The Outstanding Airman of the Year Ribbon is a military award of the United States Air Force which was created on February 21, 1968 by order of Secretary of the Air Force Harold Brown. The first presentation of the award was in June 1970. The Outstanding Airman of the Year Ribbon is the highest personal ribbon award of the United States Air Force.
The Outstanding Airman of the Year Ribbon is awarded to any enlisted member of the U.S. Air Force who is nominated by their Major Command, Field Operating Agency, or Direct Reporting Unit for competition in the 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year Program.
Airmen selected as one of the 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year are authorized to wear the Outstanding Airman badge for one year, and are permanently awarded the ribbon with a bronze service star. Any future awards of the ribbon are represented by oak leaf clusters.
Famous quotes containing the words outstanding, airman, year and/or ribbon:
“From time to time there appear on the face of the earth men of rare and consummate excellence, who dazzle us by their virtue, and whose outstanding qualities shed a stupendous light. Like those extraordinary stars of whose origins we are ignorant, and of whose fate, once they have vanished, we know even less, such men have neither forebears nor descendants: they are the whole of their race.”
—Jean De La Bruyère (1645–1696)
“‘Take the cylinders out of my kidneys,
The connecting-rod out of my brain,
Take the cam-shaft from out of my backbone,
And Assemble the engine again.’”
—Unknown. The Dying Airman (l. 5–8)
“We are finding out that what looked like a neglected house a year ago is in fact a ruin.”
—Václav Havel (b. 1936)
“I’ll tell you how the Sun rose—
A Ribbon at a time—”
—Emily Dickinson (1830–1886)