The four airmen USAF announced in December 2005 as the recipients of the 2005 Lance P. Sijan Air Force Leadership Award came to Washington, D.C., this week to participate in a Pentagon ceremony, officiated by Lt. Gen. Arthur J. Lichte, the Air Force assistance vice chief of staff and director of staff. The honorees were Lt. Col. Gerald Ven Dange from the Defense Contract Management Agency West in Redondo Beach, Calif.; Capt. William Dains from Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio; MSgt. Ramon Colon-Lopez from Kirtland AFB, N.M.; and SrA. Grailin Blamer from Ft. Lewis, Wash.
New Air Force, Pentagon, and White House initiatives aim to chip away at an issue that has long frustrated leaders and families across the military: spouse employment. For years now, the percentage of unemployed military spouses has held steady at around 20 percent, experts say.
