Military decoration awarded by the US Department of the Air Force
Awards and decorations of the United States Department of the Air Force are military decorations which are issued by the Department of the Air Force to airmen of the United States Air Force and guardians of the United States Space Force and members of other military branches serving under Air Force and Space Force commands.
The Department of the Air Force first began issuing awards and decorations in 1947. At that time, airmen were eligible to receive most U.S. Army decorations. In 1962, following the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Department of the Air Force began a concentrated effort to create its own distinctive awards, separate from the Army.
Airmen and guardians are also eligible to receive approved foreign awards and approved international decorations.[1]
Special awards and trophies
In 2018, as part of the Air Force's initiative to reduced directive publications, the eight-page AFI 36-2805 was released, superseding 30 previous AFIs. Guidance for special awards was moved to a website at https://access.afpc.af.mil/.[2]
- Cheney Award (an act of valor, extreme fortitude or self-sacrifice in a humanitarian interest, performed in connection with aircraft)
- Mackay Trophy (most meritorious flight of the year)
- 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year (sponsored by Air Force Association)
- Lance P. Sijan USAF Leadership Award
- USAF First Sergeant of the Year Award
- General and Mrs. Jerome F. O'Malley Award (wing commander and spouse team)[3]
- Joan Orr Air Force Spouse of the Year Award[4]
- Koren Kolligian Jr. Trophy (safety)[5]
- General Thomas D. White USAF Space Trophy
- General Wilbur L. Creech Maintenance Excellence Award
- Dr. James G. Roche Sustainment Excellence Award
- General Lew Allen, Jr. Trophy (officer and senior NCO in aircraft maintenance or munitions directly involved with setting up aircraft sorties with nuclear weapons)
- Lieutenant General Leo Marquez Award
- Brigadier General Sarah P. Wells Award (Air Force Medical Service)
- Aviator Valor Award (sponsored by American Legion Aviators' Post No. 743)
- General John P. Jumper Awards for Excellence in Warfighting Integration
- Information Dominance/Cyberspace Awards:
- Lieutenant General Harold W. Grant Award (small communications unit)
- Major General Harold M. McClelland Award (large communications unit)
- General Edwin W. Rawlings Award (team of the year)