The Air Force announced the 2011 recipients of the Lance P. Sijan Leadership Award. They are: Maj. Laura Dejong, assigned to Patrick AFB, Fla., senior officer category; Capt. Gilbert Wyche II, RAF Lakenheath, Britain, junior officer category; MSgt. Timothy Sterner, JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, senior enlisted category; and SSgt. Nathaniel Hoag, Pope Field, N.C., junior enlisted category. USAF officials will present the award to each of the four airmen at a later date. The Sijan Award is bestowed annually to recognize airmen who demonstrate outstanding leadership abilities while assigned to an organization at the wing level and below. The award carries the name of the first Air Force Academy graduate to receive the Medal of Honor. (See also 2010 Sijan Award winners list.) (To learn more on Sijan, see The Courage of Lance Sijan from Air Force Magazine’s archives.)
Shield AI has entered the increasingly crowded field of Collaborative Combat Aircraft, this week announcing its “X-BAT” vehicle that stands out from others by having both vertical takeoff and landing capability and supersonic speed.
