Drug Demand Reduction Program Awards

Staff Sergeant Sharon J. Hallenbeck distinguished herself by meritorious service while serving as Drug Testing Program Administrative Manager, 927th Aerospace Medicine Squadron (AMDS), 927th Air Refueling Wing (ARW), MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, from 14 April 2022 to 24 April 2025. During this period, the professional skill, leadership, and ceaseless efforts of Sergeant Hallenbeck resulted in major contributions to the effectiveness and success of the Wing's Drug Demand Reduction Program. Her exceptional program knowledge and high standards contributed to the testing of over 600 service members, exceeding the Air Force Reserve Command's goal of 25 percent of assigned personnel tested annually. Sergeant Hallenbeck's meticulous program management and attention to detail maintained the rate of untestable samples at zero percent for four consecutive years. Additionally, as the Wing Commander's program lead, she maintained close relationships with unit trusted agents, communicated all actionable items and received zero discrepancies from the Gulf Coast Area Audit Office or the Staff Judge Advocate office for three consecutive years. Finally, she trained numerous trusted agents and resumed Drug Demand Reduction operations under COVID-19 pandemic safety considerations that sustained continuous impeccable program standards. The distinctive accomplishments of Sergeant Hallenbeck reflect credit upon herself, the 927th Aerospace Medicine Squadron and the United States Air Force.

Technical Sergeant Frank L. Porter distinguished himself by outstanding achievement while serving as Criminal Investigative Analyst assigned to Alaska National Guard Counterdrug Support Program, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, from 31 August 2020 to 31 July 2023. During this period, Sergeant Porter provided investigative criminal analyst support to Alaska's largest law enforcement agency in addition to leading the Counterdrug headquarters section. His assignments included service to the Anchorage Police Department (APD) Vice Unit, Drug Demand Reduction Outreach (DDRO) Civil Operator, and Administration and Operations NCO for Alaska Counterdrug Headquarters. Further, he analyzed over 12,000 police reports and identified 321 opioid overdoses, of which 123 were reported in 2021, surpassing the previous year's 88 overdoses. Finally, as a DDRO Civil Operator, he attended quarterly coalition meetings, bi-annual DEA Drug Take Back Days, the annual DEA Red Ribbon week, and coordinated statistical data for the HIDTA-Department of Health Social Services heroin overdose spike. The distinctive accomplishments of Sergeant Porter reflect credit upon himself, the Alaska Air National Guard, and the United States Air Force.

Staff Sergeant Glenn A. Zahora distinguished himself by meritorious service while serving as Noncommissioned Officer in Charge, Joint Substance Abuse Program, Wisconsin Counterdrug Program, Madison, Wisconsin. During this period, Sergeant Zahora developed and implemented the decentralized Joint Substance Abuse Program for the Wing, to include training service members in a 40-hour course, which includes drug testing and prevention efforts. In addition, he merged and standardized the Wing Title 10 forces and National Guard training requirements, which became a model for adoption by several other states' programs. This training resulted in a significant increase in the quality of Unit Prevention Leaders (UPLs) which was illustrated by the increase from 5,678 Wisconsin service member samples tested in Fiscal Year 2010 to 8,890 tested in Fiscal Year 2011. The distinctive accomplishments of Sergeant Zahora reflect credit upon himself, the Joint Substance Abuse Program and the United States Air Force.

Technical Sergeant Susan C. Matthews distinguished herself by meritorious service while serving as Drug Demand Reduction Specialist, 434th Aerospace Medicine Squadron, 434th Air Refueling Wing, Grissom Air Reserve Base, Indiana. During this period, the outstanding professional skill, leadership, and ceaseless efforts of Sergeant Matthews resulted in significant contributions to the effectiveness and success of multiple drug awareness outreach projects that included the Annual Family Day event where more than one thousand unit personnel and family members were provided information that promoted drug awareness and reduction. Additionally, as a pivotal member of the 434th Drug Demand Program management team, Sergeant Matthews's initiatives for improving organizational effectiveness and ensuring error-free administrative support had a beneficial impact across the wing; approximately 1,500 military and civilian personnel were drug tested and the untestable specimen rate was kept at below the Air Force standard of one percent. The distinctive accomplishments of Sergeant Matthews reflect credit upon herself, the 434th Aerospace Medicine Squadron and the United States Air Force.

Technical Sergeant Sandra R. Perez distinguished herself by outstanding achievement while serving as Drug Demand Program Manager, 124th Drug Demand Reduction Program (DDRP), 124th Fighter Wing, Gowen Field, Idaho, from 20 September 2019 to 7 August 2022. During this period, Sergeant Perez expanded and improved the efficiency of the Wing's Drug Demand Reduction Program. She maintained the lowest urinalysis sample error rate in the Air National Guard for over two years. In addition, to reduce redundancy and increase efficiency, she centralized testing, reducing man hours required by fifty percent while exceeding testing requirements by 108 percent. Further, as DDRP manager, she streamlined the notification process within the Wing leadership, reducing notification failures by sixty percent. The distinctive accomplishments of Sergeant Perez reflect credit upon herself, the 124th Fighter Wing and the United States Air Force.