AFA Announces 2013 Outstanding Airmen of the Year

The Air Force Association recently announced the 2013 Outstanding Airmen of the Year. Each year, AFA salutes twelve outstanding enlisted personnel for superior leadership, job performance, community involvement, and personal achievements. AFA proudly honors these Outstanding Airmen at its annual Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition held in September in Washington, D.C.

“The Air Force Association is very proud to honor the commitment of these exemplary Airmen,” said George Muellner, AFA Chairman of the Board. “We salute them for their professional achievements and dedication and thank them for their continued service to our country.”

“These men and women have demonstrated exceptional leadership and performance,” said Craig McKinley, AFA President. “Each year we join the Air Force in recognizing the achievements of select distinguished Airmen. Their commitment to their jobs reflects the high standards that exist within the United States Air Force, and we look forward to seeing what else they accomplish throughout their careers.”

The program was initiated at the Air Force Association's 10th annual national Convention, held in New Orleans in 1956. The Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, a general officer, and selected Major Command chiefs form the selection board. The Air Force Chief of Staff reviews the selections. The Twelve Outstanding Airmen are awarded the Outstanding Airmen ribbon with the bronze service star device and wear the Outstanding Airmen badge for one year. They also serve on the Air Force Enlisted Council for one year. For more information, contact Lynette Cross at lcross@afa.org or call 1-800-727-3337 ext. 4807.

For a full list of the recipients including their bio's please visit our official press release at www.afa.org/pressrelease/august/AFA_Announces_2013_OAY. 

• SMSgt. Ernesto J. Rendon, Air Mobility Command;
• MSgt. Andre S. Davis, Air National Guard;
• MSgt. Tessa M. Fontaine, Air Force Space Command;
• MSgt. Shawn J. Jones, Air Force Reserve Command;
• MSgt. Celeste C. Okokon, Air Combat Command;
• TSgt. Adam L. Gomez, Air Force District of Washington;
• TSgt. Jason D. Payne, Air Force Special Operations Command;
• SSgt. Joshua L. Hanna, Pacific Air Forces:
• SSgt. Joseph C. Senteno, Air Force Global Strike Command;
• SrA. Casey L. Anderson, Air Education and Training Command;
• SrA. Lauren A. Everett, US Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa; and
• SrA. Steven C. Hedgepeth, Air Force Materiel Command.

We look forward to congratulating these Airmen in person next month at conference!

AFA Announces 2013 National Teacher of the Year

 The Air Force Association is proud to announce Margaret Spigner, a dedicated teacher at West Ashley High School in Charleston, S.C., as the recipient of the 2013 National Teacher of the Year Award. 

Ms. Spigner was recently selected as the South Carolina AFA Teacher of the Year earlier this year, making her eligible for the national award. Ms. Spigner has been an educator for 31 years and is still as enthralled with her chosen profession as the day she first began teaching. For the last 26 years she has taught Honors and College Prep Marine Science, Biotechnology, Investigative Research, Biology, and Honors Environmental and Physical Science at West Ashley High School. Since 2004, she has been the Science Department Chair and is the Lead Teacher for National Board High School Science Candidates for Charleston County. 

“Congratulations to Margaret Spigner, AFA’s National Teacher of the Year,” said George Muellner, AFA’s Chairman of the Board. “Her enthusiasm and vision for STEM education sets an example for leadership amongst her colleagues. Ms. Spigner engages her students in the curriculum, and shows them opportunities for their future academic and professional careers. We appreciate Ms. Spigner, the many other qualified nominees for this award, and the many dedicated teachers across the country. They make a difference.”

The $3,000 award will be presented in September at AFA’s Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center near Washington, D.C. 

The National Teacher of the Year award recognizes classroom teachers at the national level for their accomplishments and achievements in building enthusiasm among K-12 students about science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), and preparing them to use these skills and contribute to tomorrow’s technologies. For more information contact Shannon Aud at saud@afa.org.

Celebrate the Spirit of '45 Day Ceremony this Sunday, August 11, 2013

The annual Spirit of '45 Day Ceremony will be held this Sunday, August 11, 2013 at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. The Spirit of '45 Day is a day of remembrance that honors the men and women who were "ordinary heroes" of the World War II generation, and sends a call to action for a renewed spirit of civic engagement, volunteerism, service, and loyalty to our nation. The ceremony is free and open to the public, and will be held from 9:45a.m.-11:30a.m. 

