ATLANTIC CITY, NJ  - Two noncommissioned officers (NCOs) from the 177th Fighter Wing, New Jersey Air National Guard, based at Atlantic City International Airport, received both top awards from the Air National Guard Satellite Program Noncommissioned Officer Academy (SP NCOA) during the graduation ceremony held here for the first time, Friday.

 Technical Sgt. David Kovak, of Millville, won the highest honor, the John L. Levitow Honor Graduate award for demonstrating academic excellence and outstanding attributes of leadership, enthusiasm, military bearing and dedication to the spirit and mission of the NCO Academy and the Total Air Force.  Technical Sgt. Roseann Bannon, of Pine Hill, won the Academic Achievement Award for the highest academic grade as well as the Distinguished Graduate Award resulting from a combination of academics and votes by both, instructors and peers, that placed her in the top ten percent of the student body.
The class included eight satellite locations from Maine to California with a total enrollment of 76 students.  Thirteen members of the 177th graduated Friday from the SP NCOA which is part of the professional military training members must complete before they are eligible for promotion to the senior noncommissioned officer (NCO) status of Master Sergeant and given additional leadership responsibilities.

The SP NCOA is a four-month program with classes held two nights per week from 7–11 p.m. and finishes with a 2-week in-residence portion.  Students receive ten undergraduate credits from the Community College of the Air Force towards an associate’s degree once they complete the program.  The program requires students to write two papers on a military topic, give two speeches and take two exams.

This is only the second time in the history of the SP NCOA and the first time at the 177th that a group of students has completed the in-residence portion at their home duty station instead of at the I.G. Brown Air National Guard Training and Education Center at McGhee Tyson ANGB, Tennessee.  The operations tempo at the 177th since September 11 made it impossible for many students to leave their jobs at the base for two weeks so an instructor from the I.G. Brown training center was sent to the 177th to facilitate the final 2-week in-residence portion.

For more information, OR ACCOMPANYING PHOTOS, contact the 177th Fighter Wing Public Affairs office at (609) 645-6005 or email at pa.177fw@njatla.ang.af.mil
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