Joint Base San Antonio-Medina Annex, Texas -- Graduating from the cyber warfare operations technical course is no easy feat. Walking away with three awards from this challenging school is almost unheard of, but not for one Citizen Airman.
Tech. Sgt. George Seerden, noncommissioned officer in charge of standards and evaluation, 960th Cyberspace Operations Group, was presented with the Jim Christy Award for outstanding academic achievement, high standards of leadership, and teamwork and character, during his graduation ceremony from the four-month course May 25 at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss.
“I didn’t want to get my hopes up [that I might win],” said Seerden after finding out he was a candidate for the prestigious award.
The Jim Christy Award is named after retired Special Agent Jim Christy, Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and is given to students who possess a 95 or above average without failures during the course. Christy is notable for having many firsts in the world of computer crime investigations.
Since its inception in 2011, the CWO course has graduated over 500 students, each having the opportunity to qualify for this award. Not every class has an awardee, Seerden is only the ninth recipient ever.
“This award gave me a target to hit,” said the traditional reservist. “If it wasn’t out there, I wouldn’t have tried as hard to hit it.”
Chief Master Sgt. Thomas Africano, 960th CyOG superintendent, who interviewed Seerden for the position in the 960th CyOG, was very pleased to learn of Seerden’s accomplishments, but not surprised.
“I was very impressed with his resume when I reviewed it, and I knew he would be a perfect fit for not only the Group, but for Air Force cyber as a whole,” Africano said. “He’s a good example of those that complete active duty service and transition to the Reserve as a Citizen Airman.”
The Chief went on to explain what it means to be a Citizen Airmen.
“His military seasoning combined with continuing education and experience allow him as a civilian to continue to put the uniform on in a military status,” Africano said. “This is a continuing return on investment to the Air Force while he and others like him choose to continue to serve as Reservists.”
Seerden, a former computer programmer, is currently pursuing a degree in computer science. He enjoys serving and shared his perspective on setting and achieving goals in the Air Force.
“I’ve told my Airmen: ‘You don’t just get BTZ by accident, if you want it you have to work for it',” said Seerden. “I just tried to do the same thing here,” he added.
Much to his surprise, Seerden was also crowned as the distinguished graduate of his class and nominated by his peers as the Outstanding Contributor to their team.
“It was an honest to goodness shock,” said Seerden. “This is a distinct honor and I appreciate the unit for giving me this opportunity.”
Seerden is scheduled to attend his next cyber course this July.