OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. --
The 16th Air Force nominated Ineisha Herrington, an Air Force Technical Applications Center field analysis technical advisor at Offutt Air Force Base, for the 2023 Blacks in Government military meritorious service award.
Nominees must have contributed to equal opportunity for advancement based on merit and fitness of all members of the armed services and Department of Defense employees, including all minorities.
Herrington is assigned to the Air Force’s only deployable nuclear debris collections and analysis laboratory and has initiated diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at Detachment 1. The 21st Surveillance Squadron also named her civilian of the quarter in April 2022.
“Team AFTAC expresses great pride in Ms. Herrington’s nomination for Blacks in Government recognition. Her unparalleled dedication to mastering her job supporting Air Force Technical Applications Center’s one-of-a-kind national flying mission, and her devotion to bettering her community set the example that we should all strive to emulate as Air Force members,” said Col. James Finlayson, Commander, AFTAC. “Indeed, she personifies the Air Force core value of excellence in all we do.”
BIG is one of the DOD's diversity affinity groups. It was organized in 1975 and incorporated as a non-profit organization under the District of Columbia jurisdiction in 1976, with local offices organized around the country. BIG is a national response to the need for African Americans in public service to organize around issues of mutual concern and use their collective strength to confront workplace and community issues.
“Ms. Herrington has brought important lessons to the 21st Surveillance Squadron /Detachment 1, lessons of quality assurance she learned at Jack Daniel’s and radiation safety she learned at the Department of Energy Savannah River Site,” said Capt. Nathan Gale, nuclear engineer, deputy flight commander, AFTAC.
BIG honors military members and DoD civilian employees who have supported the DoD mission, overseas contingency operations, or whose attributes best epitomized the qualities and core values of their respective military service or other DoD components.
“I feel extremely blessed to be the recipient of the Blacks in Government Meritorious Service award. I am humbled and honored to be recognized for the qualities and core values I embody and my impact on eliminating barriers for women and minorities,” said Herrington. “I am thankful for my team and organization for all their support.”
Awards will be presented to the winners at the BIG National Training Institute Award Ceremony and Military Veterans Emphasis Program at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Maryland, Aug. 29, 2023.