The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. The performance must be such as to merit recognition for service that is clearly exceptional. The exceptional performance of normal duty will not alone justify an award of this decoration.
Michael Edward Ryan is a retired United States Air Force general and was the 16th Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force from October 1997 to September 2001. He served as the senior uniformed Air Force officer responsible for the organization, training and equipage of 700,000 active-duty, Guard, Reserve and civilian forces serving in the United States and overseas. As a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he and the other service chiefs functioned as military advisers to the Secretary of Defense, National Security Council and the President.
The Pennsylvania National Guard is one of the oldest and largest National Guards in the United States Department of Defense. It traces its roots to 1747 when Benjamin Franklin established the Associators in Philadelphia.
Brigadier General Antonio Maldonado was an officer of the United States Air Force, who in 1967 became the youngest pilot and Aircraft Commander of a B-52 Stratofortress nuclear bomber. He served as Chief, U.S. Office of Defense Cooperation, Madrid, Spain. He was the senior Department of Defense representative to Spain and senior advisor to the US Ambassador to Spain. During the Persian Gulf War in 1991 he coordinated the overall US offensive operations from Spain.
General William M. Fraser III is a retired United States Air Force officer who served as Commander, United States Transportation Command. He previously served as Commander, Air Combat Command from September 10, 2009 to September 30, 2011, the 34th Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force from 9 October 2008 to 27 August 2009, and as Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from May 2006 to 8 October 2008. As the Assistant to the CJCS, Fraser oversaw matters requiring close personal control by the Chairman, with particular focus on international relations and politico-military concerns. As commander of United States Transportation Command, Fraser was in charge of managing all global air, land and sea transportation. He retired on May 5, 2014.
John R. Allen Jr. is a retired United States Air Force (USAF) brigadier general. Allen served on active duty for 31 years, until his retirement in 1990. He is a highly decorated command pilot with over 6,000 flying hours on B-47 Stratojet, FB-111, B-52 Stratofortress, KC-135 Stratotanker and T-39 Sabreliner aircraft.
Hispanics in the United States Air Force can trace their tradition of service back to the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), the military aviation arm of the United States Army during and immediately after World War II. The USAAF was the predecessor of the United States Air Force, which was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947, under the National Security Act of 1947. In the U.S., the term Hispanic categorizes any citizen or resident of the United States, of any racial background, of any country, and of any religion, who has at least one ancestor from the people of Spain or is of non-Hispanic origin but has an ancestor from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Central or South America, or some other Hispanic origin. The three largest Hispanic groups in the United States are the Mexican-Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans. According to the U.S. Census Bureau the estimated Hispanic population of the United States is over 50 million, or 16% of the U.S. population, and Hispanics are the nation's largest ethnic minority. The 2010 U.S. census estimate of over 50 million Hispanics in the U.S. does not include the 3.9 million residents of Puerto Rico, thereby making the people of Hispanic origin the nation's largest ethnic or race minority as of July 1, 2005.
Charles Quinton Brown Jr. is a United States Air Force general who has served as the 21st chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff since October 1, 2023. Prior to his appointment, Brown served as the 22nd chief of staff of the Air Force from 2020 to 2023. Brown entered the Air Force in 1984 and served as a fighter pilot, where he has logged over 3,000 flight hours, including 130 hours in combat. He has commanded the Pacific Air Forces, U.S. Air Forces Central Command, 31st Fighter Wing, 8th Fighter Wing, U.S. Air Force Weapons School, and 78th Fighter Squadron. He has also served as deputy commander of the U.S. Central Command.
John William Raymond is a retired United States Space Force general who served as the first chief of space operations from 2019 to 2022. The first guardian, he served as commander of the United States Space Command from 2019 to 2020.
Timothy Michael Ray is a retired United States Air Force general who last served as the commander of Air Force Global Strike Command from August 21, 2018, to August 27, 2021. He concurrently served as the commander of Air Forces Strategic – Air, United States Strategic Command. His two previous assignments were as the Deputy Commander, United States European Command, and as the Commander, Third Air Force. He previously served as the director of global power programs in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Headquarters United States Air Force, Washington, D.C.
Daniel Robert Hokanson is a four-star general in the United States Army who currently serves as the 29th chief of the National Guard Bureau. He previously served as the 21st director of the Army National Guard. His previous military assignments include serving as vice chief of the National Guard Bureau, deputy commander of United States Northern Command, adjutant general of the Oregon National Guard, and commander of the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team. He is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Just Cause. Hokanson assumed his current assignment on 3 August 2020.
Arnold Webster Bunch Jr. is a retired United States Air Force four-star general. He last served as the commander of Air Force Materiel Command, headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. He is responsible for installation and mission support, discovery and development, test and evaluation, life cycle management services and sustainment of virtually every major Air Force weapon system. The command employs approximately 80,000 people and manages $60 billion of budget authority annually. Before his current assignment, he was the military deputy in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition at The Pentagon.
Anthony Joseph Mastalir is a United States Space Force brigadier general who has served as the commander of the United States Space Forces Indo-Pacific since 2022. He previously served as commander of Space Launch Delta 30 from 2019 to 2021.
The United States Space Force is organized by different units: the Space Staff, the field commands, and the space deltas.
Devin Ruben Pepper is a United States Space Force brigadier general who served as commander of Buckley Garrison, 460th Space Wing, and the 21st Operations Group. He is the first African American general officer in the Space Force and the first one to have enlisted before commissioning as an officer.
Jason R. Armagost is a United States Air Force major general who serves as the commander of the Eighth Air Force. He previously served as the director of strategic plans, programs and requirements of Air Force Global Strike Command from 2021 to 2023, during which he concurrently served as the deputy commander of Security Assistance Group - Ukraine from October 2022 to March 2023. He has also commanded the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing.
David B. Lyons is a United States Air Force major general who serves as the commander of the Fifteenth Air Force. He previously served as the director of air and space operations of the Air Combat Command.
Paul Daniel Moga is a United States Air Force major general who has served as the commander of Third Air Force since April 3, 2024. He most recently served as chief of staff of United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa from 2023 to 2024. He previously served as the Commandant of Cadets of the United States Air Force Academy from 2021 to 2023, and as the deputy director for operations of the United States Northern Command.
Claude K. Tudor Jr. is a United States Air Force major general who has served as the director for operations and cyber of the United States Africa Command since July 2023. He most recently served as the commander of Combined Special Operations Joint Task Force-Levant. Prior to that, he served as the Chief of Staff of the Pacific Air Forces. Previously, he served as the Director of Air Force Resilience of the United States Air Force and, prior to that, he was the Commander of the 24th Special Operations Wing.
Brian David Sidari is a United States Space Force brigadier general who serves as the director of intelligence of the United States Space Command. A career intelligence officer, he has commanded 6th Intelligence Squadron and previously served as vice commander of the 480th Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Wing.
