ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. – Arnold Engineering Development Complex leadership honored military and civilian government AEDC annual award winners and nominees for their contributions and achievements in 2023 during a Feb. 15 ceremony.

“Arnold Engineering Development Complex is by far the most professional, most capable group of folks I think I’ve served with in 26 years of service, and I’ve served in a lot of different places and a lot of different capacities,” AEDC Commander Col. Randel Gordon said during the ceremony held at Arnold Air Force Base, headquarters of AEDC. “This team is the best. The best. And now, today, we are honoring the best of the best.”

The award recipients are:

Airman of the Year: Senior Airman Zenya Green, 704th Test Group

Green is part of the command support staff at the 704th Test Group at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, and serves as the only personnel specialist. Despite this, she, among other accomplishments, developed an error tracking system which she used to validate nearly 6,000 personal identifiable information inputs against Military Personnel Data System, the primary records database for personnel data and actions that occur throughout every Airman’s career. Her diligence and attention to detail ensured her fellow Airmen’s records were 100% accurate.

Noncommissioned Officer of the Year: Tech. Sgt. Min Eom, 746th Test Squadron

Eom is the Noncommissioned Officer in Charge at the 746 TS at Holloman AFB. He was handpicked to lead the squadron’s newest element. He authored technical data for new equipment and implemented scheduled maintenance and repairs for more than five dozen electronic warfare assets for the Department of Defense’s premier GPS test center. Among other accomplishments, Eom also distinguished himself further as a leader by standing up a first-of-its-kind electronics repair facility. He also completed work in this facility that saved the squadron more than $2.5 million.

Senior Noncommissioned Officer of the Year: Senior Master Sgt. James Jordan, 704th Test Group

Jordan is the group senior enlisted leader at the 704 TG at Holloman. He managed four squadrons and four operating locations consisting of more than 600 Airmen. While doing so, he safeguarded $1 billion in infrastructure and executed a $119 million budget. Jordan also trailblazed the 704 TG’s approval as a SkillBridge partner, which provided a new way to fill civilian vacancies and directly supported retiring veterans. He also partnered with other Air Education and Training Command senior enlisted leaders, executing several speed-mentoring events, professionally developing 2,000 Airmen.

Company Grade Officer of the Year: 1st Lt. Camden Dammeyer, 716th Test Squadron

Dammeyer is a test manager and engineer at the 716 TS at Arnold AFB. She led a $2 million wind tunnel test effort, successfully collecting more than 4,000 critical data points. She also tracked, allocated and expensed $5 million on other wind tunnel tests, ensuring effective and efficient operations, and safeguarded scheduling for several high-priority National Defense Strategy programs, ensuring major acquisition milestones were met. Among her accomplishments, Dammeyer further provided critical input and guided future requirements for weapons testing and served as the president of the Arnold AFB Company Grade Officers’ Council, providing 70 hours of professional development and mentorship, accumulating 170 volunteer hours and raising $15,000 for the local community.

Field Grade Officer of the Year: Maj. Justin Ong, Hypersonic Systems Test Branch

Ong is the director of operations at the 804th Test Group, Hypersonic Systems Test Branch, Arnold AFB. He completed a 182-day deployment to U.S. Central Command Headquarters where he secured $180 million in foreign military financing for the Lebanese armed forces and ultimately forward deployed to Lebanon for embassy exposure. He worked to ensure 75,000 troops were equipped with $72 million worth of necessary resources. Back at Arnold, Ong served as acting chief of the Hypersonic Systems Test Branch for the final quarter of 2023. He led all aspects of ground test operations for the high-speed propulsion test capability and had oversight of multiple investment portfolios totaling more than $400 million per year in execution. Ong was also invaluable in establishing a soon-to-be-activated test squadron.

Category I Civilian of the Year: Teresa Ferenczhalmy, 746th Test Squadron

Ferenczhalmy is the commander’s secretary at the 746 TS, Holloman AFB. She mastered many human resources processes by initiating more than 40 personnel actions and the onboarding of 15 employees. She mentored five newly selected first-level supervisors, providing instruction on civilian personnel actions, setting the new leadership cadre up for success. She also processed nearly 180 purchases totaling more than $260,000 and ensured the 746 TS passed the 49th Wing financial management government purchase card audit with zero discrepancies. She organized numerous squadron morale events and volunteered more than 320 hours as the New Mexico governor-appointed Military Interstate Children’s Compact commissioner and as a member of the Southern New Mexico Thrive board.

Category II Civilian of the Year: Alexis Holloway, 716th Test Squadron

Holloway is an aerospace engineer at the 716 TS, Arnold AFB. She supported more than 1,100 user-occupancy hours across seven tests in four wind tunnels. She showed exceptional performance in all wind tunnel test areas, including aerodynamic effects, store separation and heat transfer. She was handpicked to stand up the new Propulsion Integration Flight and led a 30-member combined test team on a test of new flight hardware. Holloway has earned her test manager qualification and advanced in the test director and test engineer qualifications across multiple disciplines, cross-training in all three test types.

