Stephentown Air National Guardsman wins National Award

Latham, NY (09/05/2024) — New York Air National Guard Chief Master Sgt. Greg Mihalko, a Stephentown resident, has been named the Air National Guard's recipient of the Lance P. Sijan Leadership Award for 2024.

The award recognizes Airmen who have demonstrated the highest quality of leadership in their jobs and in their lives.

The award, created in 1981, takes its name from Capt. Lance P. Sijan, a pilot shot down over Vietnam in November 1967 who evaded capture for six weeks. Sijan died in captivity and was awarded the Medal of Honor Posthumously.

Mihalko serves as the senior enlisted leader for the New York Air National Guard headquarters in Latham. He oversees 58 Airmen who support the 5,800 members of the New York Air National Guard.

With five wings and an air defense sector, the New York Air National Guard is the largest in the country. There are over 100,000 Airmen serving in the Air National Guard across the United States.

Mihalko was recognized for his job performance, as well as his volunteer work off duty.

During this past year, Mihalko raised $3,700 for the We Care For America Foundation. This money provided education grants for Airmen and their dependents, and assistance to Airmen in need.

He conducted a campaign that 423 Department of Military and Naval Affairs employees supported, which contributed to a memorial scholarship honoring New York Army National Guard Chief Warrant Officers 2 Casey Frankowski and John Grassi. The two pilots lost their lives in a helicopter crash in Texas on March 8.

Mihalko joined the Air Force in 1989 and transferred to the New York Air National Guard's 109th Airlift Wing in 1993.

Mihalko has served in a number of leadership positions, and has deployed to Antarctica, Greenland, and in support of operations during the Persian Gulf War and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Mihalko's awards include the Air Force Achievement Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal and the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal.

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