AFNWC recognizes top performers at annual awards

The Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center honored high achievers during its Annual Awards ceremony March 3 at Hill Air Force Base, Utah.

Brig. Gen. William Rogers, interim commander of AFNWC, and Chief Master Sgt. T. Brent Chadick, command chief, presented the awards.

“The AFNWC team does phenomenal work every single day in support of the Air Force and the nation,” Rogers said. “These awards highlight our top performers and the best of their accomplishments.”

• Airman of the Year — Senior Airman Karla Ingram, Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Systems Directorate, Hill AFB
• Noncommissioned Officer of the Year — Staff Sgt. Kenneth Hogan, ICBM Systems Directorate, Hill AFB
• Senior Noncommissioned Officer of the Year — Master Sgt. Kenneth Hamilton; Air Delivered Capabilities Directorate; Eglin AFB, Florida
• Company Grade Officer of the Year — Capt. Todd Millard, ICBM Systems Directorate, Hill AFB
• Field Grade Officer of the Year — Maj. Jared Westhoff, Air Delivered Capabilities Directorate, Eglin AFB
• Category I Civilian of the Year — Jacquelyn Kelly; Contracting Directorate; Hanscom AFB, Massachusetts
• Category II Civilian of the Year — Victor Makela, Air Delivered Capabilities Directorate, Eglin AFB
• Category III Civilian of the Year — William Horrigan; Contracting Directorate; Peterson Space Force Base, California
• Team of the Year — MK21A Rebaselining Team, ICBM Systems Directorate, Hill AFB
  • Lt. Col. John Barron (team lead), Trevor Bailey, Hayden Christensen, 2nd Lt. Ellis Delgado, Chad Gibson, 2nd Lt. Leandra Herman, Brittany Klemko, Colin Loose, Blaine Spotten and Jaime Veglia
• Military Intelligence Professional of the Year — Capt. Richard Terry, ICBM Systems Directorate, Hill AFB
• Intelligence Team of the Year — NI2 Intelligence Team, ICBM Systems Directorate, Hill AFB
  • Brandon LeBlanc (team lead), Christopher Collins, Michael Fahmi, Nathan Harding, Kimberly Heltz, Jeremy Milne, Jonathon Montgomery, Capt. Kenneth Primbs and Christopher Scudder
• Civilian Information Technology and Cyber Professional of the Year — Brett Barker, Air Delivered Capabilities Directorate, Eglin AFB
• Civilian IT and Cyber Team of the Year — Long Range Standoff IT and Information Awareness Team, Air Delivered Capabilities Directorate, Eglin AFB
  • Damon Orange (team lead), Brett Barker, Wesley Barlow, Nathaniel Binchik, Richard Botts, Brian Burdette, Andrew Butler, Brandon Cavell, Kathy Davis, Gene Deitz, Jacob Garfinkle, Michelle Goss, James Johnston, Jeremy Kagan, Jeremy Kiel, Adam Lockett, Todd McBride, Jill Mowrey, Justin Roden, Christopher Rowe, Susanna Scarveles, John Taylor, Chad Vann, Jason Vines, Jason Williams and Joshua Young
• Civilian Test Professional of the Year — Joseph Procido III, Air Delivered Capabilities Directorate, Eglin AFB
• Military Test Professional of the Year — Capt. John Lebold Jr., Air Delivered Capabilities Directorate, Eglin AFB
• Test Team of the Year — Long Range Standoff Test Team, Air Delivered Capabilities Directorate, Eglin AFB
  • James Colebank (team lead), Brian Amos, Karl Chavous, Bill Cookson, James Earwood, 1st Lt. Alexander Fournier, Randy Hoffman, Javier Hurtado, Capt. John Lebold Jr., Stanley Loughmiller, Bruce Lowmiller, Timothy McCool, Bill McDonald, Raymond Partlow, George Ross, Joey Seabrook, Thomas Smith, Kyle Thompson, Danny Willett and Brett Wisdom
• Civilian Engineer of the Year — Jason Topham, Nuclear Technology and Integration Directorate, Hill AFB
• Military Engineer of the Year — Maj. Jared Westhoff, Air Delivered Capabilities Directorate, Eglin AFB
• Engineering Team of the Year — Advanced Capabilities for Missiles Enhancement Engineering Team, ICBM Systems Directorate, Hill AFB
