JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas -- Air Force officials recently named the three winners of the 2018 Blacks in Government Meritorious Service Award.
The award honors military members and Department of Defense civilian employees who have supported military missions or overseas contingency operations, or whose attributes best epitomize the qualities and core values of their service branch or other DoD component.
The award recipients are:
-- Capt. Loren Bryant, Deputy Branch chief, C2 Missions Systems, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.
-- Dr. Reginald Cooper, electronic engineer, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
-- Maj. Paul Prosper, Assistant Professor of Management, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Bryant improved unit productivity by delivering core services and emerging technology to 850,000 systems users across 10 major commands. Her leadership was vital in creating two mission systems policies that were adopted at the group and numbered Air Force levels. Bryant also served as the youth director for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People where she awarded two $2,000 scholarships to local high school students.
Cooper directs the laboratory research efforts of 27 scientists and engineers at the undergraduate and graduate level. He also serves as the directorate lead for the $4 million Minority Leader Research Collaborative Program which works with 25 universities. In addition, Cooper is an active member of the National Society of Black Engineers and the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity where he assisted 32 students who are now actively pursuing master’s and doctorate degrees.
Prosper led the Making Excellence Inclusive Committee that administered and analyzed a survey of numerous groups in an effort to improve minority retention at the U.S. Air Force Academy. He also served as the Annual Management Faculty of Color Association Conference chairman, where he helped lead a networking event for African-American, Hispanic and Native American business leaders. In addition, Prosper served as vice president of the Tuskegee Airmen Hubert L. “Hooks” Jones Chapter.
The award winners will be honored Aug. 13-16 at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana. For more information about Air Force awards, visit http://www.afpc.af.mil/Recognition/