Annual awards ceremony honors top performers

Defense Logistics Agency Weapons Support (Richmond) honored seven employees at its sixth annual awards ceremony April 28, gathering staff and families at the Frank B. Lotts Conference Center on Defense Supply Center Richmond, Virginia.

Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick Launey, the organization’s commander, opened the event by commending both the awardees and the broader workforce. “It’s a great opportunity to celebrate the winners of our awards, but also to collectively acknowledge the great work that the teams do,” he said. “What you do, and what everybody online does every single day for the agency, for the services we support, and for our nation, our allies, and our partners is truly significant.”

Linking the celebration to the People imperative in the DLA Strategic Plan, Launey underscored the human element behind mission performance. “Without people, we don’t have the precision that we need to make the right decisions and support the warfighter,” Launey continued. “We don’t have the level of posture that we need to support our global supply chains. And you certainly, without people, can’t make those tremendous partnerships with the services, with our suppliers, with each other within the agency, and in all the other different areas that we support every single day. It comes down to people.”

The 2026 honorees were:
– Air Force Tech. Sgt. Tequez Trent, Supplier Operations OEM Directorate, Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year
– Air Force Master Sgt. Michelle Carillo, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Corporation, Senior Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year
– Air Force Capt. Jeffery Regan, Customer Operations Directorate, Company Grade Officer of the Year
– Jared Midavaine, DLA Weapons Support at Ogden, Civilian Category A Employee of the Year
– Alicia Foster, DLA Weapons Support at Jacksonville, Civilian Category B Employee of the Year
– John Villanueva, DLA Weapons Support at Jacksonville, Civilian Category C Employee of the Year
– Jaime Barrera, Supplier Operations Commodities, DLA Superior Civilian Service Award and Global War on Terror Civilian Service Medal

After presenting the awards, Launey thanked families and supervisors who helped make the achievements possible. “Congratulations to you and to your family members,” he said. “Thank you for your support, your patience, your endurance, and for the multiple years that culminated in this award. Thanks to the teams, the supervisors, and the leadership that set our award winners up for success, provided them with support, accountability and feedback, and then did the hard work to get folks submitted so they could be recognized.”

He also offered a broader message to the workforce about its impact on service members and partners around the world. “Sometimes, you may think the work you do in your specific area goes unnoticed, but it certainly doesn’t to me,” Launey said. “They are going to be able to do that because of you,” he continued. “So, you are truly the unsung heroes of our operations.”