2025 Guam Missile Defender of the Year

On a stunning sunny day at the newest military base on Guam, the Marine Corps Base, Camp Blaz—surrounded by the vastness of the Pacific—we brought our tradition of honoring and recognizing the best Missile Defenders back to the most forward American territory facing China and North Korea: Guam. The 2025 Guam MDOY marks MDAA’s 84th Missile Defender of the Year and our 7th Guam Missile Defender of the Year. We were honored to recognize 9 awardees deployed in Guam of the United States Army, the United States National Guard and the United States Air Force in their noble and sacred mission of defending Guam from missile and air threats for this past year.

We had the great honor of having the Governor of Guam, Lou Leon Guerrero, recognize and speak to our Guam MDOY winners and to those that attended. The Governor made clear that she will not risk the island’s safety and supports missile defense in peace through strength and in peace through deterrence. She thanked me for advocating for a massive defense capability that provides 360° defense for Guam. The people of Guam have experienced and endured war, she said, and they are determined to never let that happen again.

Our tradition of recognizing the best of the best in this critical mission runs deep, embedded in a history of integrity and honor in the Missile Defense mission. This was the first Guam Missile Defender of the Year held since we held the event in 2021. The Guam Missile Defender of the Year goes back to 2015, when it was first held to honor members of Task Force Talon in their operation of Guam’s THAAD defense system installation—the first active deployment of the THAAD system in the world.

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 1,037 Awardees from 25 different nations at 84 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 Guam Missile Defenders of the Year:

1LT John Perez

Security Forces Officer Awardee