  • Nicholas Maughan (team lead), Scott Johnson, Sean Johnson, Sean McCade and Anthony Porter
• Civilian Security Specialist of the Year — Danielle Magee, ICBM Systems Directorate, Hill AFB
• Security Team of the Year — Sentinel Systems SAP Security Team, ICBM Systems Directorate, Hill AFB
  • Matthew Strebel (team lead), Emily Brown, Lindsay Buck, Joshua Cox, Ian Hardy, Stormie Kment, Danielle Magee, Emily White and David Wilson
• Civilian Contracting Professional of the Year — Jolene Williams, Contracting Directorate, Eglin AFB
• Contracting Team of the Year — Long Range Standoff Contracting Team, Air Delivered Capabilities Directorate, Eglin AFB
  • Kathy Corbin (team lead), Alyssa Hurst, Lexus Ivy-Klepper, Kenny Kendrick, Catherine Sadler, Caroline Segovia, Christopher Serbe and Jolene Williams
• Civilian Financial Manager of the Year — Erika Beagle, ICBM Systems Directorate, Hill AFB
• Financial Management Team of the Year — Long Range Standoff Financial Management Team, Air Delivered Capabilities Directorate, Eglin AFB
  • John Odum (team lead), Greg Bigger, Jason Borchers, Kimberly Brewer, Melody Coon, Colby Crosby, Sheila Hale, Brian Henry, David Herndon, James Ludwig Jr., Zoraida Meneses, Erika Partanen, Shelby Robison and Lindsey Stephan
• Civilian Logistician of the Year — Robert Somers, Air Delivered Capabilities Directorate, Eglin AFB
• Military Enlisted Logistician of the Year — Master Sgt. Kenneth Hamilton, Air Delivered Capabilities Directorate, Eglin AFB
  • Logistics Team of the Year — Long Range Standoff Product Support Team, Air Delivered Capabilities Directorate, Eglin AFB
  • Timothy Culbertson (team lead), Jonathan Ashworth, Sean Brennan, Dolores Carter, Christopher Costa, Misty Currie, John Edwards, Fred Garcia, Shawn George, William Hail, Master Sgt. Kenneth Hamilton, Jason Hittle, Jonathan Hudson, James McLamara, Chris Pastorius, Daniel Richard, Robert Somers, Lee Tomlinson, Douglas Williams and Andrew Wilson III
• Junior Civilian Program Manager of the Year — Nicholas Dragon, ICBM Systems Directorate, Hill AFB
• Junior Military Program Manager of the Year — 1st Lt. Sarah Hetzel-Grigas, Air Delivered Capabilities Directorate, Eglin AFB
• Senior Civilian Program Manager of the Year — Cheryl Gerhardstein, Air Delivered Capabilities Directorate, Eglin AFB
• Senior Military Program Manager of the Year — Maj. Franklin Hayden, Air Delivered Capabilities Directorate, Eglin AFB
• Program Team of the Year — Long Range Standoff System Program Office, Air Delivered Capabilities Directorate, Eglin AFB
  • Elizabeth Thorn (team lead) and members of the Long Range Standoff System Program Office

In addition to the annual awards, since 2015, the commander has personally selected members of the center who have demonstrated sustained superior service to the mission and may not be otherwise eligible for other recognition as recipients of the AFNWC Outstanding Service Award. Rogers selected six people this year for recognition:

• John Hedenberg; Nuclear Command, Control and Communications Integration Directorate; Hanscom AFB
• Liza Herrera; Contracting Directorate; Kirtland AFB, New Mexico
• Thomas Holland, ICBM Systems Directorate, Hill AFB
• Lyman James, Air Delivered Capabilities Directorate, Kirtland AFB
• Justin Lutz, ICBM Systems Directorate, Hill AFB
• Charles Webster, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Kirtland AFB

“Congratulations to all of our winners,” Rogers said. “It is because of their dedication to excellence that our nation’s most powerful weapon systems remain never doubted and always feared. Thank you for all the hard work you and your teammates perform every day.”

The center’s winners will compete at the next level for Air Force Materiel Command’s annual awards.