Indian American Among Spirit of Service Awardees at the Pentagon

Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick M. Shanahan congratulates 26 civilian Defense Department and service component civilian employees from the national capital region selected as Spirit of Service Award recipients during a ceremony at the Pentagon, May 10, 2018. The ceremony was part of the annual Public Service Recognition Week observance

Must read

Washington, DC – An Indian American, Rajesh Patel was among the awardees as 26 employees were honored with the 2018 Spirit of Service Award during a ceremony at the Pentagon today (May 10).

As part of Public Service Recognition Week across the Defense Department, Patel was listed among the awardees from the Department of the Air Force.

The award recognizes national capital region Department of Defense (DoD) and service branch personnel for their outstanding performance during the previous year according to the DoD.

“You’re truly inspiring in the work you do and taught me the meaning of devotion,” Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick M. Shanahan told the honorees. “You’re an example to all of us on the contributions we should be making.

Shanahan said the responsibilities of the awardees is remarkable. As he read through the contributions, he said, he was overwhelmed with emotions.

“It’s utterly amazing what you all do,” he said. “All of us have a debt of gratitude to pay toward these individuals.”

Michael L. Rhodes, director of administration for the department’s Office of the Chief Management Officer, said competition for the awards was tremendous due to the overwhelming talents of all nominees.

Rhodes thanked the honorees for their inspired service, stating they “display the core qualities of honor, integrity and excellence in everything they do.”

The Spirit of Service Award recipients are:

Office of the Secretary of Defense

Nathan D. Ainspan

Gary E. Carlberg

Pamela Clay

David T. Mayberry

Lisa S. Peterson

Barry Schultz

Department of the Army

Cheryl L. Arnold

John L. Ball

Stefanie S. Casey

Cynthia K. Fisher

William T. Hursh

Tami H. Kim

James C. Moughon

Bernice A. Parkhill

Department of the Navy

Ray Sutton

United States Marine Corps

Janice Hill

Samuel L. Bagwell

Jonathan A. York

Department of the Air Force

Rhonda Jenkins

Christian R. Paasch

Jason A. Stanley

James E. Taylor

Richard G. Tobasco

Beverly Miller

Jeremy Leader

Rajash Patel

+ posts

Tejinder Singh, Editor, India America Today & White House Correspondent

More articles

Latest article