Congratulations to the Sijan Leadership 2012 Award Recipients!

Named in honor of the first U.S. Air Force Academy graduate to receive the Medal of Honor, the award annually recognizes officer and enlisted honorees in senior and junior categories who best exemplify the service's core values of integrity, service and excellence.

The Sijan Award was created in 1981 to recognize individuals who demonstrate the highest qualities of leadership both in and out of uniform. Sijan, was an Air Force Academy graduate. At the time of his death he was an Air Force Captain and fighter pilot. He was shot down during a mission in Vietnam and later died while being held in a prisoner of war camp. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously.