Salt Lake City, Utah - Governor Spencer Cox, governor of Utah, awarded servicemember of the year awards to military members and civilians who live and work within Utah at the State Capitol May 19, 2026. The awards recognize the achievements and efforts of people working for the military.
“The state of Utah has done such an amazing job of supporting the families and servicemembers,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Spencer Nielsen, senior enlisted leader for the Utah National Guard. “The governor takes time to do this every year just makes it super special that, that level of leader takes the time to recognize individual contributions.”
Though the awards include active duty and civilians, three National Guardsmen were awarded for their work over the last year.
Master Sgt. Derrin Creek, 151st Explosive Ordnance Disposal was chosen as the Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year after he led a multi-agency response to neutralize and dispose of a rare World War I projectile. He was able to diagnose the type of filler within the projectile and rendered it safe, protecting roughly 5000 people.
“For me it’s incredible,” said Creek. “What we’re doing in our units is recognized by our leaders, from the very bottom, all the way to our leader at the top.”
Chief Warrant 2 Neal Barlow, 1-211 Aviation Regiment, was awarded Warrant Officer of the Year for recruiting 25 new warrant officers, going above and beyond his mission requirements to fill manning gaps and enhancing the readiness of the Utah National Guard.
“It was super unexpected for me,” said Barlow. “I just like to show up and do my job, and do well at it. I’m kind of at a loss for words, because it’s not something that I’m expecting.”
CSM Neilsen stood in for Sgt. Charles Ward, 144th Medical Company, who could not attend the ceremony. Ward was given the Honor Guard member of the Year for training 225 Soldiers and partner personnel in Military Funeral Honors and colorguards. His award describes how he would spend hours of his own time to develop and mentor voluntary color guard teams to ensure all personnel consistently met and kept Army standards.
Senior Airmen Drake Hall, 169th Intelligence Squadron, Utah Air National Guard, was recognized for his efforts that shaped 38 strategic briefings and reports that were used in 13 joint law enforcement, and US Southern Command operations. Additionally he built a language course focused on a mission-essential dialect for a task force of 12 members. Neilsen commented on how as a military we do things collectively and it’s impossible to recognize each individual who does great things day to day.
“Every time that we get a chance to do this, I’m super excited about it,” said Neilsen. “Its great to see the smiles on their faces, and one of my favorite things to do is highlight the individual excellence of our soldiers.”