NEVADA AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Nev. -- The Nevada Air National Guard hosted its annual awards ceremony, and Outstanding Airman of the Year Ceremony Jan. 31, 2021 at the Nevada Air National Guard Base.
The Nevada Air National Guard presented a total of 14 awards, and recognized the outstanding Airmen of the year in the state.
The following are the awards and winners in the order they were presented:
Recruiter of the Year Award: Tech. Sgt. Devan Hedgcorth; Unit Career Advisor of the Year: Tech. Sgt. Jay E. Pascua; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award: Staff Sgt. Jennifer Ghera; Mervin T. Johnson Safety Award: Crew of Roller 31; Chief Awards: Lt. Col. Janelle Kimsey, and COVID-19 Domestic Operations Team.
Commander’s Excellence Awards:
State Headquarters: Master Sgt. Sonia Hernandez; 152nd Airlift Wing: 152nd Airlift Wing Command Post; 152nd Maintenance Group: Senior Amn. McKenzie Burke; 152nd Mission Support Group: Emergency Operations Center Team; 152nd Medical Group: Medical Group COVID Support Team; 152nd Operations Group: 152nd Operations Group Command Support Staff Team; 152nd Intelligence Squadron: Airmen of the DGS-NV-Title 10 Airmen; 232nd Operation’s Squadron: 1st Lt Samuel Manghane
Outstanding Airmen of the year:
Airman of the Year: Senior Amn. Shemar L. Wiggins, 152nd Maintenance Group; Noncommissioned-Officer of the Year: Staff Sgt. Halee M. Young, 152nd Civil Engineer Squadron; Senior Noncommissioned-Officer of the Year: Master Sgt. Marcus Eisemann, 152nd Maintenance Group; Company Grade Officer of the Year: Capt. Quinn J. Lundbom, 152nd Civil Engineer Squadron; First Sergeant of the Year: Master Sgt. Javier Sosa, 152nd Security Forces Squadron.
The base hosts an award ceremony annually as an opportunity to highlight members who demonstrate outstanding service in categories including diversity, recruiting, safety, and duty performance.
Due to COVID-19, this year’s ceremony was hosted as both a hybrid of virtually (Facebook Live and DCS Chat) and in-person, using social distancing protocol to maintain the safety of those in attendance.