Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea – November 24, 2014 — On November 21, MDAA hosted the Third Annual Peninsula Missile Defenders of the Year Award Ceremony at Osan Air Base in South Korea. The event paid tribute to the men and women of the Republic of Korea (ROK) and U.S. Armed Forces who operate the air and missile defense systems on the Korean Peninsula. These distinguished individuals operate some of the most technologically advanced equipment in U.S. and South Korean militaries, and provide the region with the first line of defense and deterrence against the threat posed by North Korea.

“By providing this defense,” said MDAA Chairman Riki Ellison in a statement, “these forces shape the will of North Korea to go to war.”

The winners of the Third Annual Peninsula Missile Defenders of the Year Awards are:

From the United States:

Major Thomas A. Garvin

 607th Air and Space Operations Center 

First Lieutenant Megan Parris

HHB/6-52, 35^th ADA BDE

Sergeant Andrew Coleman

E/6-52, 210 FA BDE, 2ID

Sergeant Joseph O’Bryant Huerta

HHB/6-52, 35^th ADA BDE 

Specialist Matthew Wilke

HHB/6-52, 35^th ADA BDE 

Private First Class Cristian Reyes

E/6-52, 210 FA BDE, 2ID

From the Republic of Korea:

Captain Jong-Joon Yoon

 Commanding Officer, ROKS Seo-ae Ryu Seong-ryong (DDG 993). 

First Lieutenant Jin Bum Jun

 551 Battery, 3^rd ROK BDE

First Lieutenant Ju Hyun Kim

557th Battery, 199th BN, 2^nd BDE

Master Sergeant Won-Kyoung Jung

3rd ADA BDE 553 FP  

Master Sergeant Chan Woo Lee

558th Battery, 199th BN, 2^nd BDE

Master Sergeant Kiljoo Lee

552nd Air Defense Missile Battery 

Master Sergeant Ki Hoon Park

 557^th Battery, 199^th BN, 2^nd BDE

In remarks, MDAA Chairman Riki Ellison said “these young men and women are the best of the best at what they do in the protection of millions of lives and the balance of regional power in one of the most volatile regions in the world.”

Participating in the event was U.S. Eighth Army Commander Lieutenant General Bernard S. Champoux, Commander of the ROK Air Defense Missile Command Major General Lee Yun Soo, and other distinguished leaders from the U.S. and ROK Armies and Navies, and Air Forces.

2014 Missile Defenders of the Year appear on Armed Forces Network Radio