Four 
Airmen received the 2011 Lance P. Sijan Leadership Award during a ceremony in the Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes. Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz hosted the April 6 event, presenting the award to: Maj. Laura DeJong, criminal investigations policy and program manager for the Air Force Inspector General’s office; Capt. Gilbert Wyche, mobility and resources officer in charge for the 48th Security Forces Squadron at RAF Lakenheath, England; SMSgt. Timothy Sterner, command explosive ordnance disposal superintendent for Pacific Air Forces at JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii; and TSgt Nathaniel Hoag, combat controller with the 24th Special Tactics Squadron at Pope Field, N.C. “We recognize these four outstanding individuals for demonstrating the highest quality of leadership,” said Schwartz. The annual Sijan award, named in honor of the first Air Force Academy graduate to receive the Medal of Honor, recognizes officer and enlisted honorees who best exemplify the service’s core values of integrity, service, and excellence. (Washington, D.C., report by SrA. Christina Brownlow)
The U.S. supports “a stronger and more capable” European defense, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said during an Oct. 22 press conference in Brussels—but that defense should not duplicate the functions and capabilities of the NATO alliance.