JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- The 673d Air Base Wing and the 3rd Wing announced their 2024 annual awards winners in a ceremony on Feb. 28.
"A strong Alaska, in my opinion, is a strong America,” said Alaska Air National Guard Maj. Gen. Torrence Saxe, adjutant general for the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and AKANG commissioner.
The winners’ accomplishments and contributions to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson’s mission were acknowledged and celebrated during the ceremony.
“It’s the work that you all do that allows us to maintain lethality,” said Col. Charles Schuck, the commander of the 3rd Wing. “This enables our policymakers to have a wide array of options to deal with adversaries.”
The 673d Air Base Wing annual award winners are:
Airman of the Year:
Senior Airman Aquetzaly Vazquez-Garcia, 673d Civil Engineer Group
Noncommissioned Officer of the Year:
Tech. Sgt. Joseph Kohnke, 673d Civil Engineer Group
Senior Noncommissioned Officer of the Year:
Master Sgt. Brock Anderson, Logistics Readiness Group
Company Grade Officer of the Year:
1st Lt. Grayson Hurst, 673d Comptroller Squadron
Field Grade Officer of the Year:
Maj. Roed Mejia, 673d Logistics Readiness Group
Civilian of the Year, Category I:
Mr. Adam Burke, 673d Civil Engineer Group
Civilian of the Year, Category II:
Ms. Melody Mittelsteadt, 673d Medical Group
Civilian of the Year, Category III:
Mr. Mike Andruss, 673d Logistics Readiness Group
Civilian of the Year, Category IV:
Mr. Leon Sutton, 673d Logistics Readiness Group
Honor Guardsman of the Year:
Senior Airman Ryan Peltier, 3rd Munitions Squadron
First Sergeant of the Year:
Master Sgt. Matthew Cummings, 673d Civil Engineer Group
Team of the Year:
Human Performance Flight, 673d Medical Group
Key Support Liaison of the Year:
Ms. Olivia Barnard, 673d Medical Group
The 3rd Wing annual award winners are:
Airman of the Year:
Airman 1st Class Serenity Hunt, 90th Fighter Generation Squadron
Noncommissioned Officer of the Year:
Tech. Sgt. Evan A. Minca, 3rd Operations Group
Senior Noncommissioned Officer of the Year:
Senior Master Sgt. Daniel Dela Cruz, 703rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
Company Grade Officer of the Year:
Capt. Jared Fabricius, 3rd Wing Wing Staff Agencies
Field Grade Officer of the Year:
Maj. Duston O’Brien, 90th Fighter Generation Squadron
Civilian of the Year, Category I:
Ms. Jessica W. Tompkins, 525th Fighter Generation Squadron
Civilian of the Year, Category II:
Mr. David J. Atkinson, 3rd Operations Support Squadron
Civilian of the Year, Category III:
Mr. David Nye, 3rd Maintenance Group
First Sergeant of the Year:
Master Sgt. Christopher Wright, 3rd Munitions Squadron
Flight Commander of the Year:
Capt. Anthony J. Morshed, 517th Airlift Squadron
Key Support Liaison of the Year:
Mrs. Rosette Cranwell, 3rd Operations Squadron