Two New York National Guard soldiers who work in place operations were recognized as engaged service users of the year for 2024 by the , Space Force Association  , during the firm’s annual meeting in , Orlando, held , Dec. 10 to 12.
Staff Sgt.  , Jason Capostagno, a native of , Rome, NY, was named National Guard Enlisted Airman of the Year in the Space Operations group.
Staff Sgt.  , Curtis Grady, a native of , Arlington, Virginia, was named  , National Guard , enlisted Airman of the Year in the Intelligence Operations group.
Both people are assigned to the , New York Air Guard ‘s , 222nd Command and , Control Squadron. The regiment supports the , National Reconnaissance Office, the organization concerned for , U. S.  , detective satellites.
The fleet, piece of the , Niagara Falls-based 107th Attack Wing, is offices in , Rome, but also has soldiers working full-time at , National Reconnaissance Office , office in , Chantilly, Virginia.
The 222nd handles space mission works.
Chief , Master Sgt Scott Rachon, the fleet’s senior enlisted head, said,” This is an outstanding opportunity for them to become recognized for their vital contributions, authority, and outstanding commitment to the space goal”.
The Space Force Association  , is a not-for-profit that supports the , U. S.  , Space Force and its staff by advocating for the new company’s overall vision, promoting public awareness of storage operations, and providing resources and networking opportunities for current Space Force members, according to the organization website.
This was the group’s second year giving the medal to members of the armed forces.
Capostagno, a new student of the , University of Buffalo, said he was “immensely thankful for the recognition and appreciation of my activities and efforts to the place vision and the , Air National Guard”.
In 2024 Capostagno served as the place fight management subject matter expert for , National Guard Bureau , place operations integrating , U. S.  , and , NATO , place site initiatives with the Indonesian National Armed Forces.
Rachon claims that he also gave military officers from Romania and Indonesia instructions on how to plan missions and perform planetary analyses.
In , November 2024, Capostagno was selected as the only enlisted , U. S.  , space representative for the multi-national Cruzeiro do Sul Exercise ( CRUZEX ) in , Brazil. He once shared his knowledge in planetary research, area website awareness, and space battle management expertise with participants, Rachon said.
Grady was chosen in 2024 to support a position as a federal intelligence analyst at the , National Reconnaissance Office. He was the only intelligence professional to back up a team of 20 people.
Rachon added that Grady is credited with providing essential intelligence support to various tactical mission plans. Additionally, Rachson noted that he organized important briefings, which had a significant influence on adversarial counter-space threat mission planning.
Grady said he appreciated the recognition.
Grady remarked,” It means a lot that our full-time staff took the initiative and took the time to nominate me for consideration.” ” It’s an honor to be selected for the award, and I’m grateful to the association for the recognition”.
But Grady said he couldn’t have accomplished his mission alone.
” Intelligence and space operations are both team sports, so any success that I’ve found working in this mission area could not have happened without contributions and guidance from leadership, teammates, and mission partners”, he said.
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( c ) 2025 the Niagara Gazette
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