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Master Sgt. Phil Speck, superintendent of the 123rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs Office, earned third place in the 2018 Air National Guard Military Photographer of the Year contest for a broad spectrum of work while deployed and at home station, including this photo of an F-16 Fighting Falcon refueling in the skies over Afghanistan Jan. 17, 2018. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Phil Speck)

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Master Sgt. Phil Speck, superintendent of the 123rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs Office, earned third place in the 2018 Air National Guard Military Photographer of the Year contest for a broad spectrum of work while deployed and at home station, including this photo of the Kentucky Air National Guard's Fatality Search and Recovery Team during a training exercise July 18, 2018. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Phil Speck)

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Master Sgt. Phil Speck, superintendent of the 123rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs Office, earned third place in the 2018 Air National Guard Military Photographer of the Year contest for a broad spectrum of work while deployed and at home station, including this photo of a deployment homecoming in Louisville, Ky., July 6, 2018. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Phil Speck)

KyANG Public Affairs again recognized for excellence by Guard Bureau

Published Dec. 31, 2019
By Lt. Col. Allison Stephens
123rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Two members of the 123rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs Office have earned top awards in the annual National Guard Bureau Media Contest.

Senior Airman Chloe Ochs won second place in the Information Story competition for her 2018 coverage of field training by the Fatality Search and Recovery Team; and Master Sgt. Phil Speck earned third place in the 2018 Air National Guard Military Photographer of the Year contest for a broad spectrum of work while deployed and at home station.

The annual contest evaluates hundreds of journalism entries from across the Air National Guard, with winners selected by a panel of civilian and military experts.

With the latest honors, the 123rd Airlift Wing PA Office has now earned 89 national awards of excellence from NGB, the U.S. Air Force and the Department of Defense since 1995.

“The Media Contest was an especially challenging one this year, and I’m very pleased to see the wing's unprecedented record of achievement continue,” said Lt. Col. Dale Greer, chief of public affairs for Headquarters, Kentucky Air National Guard. “It is especially gratifying that our newest troop, Airman Ochs, is carrying the mantle forward. Congratulations to an outstanding team of truly world-class professionals.”