Face of Defense: Air Force Recognizes Commander, Spouse

WASHINGTON — Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Nor­ton A. Schwartz pre­sent­ed Brig. Gen. Mark C. Dil­lon and his wife, Sara, the Gen­er­al and Mrs. Jerome F. O’Mal­ley Award dur­ing a cer­e­mo­ny here Oct. 11.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Nor­ton A. Schwartz presents Brig. Gen. Mark C. Dil­lon and his spouse, Sara, with the Gen­er­al and Mrs. Jerome F. O’Mal­ley Award lega­cy pic­ture dur­ing a Pen­ta­gon cer­e­mo­ny Oct. 11, 2011. The award is pre­sent­ed annu­al­ly to the wing com­man­der and spouse whose con­tri­bu­tions to the nation, Air Force and local com­mu­ni­ty best exem­pli­fy the high­est ideals and pos­i­tive lead­er­ship of a mil­i­tary cou­ple in wing com­mand posi­tions. U.S. Air Force pho­to by Andy Morataya Click to enlarge

The Dil­lons were hon­ored for their ser­vice at Ram­stein Air Base, Ger­many, where the gen­er­al served as the 86th Air­lift Wing’s com­man­der from July 2009 to August 2011. 

“Today we cel­e­brate the exem­plary ser­vice of both Mark and Sara while at the 86th Air­lift Wing at Ram­stein and, very impor­tant­ly, their out­reach to the local com­mu­ni­ty,” Schwartz said at the Pen­ta­gon ceremony. 

The O’Mal­ley award, now in its 26th year, is pre­sent­ed each year to rec­og­nize a wing com­man­der and spouse whose con­tri­bu­tions to the nation, Air Force and local com­mu­ni­ty best exem­pli­fy the high­est ideals and pos­i­tive lead­er­ship of a mil­i­tary cou­ple in wing com­mand positions. 

In sup­port­ing the Kaiser­slautern com­mu­ni­ty locat­ed near Ram­stein, assist­ing with ser­vice mem­bers’ tran­si­tions to the U.S. Cen­tral Com­mand and strength­en­ing youth and fam­i­ly pro­grams at Ram­stein Air Base, the Dil­lons exem­pli­fy the team­work and com­mit­ment of all air­men, Schwartz said. 

“Not only did the Dil­lons lead air­men and their fam­i­lies; they also improved the wing and bol­stered the impor­tant place the orga­ni­za­tion holds in the cen­tral Euro­pean com­mu­ni­ty,” Schwartz said. “I think it is appro­pri­ate that we hon­or Mark and Sara Dil­lon with this award for exem­plary ser­vice by a com­man­der and his or her spouse.” 

Dur­ing the last year, the Dil­lons led a wing of more than 8,000 air­men and sup­port­ed a joint and inter­a­gency team of near­ly 50,000 Amer­i­cans — the largest con­cen­tra­tion of Amer­i­cans liv­ing out­side the U.S.

“I think of three words when I stand up here today: hon­or, priv­i­lege and humil­i­ty,” Dil­lon said. “This is real­ly a team hon­or for the men and women of the 86th Air­lift Wing, and it was an hon­or to be able to serve with that team. 

“Last­ly and most impor­tant­ly, we are hum­bled to hear our names, Mark and Sara Dil­lon, men­tioned in the same sen­tence as Gen­er­al and Mrs. O’Mal­ley,” he said. 

Source:
U.S. Depart­ment of Defense
Office of the Assis­tant Sec­re­tary of Defense (Pub­lic Affairs) 

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