The Air Force has announced the winners of the 2012 Lance P. Sijan Leadership Award, according to a Jan. 17 release from the Air Force Personnel Center. They are: Lt. Col. Nathan Green, assigned to Hurlburt Field, Fla., senior officer category; Capt. Blake Luttrell, Pope Field, N.C., junior officer category; SMSgt. Davide Keaton, Hurlburt, senior enlisted category; and TSgt. Tavis Delaney, Washington Air National Guard, junior enlisted category. 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 our coverage of the 2011 Sijan Award winners.) (To learn more on Sijan, see The Courage of Lance Sijan from Air Force Magazine’s archives.)
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.
