Two win AF-level awards Published May 26, 2011 By Christopher Kratzer Air University Public Affairs Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala -- The Air Force-level John P. Jumper and Information Dominance Award winners were announced last month recognizing two local Airmen. Capt. John Sykes was named the Information Assurance Outstanding Program Manager, and Staff Sgt. Terel Hayes was named the Computer Systems Programming Outstanding Non-commissioned Officer. Both recipients work in the Air Force Program Executive Office Enterprise Information Systems at Gunter. The Information Assurance Outstanding Program Manager, awarded to Captain Sykes, recognizes a sustained superior performance and professional excellence while performing and managing information assurance programs and whose contributions most improved the security of information systems at the base, major command, Air Force headquarters, and national-level, or the security of the United States government's information. Captain Sykes said he was honored to receive the award and that the award was a testament to the hard work put forth by his team. "As a program manager, my responsibility is to ensure my team has all the skills, tools and direction required to complete our mission," Captain Sykes said. "I view receiving this award as a validation of the hard work accomplished by the Application Software Security Center of Excellence, or ASACoE, and the importance of our mission to secure the Air Force's application software." The Information Dominance awards, one of which was awarded to Sergeant Hayes, recognizes individuals working in information dominance and cyberspace operations, and support career fields for sustained superior performance and contributions that benefited the Air Force and Department of Defense missions and operations. Sergeant Hayes said he sees the award as a reflection of the mission of the ASACoE. "I would say that all of the hard work has finally paid off, but honestly it is rewarding enough to know that each program the Application Software Security Center of Excellence visits is given the tools and training needed to make it more secure," Sergeant Hayes said. "I also see this award to be a testament to the mission performed by the ASACoE and affirmation that the ASACoE mission is truly needed in order to maintain information dominance at the application layer." Both Airmen will go on to compete for other awards. Captain Sykes will compete for the National Security Agency's Frank B. Rowlett trophy, and Sergeant Hayes will compete for the General Billy Mitchell Award for communications and information excellence. "The Air Force is full of stellar Airmen. It is truly an honor and privilege to be recognized at the center, major command and Air Force levels," Captain Sykes. "I am just thankful to my leadership for taking the time to articulate the value-added to my role in our team's mission."