MDAA held our 12th annual NORAD & USNORTHCOM Missile Warning & Defender of the Year awards ceremony to honor and award nineteen distinguished servicemembers from across the U.S. Armed Forces and Canadian Armed Forces.
“We are fighting for a world championship again. That’s for real. And missile defense is part of winning that world championship. Winners associate with winners to win. That’s what we’re doing here in this room: setting culture. You are setting culture. We’re recognizing culture by great leaders and great leaders are the ones that are followed because they make the right decision at the right time. Extreme pressure for the right reasons. That’s great. You don’t follow anybody else but them. And that’s what you are, and we’re recognizing you for that. So, we are extremely honored to recognize each one of you knowing that you’re going to lead and you’re going to win the world championship. So thank you.”
–Riki Ellison at the 2026 NORAD & USNORTHCOM Missile Warning & Defender of the Year award ceremony. Colorado Springs, Colorado. February 27, 2026.
At this critical moment for U.S. homeland defense, it is important to all of us that we recognize the leadership of our best of the best defending our country today against real, active missile threats as the world witnesses the missile and drone attacks by Iran on nine nations over the past few days. It is an honor for MDAA to recognize the missile defenders of the North American continent in this moment. It remains vital that the United States and Canada strengthen and deepen cooperation through leadership with NORAD and the Golden Dome to keep the American Continent safe.
We were honored to welcome Lieutenant-General Iain Huddleston, Deputy Commander of NORAD; Brigadier General Donald Brooks, Deputy Commanding General for Operations, USASMDC; Colonel Dani Williams, Commander of the 100th Missile Defense Brigade; Colonel William Marshall, Chief of Missile Defense, J31 Division Chief, USNORTHCOM; and Mr. Pete Saunders, Director General of the NORAD Continental Defence Modernization Office.
We are honored to present the 2026 NORAD & USNORTHCOM Missile Warning & Defenders of the Year:
Missile Chief of the Year:
LCDR Daniel Shen
UNITED STATES NAVY
1125 Submarine Warfare Officer/Missile Chief
Deputy Missile Chief of the Year:
TSgt Maxwell Johnson
UNITED STATES SPACE FORCE
5S051/Deputy Missile Chief/NORAD IQT Instructor
Missile Tech of the Year:
PO1 Leigh Jowett
ROYAL CANADIAN NAVY
Naval Combat Information Operator, Royal Canadian Navy/Missile Deputy/Missile Technician
Missile Defense Officer of the Year:
CDR Stuart Whipkey
UNITED STATES NAVY
1320, Naval Flight Officer / Missile Defense Officer
Deputy Missile Defense Officer of the Year:
Mr. Nicholas Wosko
DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE CIVILIANS
DAFC/GS13/Deputy Missile Defense Officer
Golden Dome for America Contributor of the Year:
Mr. Mike Harrison
UNITED STATES AIR FORCE CIVILIAN
Chief, Capability Requirements Division, N&NCJ81
Staff Professionals of the Year:
LT William Robbins
UNITED STATES NAVY
1110 Surface Warfare Officer/Missile Chief/Missile Defense Officer/NNC JOC Stan/Eval Missile Officer
Mr. Brian Brandow
UNITED STATES AIR FORCE CIVILIAN
N&NCJ81, IAMD Program Analyst
Intelligence Professional of the Year:
Mrs. Gillian Van Dean
DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY CIVILIAN
Missile Team Lead, J22 Missiles Analyst
SMDC Staff Professional of the Year:
Mrs. Amanda Clark
UNITED STATES ARMY
Director of the Directed Energy Division at USASMDC
100th Missile Defense Element Crew of the Year:
MAJ Aaron Gatzke
UNITED STATES ARMY, COLORADO ARMY NATIONAL GUARD
14AT3, Director
CPT Scott Hoffman
UNITED STATES ARMY, COLORADO ARMY NATIONAL GUARD
14AT3, Deputy Director
1LT Jacob Smee
UNITED STATES ARMY, COLORADO ARMY NATIONAL GUARD
14AT3, Current Operations Officer
SFC Javier Solla-Rivera
UNITED STATES ARMY, COLORADO ARMY NATIONAL GUARD
14ST3, Future Operations Officer
SGT Devon Wichers
UNITED STATES ARMY, COLORADO ARMY NATIONAL GUARD
14ST3, Readiness Operations Officer
100th Missile Defense Brigade Champions:
MAJ Skye Robinson
UNITED STATES ARMY NATIONAL GUARD
14A (Air Defense) / 100th MDB Missile Defense Operations Chief
CSM Jeremy Christensen
UNITED STATES ARMY
14Z (Air Defense) 100th MDB Command Sergeant Major
SGM Derrick Holmes
UNITED STATES ARMY
14Z (Air Defense) / 100th MDB Missile Defense Operations Sergeant Major
Lifetime Achievement Awardee:
Mr. Lonnie “Ray” Calloway
NORAD/USNORTHCOM
The inaugural Missile Defender of the Year awards ceremony was held on January 14, 2011 in Alexandria, Virginia to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the first operational Patriot missile intercept on January 18, 1991. Since that day, the annual awards have celebrated America’s and our Allies’ best of the best—inspirational leaders who are committed to excellence and maintain a critical role in missile defense. In total, MDAA has honored and awarded 1,089 Awardees from 25 different nations at 88 total Defender of the Year Award ceremonies around the world. This prestigious recognition has celebrated awardees from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Spain, South Korea, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States. The events have been hosted by nine countries: Germany, Japan, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Qatar, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.
Winners Associate with Winners to Win!