The Air Force has named the four recipients of the 2009 Lance P. Sijan Air Force Leadership Award. They are: Lt. Col. Roger A. Sherman, assigned to Peterson AFB, Colo., senior officer category; Capt. Rachel M. Phillips, Sembach Annex, Germany, junior officer category; SMSgt. Jesse D. Schraner, Hurlburt Field, Fla., senior enlisted category; and SSgt. Gino P. Kahaunaele, Pope AFB, N.C., junior enlisted category. These airmen will be presented with the award at a later date. The Sijan award is an annual honor that recognizes airmen who demonstrate outstanding leadership abilities while assigned to an organization at the wing level and below. It is named after the first Air Force Academy graduate to receive the Medal of Honor. (For more on Sijan, read The Courage of Lance Sijan from the archives of Air Force Magazine.)
In the wake of a major Chinese military shakeup, the head of U.S. Space Command warned of China’s “breathtakingly fast” advances in space during visits to Japan and South Korea. Gen. Stephen N. Whiting’s trip to the Indo-Pacific is his first overseas visit since taking command of SPACECOM in January.