Swordman Capt. Weston Kelsey, an Air Force Reservist, and biathlete A1C Emily Shertzer of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard are the Air Force’s 2011 male and female athletes of the year, respectively. Kelsey is the nation’s top men’s epee fencer and is currently ranked 14th best in the world; he will represent the United States at the summer Olympic games in London this year, according to Air Force personnel officials. Among Shertzer’s accomplishments in 2011, she won the overall title at the Summer Biathlon Championships in Jericho, Vt. She also clocked the faster-ever marathon time for a female member of the All-Guard Marathon Team by finishing the Lincoln National Guard Marathon in Lincoln, Neb., with a time of 2:54:20, they said. Kelsey is a support officer assigned to the 310th Mission Support Squadron at Buckley AFB, Colo., while Shertzer is musician with the 553rd Air Force Band, at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pa. (JBSA-Randolph report by Eric Grill)
President Donald Trump’s nominee for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff touted his highly unusual background for the job as an asset and reaffirmed his commitment to stay apolitical during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on April 1.