NGB recognizes Kentucky Air Guard for public affairs excellence

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Chloe Ochs
  • 123rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
LOUISVILLE, Ky. --  The Kentucky Air Guard public affairs team has again won top awards in the Air National Guard Media Contest, the National Guard Bureau announced Feb. 28.

Tech Sgt. Joshua Horton took third place in the photojournalism category for his coverage of civil engineer field training; Master Sgt. Phil Speck won second place in the feature photo category for an image depicting a pararescue competition; and Lt. Col. Dale Greer, in his role as a full-time Air Reserve Technician, was named ANG Civilian Writer of the Year.

The new awards, covering content produced in 2023, build on an already impressive record of achievements over the past three decades, said Brig. Gen. David Mounkes, the Kentucky National Guard’s assistant adjutant general for Air. Horton won the same category in 2021, Speck took first place for information story last year, and Greer has now been selected Civilian Writer of the Year for two consecutive years. He previously was named ANG Journalist of the Year five times and was ANG Civilian Photographer of the Year in 2019.

“Our Kentucky Air National Guard public affairs team is hands down one of the best DoD teams in the country,” Mounkes said. “Their consistent excellence is on record — not only in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, but also in every theater of operations to which they’ve deployed over the past several years. It’s very satisfying to see them continuing to get the recognition they deserve.”

The ANG Media Contest evaluates hundreds of photography, videography and journalism entries from across the Air National Guard every year, selecting the best to advance to competitions at the Air Force and Department of Defense levels.

Greer’s entry, which included a news article on special tactics and a feature story on a prisoner of war, will now advance to the 2023 Department of the Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Douglas W. Morrell Media Awards competition. He previously scored two first-place honors at the Air Force level, including Air Force Print Journalist of the Year.

To date, the KYANG PA shop has taken home 108 honors from the NGB, U.S. Air Force and DoD since 1995, having earned top awards in 25 of the last 29 years.

Tracy O’Grady Walsh, NGB director of public affairs, said the 2023 winners “showcase the best of our public affairs talents in print, photography, videography and public affairs across the country.”

“We applaud the dedication and efforts that your Soldiers, Airmen and civilians give to our nation every day to bring the Guard story to the American public.”