The keynote speaker for the event will be retired Army General Frederick Kroesen, who commanded a platoon and a company in Europe as part of the victorious allied WWII forces. He later commanded the U.S. Seventh Army and U.S. Army Europe, and became the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army. 

Also speaking during the ceremony will be retired USAF Lieutenant General Richard Y. Newton, III, AFA's Executive Vice President; Dr. Robert Sutton, Chief Historian of the National Parks Service; retired Brigadier General Jack Nicholson, former Secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission; US Navy Memorial Founder retired USN Admiral Bill Thompson; and Linda Mathes, CEO of the American Red Cross National Capitol Region.

The ceremony will conclude with a wreath laying and a performance of "Taps" which will kick off a series of similar ceremonies across the country. The series will conclude in the Punchbowl National Cemetery in Hawaii, and will include the display of a "Wall of Honor" banner featuring photos of WWII veterans. 

This year's Spirit of '45 Day ceremonies will also honor the memories of the late Senators Daniel K. Inouye and Frank Lautenberg, the last WWII veterans to serve in the US Congress, who co-sponsored Spirit of '45 Day when it passed unanimously in 2010.The annual cross-country "Tribute to the Greatest Generation" is one of the most powerful ways to remind America of the legacy of courage, sacrifice, and commitment to service exhibited by the men and women who took part in the greatest mobilization in history since the building of the pyramids. 

For more information about the Washington D.C. ceremony and how to be involved in other events throughout the country, visit http://www.spiritof45.org/buglers0.aspx.

Spirit of '45 Day Ceremony Agenda

9:45 a.m. - Musical Prelude: West Point Alumni Glee Club (WWII songs)

10:00 a.m. - Welcome and Introduction - Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Alan Salisbury, MC

Presentation of the colors - US Coast Guard

National Anthem (West Point Alumni Glee Club. Jody Newton)

Pledge of Allegiance - WWII/youth leader(s)

Invocation (AVC/WWII Committee, Friends of the WWII Memorial)

Spirit of '45 Day - Warren C. Hegg, "Keep the Spirit of '45 Alive!"

"Why We Must Remember" Dr. Bob Sutton, Chief Historian, National Parks Service

Introduction of Keynote Speaker

10:20 a.m. - Keynote Address: General (Ret) Frederick Kroesen, Jr.

10:30 a.m. - Commentary

Homecoming - Brig Gen (Ret.) Jack Nicholson, former Sec. of the American Battle Monuments Commission

Navy/CG/MM Legacy - US Navy Memorial Founder Adm. USN (Ret.) Bill Thompson

Marine Legacy - Gen. USMC (Ret.) PX Kelley

USAF Legacy - Lt Gen (Ret.) Richard Y. Newton, III, Air Force Association Executive Vice President

Women in WWII - Brig Gen USA (Ret) Evelyn "Pat" Foote

Remembering the Caregivers - Linda Mathes, CEO American Red Cross National Capital Region

10:55 a.m. - In Memoriam

Commentary by representative of Senator Susan Collins (Tom Sturgeon)

Remembering Senator Frank Lautenberg - Jerry Yellin, WWII Veteran

Remembering Senator Daniel Inouye - Terry Shima, Japanese American Veterans Association, with Kenny Inouye and family

11:05 a.m. - Musical interlude - "Mansions of the Lord" (West Point Alumni Glee Club)

11:10 a.m. - Closing Ceremonies

Medal of Honor representative

Presentation of Wall of Honor Banner - Thad Jacarz, Vitas Innovative Healthcare

Wreath laying and "Taps" performed by Bugles Across America

11:25 a.m. "God Bless America" (West Point Alumni Glee Club and audience)

Air Force Association Announces David Deptula as the New Dean of Mitchell Institute

The Air Force Association proudly announces that David A. Deptula will join its staff as the Dean of the Mitchell Institute for Airpower Studies. Deptula retired from the United States Air Force in October, 2010 at the rank of Lieutenant General and has continued to excel as a national security thought leader.

