Senior Air Force civilians presented Presidential Rank Awards Published July 6, 2018 Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Nine senior civilians, including four from the Air Force Materiel Command and its subordinate units, were recognized during the annual Presidential Rank Awards Ceremony at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, July 6, 2018. “Each of you has developed deep competence in your area of expertise,” said Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson, who presided over the ceremony. “You’re recognized and respected for that by your peers, your subordinates and by other leaders in the Air Force and the Department of Defense.” Presidential Rank Awards recognize extraordinary achievements by career executives in Federal service. These awards recognize the top individuals who have made significant and lasting contributions to their agency and the federal government. In addition to delivering meaningful results, nominees must demonstrate the highest level of leadership competencies including leading change and leading people. Extraordinary executive leaders model these critical abilities by taking on some of the most difficult organizational challenges as well as developing a strong and diverse workforce for the 21st century. “There are a lot of people who want to work for and with you,” Wilson said. “You create high performing teams dedicated to something that’s important, something that’s beyond each of us as individuals.” The awards feature two categories: distinguished and meritorious. Nominations are evaluated by boards of private citizens and approved by the president. Patricia Young, AFMC Executive Director, was recognized as a distinguished senior executive during the event. Meritorious executive honors were awarded to C. Douglas Ebersole, Air Force Research Laboratory Executive Director (retired) and Steven Wert, Program Executive Officer for Battle Management, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center. Kenneth Barker, Technical Advisor for Systems Engineering, AFLCMC, received the meritorious senior level professional recognition. The full list of those honored during the ceremony can be found below: Distinguished Senior Executive: Patricia Young Distinguished Senior Executive Executive director, Air Force Materiel Command Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio Randall Walden Distinguished Senior Executive Director and program executive officer, Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, D.C. David Drake Distinguished Senior Executive Technical advisor for Information Technology, Communication and Information Directorate, National Air and Space Intelligence Center Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio Meritorious Senior Executive: Andrew Cox Meritorious Senior Executive Director, Space Security and Defense Program Air Force Space Command, Peterson AFB, Colorado C. Douglas Ebersole (Retired) Meritorious Senior Executive Executive director Air Force Research laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio D. Mark Peterson Meritorious Senior Executive Chief financial officer/comptroller U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill AFB, Florida Steven Wert Meritorious Senior Executive Program executive officer for Battle Management, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hanscom AFB, Massachusetts Robert Bussian Meritorious Senior Executive Special advisor for Innovation Intelligence System Support office, Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force, Pentagon, Washington, D.C. Meritorious Senior Level Professional: Kenneth Barker Meritorious Senior Level Professional Technical Advisor for Systems Engineering AFLCMC, AFMC, Wright-Patterson AFB, Colorado