Washington D.C. / January 12, 2015

On Friday, the best U.S. missile defenders in 2014 for the United States Army, Air Force, Navy and National Guard were honored at an awards ceremony in Alexandria, VA. It was the fifth “Missile Defender of the Year” award ceremony to be hosted by the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, which began in 2010. The date of ceremony, January 9, reflects the first use of U.S. ballistic missile defense in combat on January 18, 1991. Awardees are selected by their peers and commanding officers in their service branches for demonstrating extraordinary excellence in the operation of the nation’s missile defense systems at home and overseas over the past year.

“These special award winners exemplified excellence of leadership in making the United States, our forward operating troops and allies safe from integrated air and ballistic missile threats throughout 2014.” Stated Riki Ellison, Chairman and Founder of MDAA

The winners of the 2014 MDAA Missile Defender of the Year Awards are:

Lieutenant Colonel Jerry Frazier

Stationed in Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina

U.S. Air Force

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Staff Sergeant MichaelSean McSherry

Deployed to Arabian Gulf Region

U.S. Army

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Staff Sergeant Norman Perkins III

Stationed at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California

U.S.Army National Guard

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Fire Control Second Class Petty Officer Bartholomew Ringer

Deployed on the USS Donald Cook (DDG-75) operating out of Rota, Spain

U.S. Navy

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Presenting the awards at the ceremony were Vice Chief of Naval Operations ADM Michelle Howard (USN), Commander of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, LTG David Mann (USA), Deputy Commander of US NORTHCOM, Lieutenant General Michael Dubie (USA) and Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, Installations and Mission Support, Lieutenant General Judy Fedder (USAF). In his remarks, Riki Ellison concluded by saying “we are fortunate to have game changers that have made a tremendous difference in winning. It is great to see four different branches and cultures come together. This is what this event is for.

FC2 Bartholomew Ringer, United States Navy

FC2 Ringer was selected as the 2014 Missile Defender of the Year for the U.S. Navy. Bartholomew Ringer graduated from Parkway North High School in West County, St. Louis, MO in 1999. He attended the University of Evansville, IN and the University of Missouri before pursuing a career in the U.S. Navy. In 2010 he

SSG Norman D. Perkins III, National Guard

SSG Perkins was selected as the 2014 Missile Defender of the Year for the U.S. National Guard. SSG Perkins’s initial enlistment was December 3, 1986. After graduating from Basic Training and Advance Individual Training, SSG Perkins was stationed at Fort Riley, KS where he served for over three years as a Track Vehicle Mechanic with

SSG MichaelSean McSherry, United States Army

SSG McSherry was selected as the 2014 Missile Defender of the Year for the U.S. Army. SSG McSherry is a subject matter expert for nearly every aspect of Patriot Air and Missile Defense. His in-depth knowledge of launchers, up-range operations, and system maintenance has been invaluable to the success of his unit. McSherry has certified

Lt Col Jerry Frazier, United States Air Force

Lt Col Frazier was selected as the 2014 Missile Defender of the Year for the U.S. Air Force. Lt Col Jerry Frazier is the Division Chief, Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) for Headquarters Air Forces Central Command (AFCENT), Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. He leads the U.S. joint command and control, missile defense