Air Force Capt. Kirk Riggs of the 16th Special Operations Wing, Hurlburt Field, Fla., will receive the inaugural Florida National Defense Space Award on Nov. 17 at the closing of the Florida Space 2005 conference at the Kennedy Space Center. The National Space Club Florida Committee created the award to recognize significant achievements made by DOD personnel while on duty in Florida. The committee chose Riggs for his development of a Web-based Global Positioning System communications planning tool that allows special operations aircrews to hit targets accurately over enemy territory. The Air Force selected Riggs to write up the procedures in Air Force Doctrine.
Seven F-22 Raptor pilots have recently been awarded one of the military’s highest decorations for their actions during operations in the Middle East. Six of the pilots were decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross for their role in Operation Midnight Hammer, the June 2025 strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.