AF nominates two civilians for DOD award

by Gloria Kwizera
Air Force Personnel Center Public Affairs

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas – Two Air Force civilians have been nominated for the Department of Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Award.

Dr. Boris Tomasic, Air Force Research Laboratory, Air Force Materiel Command, and Angelica M. Collazo, 92nd Information Operations Squadron, Air Force Space Command, will represent the Air Force during the 57th annual DOD competition, Air Force Personnel Center officials said.

The award is the highest honor given by the Secretary of Defense to career civilian employees, said Staff Sgt. Leland T. Moseley, AFPC Special Trophies and Awards section. It is presented annually to a small number of DOD civilians whose careers reflect exceptional devotion to duty and significant contributions of broad scope to DOD operational efficiency, economy, or other improvements.

Tomasic invented and led the development of a revolutionary new antenna – the Geodesic Dome Phased Array Antenna - for the Air Force satellite control network. It provides tracking, telemetry and control of nearly all DOD and National Aeronautics and Space Administration satellites, transitioning the technology from initial concept to a field ready demonstration levels, He also provided critical support to Air Combat Command on the Joint Threat Emitter, Increment Two Program, developing a system that mimics surface-to-air missile system radars currently employed worldwide.

Tomasic’s contributions to antenna technology paved the way for Air Force, Navy and Marine fighter pilots to fly against several emulator systems in realistic combat training scenarios. Tomasic also contributed to practical radar and communication system improvements that benefit all DOD forces, including a field deployable phased array for ballistic missile defense, assessment of the Army’s Comanche and Black Hawk helicopter antennas, Space Based Radar system development for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and development of extremely high frequency solid state antenna technology that resulted in improved aircraft connectivity with the military strategic, tactical and relay satellite network.

Collazo has been at the forefront of cutting-edge cyber defense initiatives critical to the projection of global military power and national defense. She led the execution of more than $62 million to deploy the first of its kind global information protection capability, initiating more than 200 major software changes to a cyber incident handling database. That system is now the baseline for U.S. Strategic Command’s Joint Computer Emergency Response Team Database, used by Joint Chiefs of Staff decision-makers to correlate critical cyber incidents across all services.

Collazo drove establishment of facilities that emulated DOD networks enabling operators to conduct product and network security assessments. As a result, her facility was selected as the first-ever site for critical testing of enterprise-wide solutions to prevent, detect and counter unauthorized users and actions on DOD networks. She directed 63 system and 25 base cyber vulnerability assessments, sharing findings with numerous DOD commanders, system program offices and other joint agencies, enabling them to remediate thousands of critical system vulnerabilities.

Tomasic and Collazo are authorized to wear the Air Force Recognition Lapel Pin, Moseley said.