that are vital to our Air Force, not just downrange, but in
garrison as well, and they're vital because they ensure we
remain trusted partners on the joint team."
The
general emphasized the importance of the award's namesake
and offered a special thanks to Captain Sijan's younger
sister, Janine Sijan Rozina, who thanked the recipients and
their families for carrying on the spirit of the award.
"The commitment that you have displayed, through the
love and support of your family and listening to the passion
in your heart, tells of your commitment to ... ethics,
integrity and courage," Ms. Rozina said to the award
recipients. "That's what makes you so unique."
While
deployed, Colonel Millican successfully commanded 80
high-threat convoys. During the aftermath of a suicide
vehicle attack, Colonel Millican commanded post-attack
recovery actions, accounting for all of his 600 personnel,
despite sustaining hearing damage and head trauma.
Lieutenant Miles served as an engineer for the Panjshir
Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan, where she was
in charge of 36 capacity-building projects. She commanded a
four-vehicle convoy that came under small-arms fire for more
than 50 minutes.
Sergeant Rogers led 44 Airmen,
completing more than 300 combat missions and defusing 35
improvised explosive devices. He also instructed Iraqi army
and police bomb squad personnel so those agencies could
assume the EOD mission in Kirkuk.
Sergeant Pereira
led a three-person team over the course of a year in support
of the 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Stryker Brigade
Combat Team, during Operation Opportunity Hold in Kandahar
Province, Afghanistan.
The most meaningful part of
receiving the award was the recognition he could bring to
his team for their efforts, Sergeant Pereira said.
"My teammates were crucial," the junior enlisted recipient
said. "In EOD, we work as a team supporting another larger
team: Army battalions. Your teammates are your soul mates,
your lifeline, your lifeblood. They're everything to you."
The Lance P. Sijan USAF Leadership Award was first
presented in 1981. During his 52nd combat mission, Captain
Sijan was shot down over Vietnam on Nov. 9, 1967, and evaded
capture for 45 days despite severe injuries. He later died
while in a North Vietnamese prisoner-of-war camp. He
posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his heroism. |
By USAF MSgt. Amaani Lyle
Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs
Copyright 2011 | |
Reprinted from
Air Force News
Service
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