Category III Civilian of the Year: Joshua Anders, 846th Test Squadron

Anders is a mechanical engineer at the 846 TS at Holloman AFB. He served as the lead test engineer for the next-generation fixed wing helmet program, which is designed to reduce aircrew injury during daily use and upon ejection. He conducted sled drag studies and provided engineering to the fabrication shops to ensure seat and sled modifications were complete. He also oversaw the design of a tunnel needed for a sled test. As a result of his work, the tunnel, the longest ever used at the Holloman High Speed Test Track, was successfully installed and inflated.

Non-appropriated Fund Category I Civilian of the Year: James Ashley, Test Support Division – Services

Ashley is a maintenance worker at Arnold AFB. He provided exceptional customer support to sustain resiliency and quality of life while generating $638,000 in revenue for Services. As the mechanical subject matter expert for Services, he executed maintenance on 37 Famcamp sites, 20 hotel rooms, nine cabins, eight boats and seven non-appropriated fund vehicles, resulting in a cost avoidance in excess of $37,000. Ashley assumed additional duties at the Arnold AFB golf course. There, he performed preventative maintenance and repairs on more than two dozen golf carts and 10 mowers. Among other efforts at the golf course, Ashley also led a team of three to remove a dilapidated bridge and design and construct a new one that was safe and aesthetically pleasing.

Non-appropriated Fund Category II Civilian of the Year: Matthew Clear, Test Support Division – Services

Clear is a supervisory recreation specialist at Arnold AFB. He realized a gross income of $638,000 in the 2023 calendar year, an increase of $213,000 over the previous year. He implemented innovative and cost-saving solutions that resulted in a 10% reduction in total operating expenses and an adjusted net income of more than $258,000. He also spearheaded the conversion of the Wingo Inn into recreational lodging. He established a new cost center, transformed 20 rooms, created seasonal rates, revised amenities, and modified policies and procedures. This resulted in more than $89,000 in net profit for the cost center alone. Clear and his Outdoor Recreation team also coordinated, planned and executed several events throughout 2023, including the Holiday Bazaar, Arnold AFB Sports Day and SummerFest.

Annual Safety Achievement Award: Capt. Brian Gatzke, 717th Test Squadron

Gatzke is a test engineer and unit safety representative for the 804 TG at Arnold AFB. He made created a comprehensive tool for tracking safety training for confined space entry. Identifying the need for a more efficient process, Gatzke used his advanced technical skills to address delays caused by unavailable training data. His resolution ensured data accuracy and completeness while also enhancing operation speed, enabling the 804 TG to meet critical Air Force and Department of Defense deadlines.

Exceptional Innovators of the Year: Aerospace Vehicle Survivability Facility Research Development, Test & Evaluation Team, 704th Test Group

This team consists of Colton Lapworth, Russell Loos, Jason Sawdy, Ryan Steele and Carlos Suarez II.

Members of the 704 TG’s AVSF Research Development, Test & Evaluation Team at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, distinguished themselves by contributing four new innovations to the tri-service survivability community during 2023. The team enhanced aircraft dry bay fire vulnerability assessments by approximately 30% through the first release of the next-generation fire model and broadened fuel-ullage ignition characterizations by innovating unique test procedures. The team also advanced a technology mitigating the flammability of polyalphaolefin hydraulic fluids, effecting a 20% increase in an aircraft’s survivability posture, while further launching a tri-service digital ecosystem strategy to enhance the speed and efficiency of acquisitions.

Annual Technical Achievement Award: HAVE Grace Technology Demonstrator Team, 586th Flight Test Squadron

This team consists of Capt. Maria Carter, Lt. Col. Sean Siddiqui and Thomas Shoaf.

The team successfully flew a new propeller design on a demonstrator aircraft, adapting multiple rotor designs to a fixed wing aircraft. The flight culminated $35 million in research with five Air Force organizations and multiple propeller system redesign efforts. Without flight test heritage, the team developed a robust propeller ground test program using binomial statistics to gain confidence in propeller functionality after system redesigns.

Members of the Contracting team, known as AFTC/PZ Arnold, who support AEDC were also recognized during the ceremony.

Those award recipients are:

• Outstanding Operational Contracting Unit – Small: AFTC/PZ Arnold Installation Contracting Division

• Outstanding Civilian in Operational Contracting (Non-Supervisory): Charles King

• Outstanding Enterprise Contracting Civilian in Training: Bethany Hill

• Outstanding Government Purchase Card Program: LaLonnie Saltzman