The Air Force received the Secretary of Defense trophy for the best disability program among large military components and three civilian Airmen were also recognized for their work Oct. 30, during a small ceremony in the Pentagon.

For the past 33 years, the Office of Diversity Management and Equal Opportunity has organized an awards ceremony to recognize outstanding service members and Department of Defense civilian personnel with disabilities.

The program recognizes recipients for outstanding achievement in the hiring, retention and advancement of individuals with disabilities.

This was the second year in the row the Air Force won the award; the Navy finished second.

"Your support of our employees with disabilities and our wounded, ill and injured soldiers is critical to inclusion and full participation and equal opportunity,” said Lt. Gen. Michael Linnington Personnel and Readiness military deputy to the undersecretary of defense. “Thank you for taking those responsibilities seriously."

In addition to the Air Force award, the Office of Diversity Management and Equal Opportunity recognized three civilian Airmen. They could not attend due to sequestration. 

Dale Jenks, the Instructional Technologies Unit flight chief, is assigned to the 37th Training Support Squadron, at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas.  He is the expert on interactive multimedia instruction, or IMI, and leads efforts to develop and design IMI to support technical training throughout the Air Force.

Despite manning shortages, Jenks' managerial skills enabled his flight to provide total quality service to customers in all facets of training, according to his nomination package. In 2012, he led the ITU to a "no findings" performance, receiving five "strengths" from the Air Education and Training Command compliance inspection team.

Robert Vickers is the 96th Security Forces Squadron resource adviser, at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. Vickers is responsible for tracking all financial actions and obtaining all appropriate resources for the most deployed unit in the Air Force Materiel Command.  In fiscal 2012, Vickers flawlessly committed 99.96 percent of the 96th SFS operations and management budget, according to his nomination package.  Not only was he able to successfully appropriate the funds, but he was the main focal point in nearly doubling the original budget from $620,000 to $1.08 million in operations and management funds. 

According to his official nomination, Vickers' commitment to excellence and pursuit of improvement were instrumental as he ensured 96th SFS members had all the required gear needed to successfully protect vital national security assets.

He also volunteered more than 150 hours of his off-duty time to assisting fellow injured service members through the Wounded Warrior Project. 

John Henry was recognized for his contributions as the 65th Civil Engineer Squadron operations flight deputy commander at Lajes Field, Azores, Portugal.  Henry led a diverse workforce composed of 254 American and Portuguese personnel, entrusted with the repair and maintenance of 829 facilities valued at $2.3 billion.  His managerial skills led his flight to complete more than 8,000 jobs with a 96 percent on time rating, the second best in U.S. Air Forces in Europe.

Additionally, Henry established a recurring maintenance program achieving an impressive 100 percent completion rate, according to his nomination package.

Throughout the ceremony, a consistent theme was present -- DOD’s commitment to employing disabled civilians and wounded veterans. 

"As the largest federal employer, many people expect DOD to lead the way in hiring individuals with disabilities, including our nation's veterans," Linnington said. "I think that expectation is well-founded ... We are committed to rising to the challenge.”