Email from November 10th Click here to view the Alert on the MDAA website Follow and Support MDAA   MDAA Alert: 2025 Japan Missile Defender of the Year Mount Fuji, Japan Dear Members and Friends, On November 6, 2025, MDAA hosted the 2025 Japan Missile Defender of the Year awards ceremony at the U.S. Air Base Yokota in Tokyo Prefecture, Japan. The 2025 Japan MDOY marks MDAA's 85th Missile Defender of the Year, our 3rd Japan Missile Defender of the Year, and our 11th MDOY event hosted in Japan. We were honored to recognize 18 awardees from the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Space Force for their leadership and excellence in the missile defense of Japan. Japan is America’s strongest ally in missile defense in the Pacific. It leads in commitment, interoperability, capability, capacity, and real burden sharing. The partnership began in 1984 when President Reagan approved a bilateral study on ballistic missile defense, and it has grown ever since. In today's tumultuous international security landscape, including a militarily ascendant China and a defiantly belligerent North Korea in the Indo-Pacific, Japan-U.S. missile defense collaboration is more important than ever. The Missile Defender of the Year Award ceremony began in January 2011 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the first operational Patriot missile intercept on January 18, 1991. Since then, MDAA has honored and awarded 1,055 Awardees from 25 different nations at 85 total Defender of the Year Award ceremonies. This prestigious recognition has celebrated awardees from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Spain, South Korea, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States. Events have been hosted by nine countries: Germany, Japan, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Qatar, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States. We are honored to present the 2025 Japan Missile Defenders of the Year: CW2 Dillin Lewis UNITED STATES ARMY 38th ADA BDE Interface Control Officer and Fire Direction Center OIC SGT David Alvarado UNITED STATES ARMY SPC Christian Albrecht UNITED STATES ARMY AN/TPY-2 Radar Operator CW2 Gary Kearns UNITED STATES ARMY Air and Missile Defense Tactician Maj Mikiyoshi Kitade JAPAN AIR SELF-DEFENSE FORCE JASDF Air Defense Artilleryman Maj Ryuki Kuruma JAPAN AIR SELF-DEFENSE FORCE JASDF Air Defense Artilleryman Maj Takayuki Shiraishi JAPAN GROUND SELF-DEFENSE FORCE JGSDF Air Defense Artilleryman Maj Gen Naonobu Koyama JAPAN GROUND SELF-DEFENSE FORCE Director of Research Dept., JGSDF Training, Evaluation, Research and Development Command SSgt DeRon Bolton UNITED STATES AIR FORCE Tactical Data Link Manger, Air Defense Maj Nicole Wise UNITED STATES AIR FORCE Chief, Air Defense Liaison Element, 5 AF/A3 Maj Kevin Wise UNITED STATES AIR FORCE Chief, C2 Plans & IAMD Maj Matthew Schedler UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS 12th LAAB Operations Officer TSgt Zachary Steagall UNITED STATES SPACE FORCE Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge, Operations Directorate, SFJ/S3 CDR Mayu Kanzaki JAPAN MARITIME SELF-DEFENSE FORCE Ballistic Missile Defense operation staff, JMSDF Self Fleet HQ LCDR Mitsuteru Murata JAPAN MARITIME SELF-DEFENSE FORCE CW3 Ryan Bish UNITED STATES NAVY Systems Test Officer, USS RALPH JOHNSON (DDG 114) LCDR Michael Gutkowski UNITED STATES NAVY Plans and Tactics Officer, USS MILIUS (DDG 69) LT Diego Caballero UNITED STATES NAVY Training Officer, USS RALPH JOHNSON (DDG 114) Winners Associate with Winners to Win! Fight on! Riki Ellison Chairman and Founder Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance   Click Here to Join MDAA _____________________________________________________________________ MDAA is a non-profit, non-partisan tax-exempt 501(c) (4) organization. Our mission is to make the world safer by advocating for the development and deployment of missile defense systems to defend the United States and its allies against missile threats. We are a membership-funded organization that does not advocate on behalf of any specific system, technology, architecture or entity. Founded in 2002, MDAA is the only organization in existence whose primary mission is to recruit, organize, and mobilize proponents to advocate for the critical need of missile defense. Visit our website www.missiledefenseadvocacy.org for more information.   Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance 515 King Street, Suite 330 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone: (703) 299-0060 Email: [email protected]   Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance | 515 King Street Suite 330 | Alexandria, VA 22314 US Unsubscribe | Constant Contact Data Notice