Four earn Sijan award

  • Published
RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) --  Four Airmen are being recognized with the service’s Lance P. Sijan Air Force Leadership Award:

The Sijan award annually recognizes a senior and junior officer and a senior and junior enlisted person who demonstrates outstanding leadership abilities while assigned to organizations at the wing level or below.

The 2004 recipients are:

-- Lt. Col. Mark Moore, who is assigned to Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Colonel Moore managed an aggressive flying hour program and led multiple deployments. He developed the concept of operation for the critical international security assistance force expansion. Additionally, he oversaw the plan for integration of four new nations into the northern region, ensuring their smooth integration into the vital air policing operations. Briefing and educating distinguished visitors, his articulate style has been essential in bringing the diversity of NATO into sharp focus for operations in Afghanistan and the Baltics.

-- Maj. Joseph Michalek, who is assigned to Hurlburt Field, Fla. Then a captain, he used his vast tactical expertise to prepare six crews under his command for sustained combat deployments in one of the most complex integrated air defense systems in the world. He spearheaded the move from an undisclosed location to Baghdad to enable his forces to become more operationally relevant during the initial counterinsurgency operations in Iraq. Upon arrival at Baghdad International Airport, Major Michalek formulated a plan supporting special operations throughout Iraq.

-- Master Sgt. John Spillane, who is assigned to Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark. As loadmaster superintendent of the 745th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, he led his deployed team of 66 active-duty and Reserve loadmasters to unparalleled success in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He devised a C-130E- and H-model differences program allowing loadmasters from different C-130 Hercules units to fly with one another, giving the commander greater combat flexibility. Sergeant Spillane also created a two-loadmasters-per-aircraft plan to help scan for surface-to-air missiles in the higher threat environments, greatly aiding crews in recognizing incoming threats and reacting properly. He identified a four-rocket attack on his aircraft, quickly vectored his crew and aircraft away from the danger and defeated the threats, resulting in the safe delivery of 20 patients to a medical treatment facility.

-- Tech. Sgt. Matthew Fader, who is assigned to Hurlburt. Sergeant Fader executed missions while under fire inside Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He flew 92 combat sorties, and delivered 231 passengers and 510,000 pounds of cargo. Sergeant Fader also airdropped 250,000 leaflets and moved 30 vehicles supporting the operation. As standardization and evaluation superintendent, he expertly directed a $1.3 billion functional-check-flight program for 10 MC-130H Combat Talon IIs.