Email from December 4th Click here to view the Alert on the MDAA website Follow and Support MDAA   MDAA Alert: 2025 Indo-Pacific Air & Missile Defender of the Year Group photo at the 2025 Indo-Pacific Air & Missile Defender of the Year Awards. Honolulu, Hawaii. December 4, 2025. Dear Members and Friends, This past week, on December 4, 2025—the day of Saint Barbara, patron saint of missile defense—MDAA hosted the 2025 Indo-Pacific Air & Missile Defender of the Year awards ceremony in Honolulu, Hawaii. This was MDAA's 40th Defender of the Year event in the Pacific. In addition to the 6 Indo-Pacific Air & Missile Defender of the Year events, all held in Hawaii, we have held 9 Defender of the Year ceremonies in Alaska from 2014 to 2024, 8 in South Korea from 2012 to 2019, 7 in Guam from 2015 to 2025, 7 in Okinawa from 2013 to 2019, and 3 in mainland Japan from 2015 to 2025. In this pivotal time in the Pacific, we were honored to recognize 9 outstanding awardees from the U.S. Marine Corps, the U.S. Navy, and the U.S. Army for their leadership and their excellence in the air and missile defense of the Pacific. Their leadership strengthens deterrence, protects forward forces and populations, and helps ensure a stable and secure Indo-Pacific region. This event comes at a time of accelerating change and a balancing of the World Order in the Pacific. The 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, led by Brig. Gen. William M. Parker and headquartered in Hawaii, plays a vital role in leading the theater’s missile defense architecture and leading our Pacific Allies in modernization and joint integration courses of action to deter and counter Chinese, Russian, and North Korean missile and air threats. In this pivotal time, Guam, Hawaii, Japan, and the wider U.S. and Allied island chains are moving forward with trust and the spirit of innovation to build efficient capability in an open C2, cloud-based data backbone that is resilient and integrated. These are the best of the best in Missile Defense in the Pacific for 2025. These 9 awardees are championing the way—setting the conditions to win in the Pacific theater. They are World Champions! We are honored to present the 2025 Indo-Pacific Air & Missile Defenders of the Year: Master Gunnery Sergeant Matthew S. Tovar UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS Group Operations Chief and Air Defense Chief, MACG-38 Gunnery Sergeant Shawn P. Sawyer UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS Platoon Sergeant, 1st Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion, Marine Air Control Group 18 Lieutenant Commander Noah R. Valero UNITED STATES NAVY Staff Operations and Plans Officer, U.S. Pacific Fleet Captain Joshua G. Washechek UNITED STATES ARMY Command Engineer, 94th Army Air & Missile Defense Command Captain Michael J. McTiernan UNITED STATES ARMY Assistant Operations Officer, 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command Major Jodi L. Corcoran UNITED STATES ARMY Deputy G4, 94th Army Air & Missile Defense Command Sergeant First Class Rafael Saucedo UNITED STATES ARMY Fire Direction Chief / ADAFCO Platoon Sergeant, 94th Army Air & Missile Defense Command Sergeant First Class Christopher M. Felipe UNITED STATES ARMY Operations Sergeant, 14th Missile Defense Battery, 1st Space Brigade Brigadier General William M. Parker UNITED STATES ARMY Director, Air and Missile Defense Cross Functional Team 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 1,064 Awardees from 25 different nations at 86 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. 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