Gen. Mark A. Welsh III will receive the 2015 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl Great American Patriot Award. Presented by Armed Forces Insurance, the award will be presented to Welsh during the halftime of the annual bowl game in Fort Worth on Dec. 29.
Welsh currently serves as the chief of staff of the U.S Air Force in Washington, D.C., where he is responsible for the organizing, training and equipping a team of more than 660,000 Airmen serving around the globe. The senior uniformed officer of the Air Force, Welsh also is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, where he and other service chiefs serve as military advisers to the Secretary of Defense, National Security Council and the president.
Prior to his current position, Welsh served as the commander of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe and the commander of NATO’s Allied Air Command. He also served as the associate director of military affairs and the associate director of military support for the Central Intelligence Agency.
Welsh entered the Air Force after receiving a bachelor’s degree from the United States Air Force Academy in 1976, and is a graduate of multiple other military and professional education programs, including the National War College and security studies and management programs from Harvard University, Syracuse University and Massachusetts Institute of Tecnology.
“Gen. Welsh is exactly the type of individual, we envisioned when we created the Great American Patriot Award 10 years ago,” said Brant Ringler, executive director of the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl. “We couldn’t be more proud to add his name alongside our previous recipients as he has proven his leadership and dedication to our country countless times throughout his career.”
Betty Dillard
bdillard@bizpress.net