Deptula has significant experience in combat and leadership in several major joint contingency operations. He was the principal attack planner for the Desert Storm coalition air campaign in 1991. He has twice been a Joint Task Force Commander - in 1998/1999 for Operation Northern Watch during a period of renewed Iraqi aggression where he flew 82 combat missions, and for Operation Deep Freeze, supporting forces in Antarctica. In 2001, the general served as Director of the Combined Air Operations Center for Operation Enduring Freedom, where he orchestrated air operations over Afghanistan during the period of decisive combat. In 2005, he was the Joint Force Air Component Commander for Operation Unified Assistance, the South Asia tsunami relief effort, and in 2006 he was the standing Joint Force Air Component Commander for Pacific Command. In his final Service assignment, he served as the first Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR)—a position in which he was responsible to the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the Air Force for policy formulation, planning, evaluation, oversight, and leadership of Air Force ISR and remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) capabilities.

The Mitchell Institute for Airpower Studies is an independent, non-profit research, studies, and analysis organization founded by the Air Force Association. It takes its name from one of America’s most famous pioneering airman, Brigadier General William Mitchell—an innovative leader who embraced the nascent air domain in a quest to provide the Nation’s leaders with an array of enhanced policy options. The Institute hosts a variety of events with top defense leaders, publishes special reports, and sponsors emerging talent.

"In an effort to better educate the public on the need for robust aerospace power, AFA’s Mitchell Institute hosts defense seminars and expert-based discussions among the nation’s most creative and well-respected airpower thinkers,” said George Muellner, AFA Chairman of the Board. “We are excited to welcome Dave Deptula to our team as a top expert on national security issues.”

“I look forward to leading AFA’s Mitchell Institute in a quest to help the public, the policy community, and the Nation’s leaders better understand the key options airpower affords the nation,” said Dave Deptula, the new Dean of the Mitchell Institute for Airpower Studies. “The pairing of an increasingly complex security environment with a decline in resources for defense, makes General Mitchell’s tradition of promoting innovation in exploiting the advantages of operating in the third dimension especially important today.”
For more information on upcoming events, publication releases, and announcements from the Mitchell Institute, visit http://www.afa.org/MitchellInstitute.

AFA Celebrates Air Force Day

On August 1, 1947, President Truman established Air Force Day "in recognition of the personnel of the victorious Army Air Forces and all those who have developed and maintained our nation's air strength." August 1 was chosen to mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment, in 1907, of the Aeronautical Division in the Office of the Chief Signal Officer of the Army.

Air Force Day came into being immediately after the signing of the National Security Act of 1947, although the status of the air element of the military was uncertain. Thus, although it was called Air Force Day, its first celebration was staged by the Army Air Forces and not by the U.S. Air Force.

Underlying the Air Force Day celebration was a need to increase "both official and public awareness of the priority of importance of air forces in any system of national security," according to Mr. Truman. "The great strategic fact of our generation is that the United States now possesses live frontiers -- the frontiers of the air -- and that the oceans are no longer sure ramparts against attack."

In his message to the nation on the first Air Force Day, Mr. Truman said, "I remind all of our citizens that the air power of the nation is essential to the preservation of our liberty, and that the continued development of the science of air transportation is vital to the trade and commerce of a peaceful world." This sentiment continues to ring true as we continue to celebrate and honor our Airmen and their families.

AFA Honors 60th Anniversary of the End of the Korean War

On July 27, 1953 an armistice was signed, putting an end to the war in Korea. The United States provided over 1.8 million troops during the three-year war, as a part of a coalition formed with the United Nations to defeat the attempts of communist North Korea, China, and the Soviet Union to control the Korean Peninsula.

The United States Air Force played a central role in the war, which marked the first time jet aircraft were used in a contested area. The new generation of fast, jet-powered fighters provided support to coalition troops, giving them the advantage over their adversaries.
AFA remembers and celebrates those who served in the Korean War, and pays tribute to their legacy by continuing to fly, fight, and win. For more information on the signing of the Korean War Armistice visit: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/armistice-ends-the-korean-war.

AFA's Spouse and Family Forum

As a part of our annual Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition, AFA and the Air Force's Airman and Family Care Division will be hosting a Spouse and Family Forum on September 16th, 2013. This event will be held at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Md. from 9a.m. - 3p.m. Registration is free, and in addition, free buses will be provided for transportation to and from the Pentagon, Andrews AFB, Bolling AFB, and the King Street Metro.



Sessions throughout the day will include a variety of speakers, panels, resources, and discussions on issues facing Air Force families today. Meet the closing speaker, Debbie Fink, author of "Little CHAMPS", in an interview on her recent USO tour with DODEA.

For more information and to register visit:http://www.afa.org/AirSpaceConf/Home/familyforum2013