JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii -- Senior Master Sgt. Christopher Ricks, Pacific Air Forces/A4 Security Forces Operations superintendent, was recognized by PACAF senior leaders as one of the Air Force’s 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year.
The Outstanding Airman of the Year award recognizes the enlisted recipient’s exceptional job performance, superior leadership and followership traits and epitomizes the whole airman concept.
“Senior Master Sergeant Ricks embodies what we think of when we talk about excellence,” said Chief Master Sgt. Anthony Johnson, PACAF Command Chief. “He is a dedicated Senior NCO who selflessly contributes to the greater good of the organization and his Airmen. You see it in all that he does and it is reflected in the stellar work he produces and the impact he has on Team Hickam and the installations across the command. He is very deserving of this award and I am positive we will continue to see great things from him in the future.”
Ricks oversaw multiple security forces initiatives in PACAF. Among his many accomplishments, he supported 10 security forces squadrons with two million dollars in lethal capabilities and oversaw security coordination for the bed down of two F-35A Lightning II fighter squadrons, enabling the security of $3 billion dollars in air assets.
“This award means a lot,” said Ricks. “I believe it is an award that represents the tireless efforts of the Airmen who have worked with me and trusted my leadership, the peers who have rallied around me to take care of the mission and take care of our people, and the supervisors who have invested in grooming me because they saw the potential for me to be something special. This award validates all of their efforts.”
A board of Air Force leaders selected Ricks from a list of 36 nominees. The nominees represented various major commands, direct reporting units, field operating agencies and Headquarters Air Force.