The Air Force this week presented the first round of Nuclear Deterrence Operations Service Medals, with leadership using the award to highlight a group of airmen in the beleaguered nuclear missile community.
Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James presented the award to 25 airmen Wednesday at the end of Air Force Global Strike Command's Global Strike Challenge, a yearly contest in the command to highlight units for their service.
"This week's challenge demonstrates your dedication, skill, and passion for the mission ... the same passion and skill I saw when I visited your bases earlier this year," James said. "There is no mission more important to our nation's security than the nuclear mission."
The medal is part of the command's force improvement program, in which officials spoke with airmen across all levels of the nuclear community. The command has faced severe morale problems among its airmen following multiple high-level incidents of cheating and commander firings.
The medal, authorized in May, is for service members who were assigned, deployed or mobilized to a wing, center or other organization supporting nuclear deterrence operations for 120 consecutive days or 170 nonconsecutive days. Subsequent awards will only be authorized when an airmen has a permanent change of station to a qualifying unit. Medal eligibility is retroactive to Dec. 27, 1991.Nominations for currently serving airmen will be processed through their chain of command. The group commander is the awarding authority.
The first airmen to receive the medal, according to the Air Force:
From Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota
■ 1st Lt. Victoria Fort, instructor combat crew, representing nuclear and missile operations, 91st Missile Wing.
■Staff Sgt. Brett Jordan, B-52 dedicated crew chief, representing bomber crew chiefs, 5th Bomb Wing
■Airman 1st Class Robert Cook, maps technician, representing missile and space system maintenance, 91st Missile Wing
■Staff Sgt. Kamuela Kalilikane, facility maintenance team training instructor, representing missile and space facilities, 91st Missile Wing
■Tech. Sgt. Matthew Westad, group facility maintenance instructor, representing facility managers, 91st Missile Wing
■Capt. Clyde Vickery, chief of standardization and evaluation, representing rescue pilots, 91st Missile Wing
From F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming
■Capt. Dan Cook, ICBM combat crew commander, nuclear and missile operations, 90th Missile Wing
■Capt. David Skelly, aircraft commander, representing rescue pilots, 90th Missile Wing
■Airman Riley Borges, response force member, representing security forces, 90th Missile Wing
■Airman 1st Class Joseph Tucker, maps technician, representing missile and space system maintenance, 90th Missile Wing
From Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana
■1st Lt. Carolyn Hockaday, OSS instructor, representing nuclear and missile operations, 341st Missile Wing
■Tech. Sgt. Christopher Zachary, EMT quality assurance evaluator, representing missile and space systems electronic maintenance, 341st Missile Wing
■Staff Sgt. Amber Moore, representing missile chefs, 341st Missile Wing
■Airman 1st Class Andrew Matthews, nuclear weapons technician, representing nuclear weapons career field, 341st Missile Wing
■Staff Sgt. Bob Kohlenberg, instructor flight engineer/scheduling non-commissioned officer, representing special mission aviation, 341st Missile Wing
From Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri
■Airman 1st Class Jeremiah Neer, weapons maintenance team member, representing nuclear weapons career field, 509th Bomb Wing
■Staff Sgt. Cole Miller, command post controller, representing command post controllers, 131st Bomb Wing, Air National Guard
From Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana
■Capt. Mehul Brahmbhatt, executive officer, representing bomber navigators, 2nd Bomb Wing
■Tech. Sgt. Erin Bernik, squadron lead crew member, 2 man, representing aircraft armament, 307th Bomb Wing, Air Force Reserves
■Sgt. Nicole Cowles, PRP medical records technician, representing medical support staff, 2nd Bomb Wing
■Tech. Sgt. Jessica Chebaro, strategic logistics planner, representing logistic planners, 608th Strategic Operations Squadron, Eighth Air Force
■Master Sgt. Janie Rodriguez, Non-Commissioned Officer In-Charge, security forces training and stan eval, representing security forces, Air Force Global Strike Command
■Tech. Sgt. Crystal Velez-Greenhill, quality assurance manager, representing financial management and comptroller, Air Force Global Strike Command
■Staff Sgt. Giavonia Fields, Non-Commissioned Officer In-Charge, headquarters Air Force Global Strike Command commander support staff, representing personnel
■Maj. Raymundo Vann, nuclear and missile operations lead, representing nuclear and missile operations, Air Force Global Strike Command
