Capt. Deems McKee

A prior-enlisted sailor and soldier, Capt. Deems McKee commands 333rd Signal Company, which has more than 100 members stationed in Okinawa, Japan, and in Guam. Taking over a unit with morale problems stemming from unfavorable shift schedules and a discontinued Family Readiness Program, McKee worked toward improving unit productivity and soldier quality of life, replacing a 12-hour shift schedule with eight-hour shifts, hosting regular town hall meetings to encourage family involvement, and improving and consolidating training programs to allow for more flexible scheduling and more capable troops.

The unit received multiple honors for its work in 2014, completing more than 200 satellite communications missions involving everything from support of naval exercises to searches for missing aircraft (including the Indonesia Air Asia Flight 8501). McKee also led a series of community relations efforts: outreach to local schools, monthly nursing home visits and support for the Special Olympics.

Notable quote from his nomination: "He allows his actions and results to speak on his behalf and is 100% dedicated to his mission and his soldiers and their families."

Maj. Christopher Cordova

Maj. Christopher Cordova has used his experience during the deadly battle at Combat Outpost Keating, Afghanistan, to further improve medical care on the front lines. During the October 2009 battle, Cordova kept a severely wounded soldier alive for several hours. It likely was the first time an Army doc conducted a fresh whole blood transfusion under fire on the battlefield. Cordova was awarded the Silver Star for his action.

The prior-enlisted soldier's work and ensuing research has since been shared with military medical professionals across the force. In 2014, it was picked up by Norwegian special operations troops and is also being used to help the 75th Ranger Regiment further train its medics. Cordova is working with a fellow PA at the 75th Ranger Regiment on research into how to stop bleeding from wounds that can't be compressed by a tourniquet.

In 2014, Cordova launched a multisite study to assess how well PAs across the Army are able to diagnose ankle fractures , something that has never before been measured.

When he's not working, Cordova is a big advocate of physical fitness, especially as it helped him cope with the horrors of battle. In 2014, he was a mentor for the young quarterbacks who were part of the Elite 11 2014, helped implement the return of the West Point duathlon, and was heavily involved in Team Red, White and Blue, a veterans group whose mission is to connect vets to their communities through physical and social activity.

Notable quote from his nomination: "He is a once-in-a-generation officer."

Sgt. Anthony Arriaga

Despite taking a bullet from a sniper in Marjah, Afghanistan, which left him paralyzed below the knee in one leg, Sgt. Anthony Arriaga has never stopped moving forward.

The father of two was serving with 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines when he suffered the injury while fighting his way out of an ambush during a combat patrol in 2010. The wound severed a nerve and blew out a portion of his thigh, landing Arriaga in the Wounded Warriors Battalion after four years in the Corps and three deployments.

Arriaga, however, fought to stay in the Corps. He encouraged other injured veterans, helping them recover, find employment or pursue higher education. Though Arriaga will lose his leg this summer-multiple attempts to rejuvenate it have failed, he said - the sergeant has successfully transferred from a rifleman to a member of Marine Corps Intelligence Activity.

Notable quote from his nomination: "[Instead] of focusing on just himself, Arriaga chose - and chooses to continue - to think of others and give back," wrote his company commander in the sergeant's nomination form. "Regardless of where the future of his injuries and future surgeries take him, he will always have the Marine Corps on his mindset and how to make it better by educating and motivating the future generations to come."

Personnel Specialist 2nd Class Ruben Loya

While a search-and-rescue instructor with Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 3 in 2014, Personnel Specialist 2nd Class (NAC/AW/EXW) Ruben Loya founded the unit's first Coalition of Sailors Against Destructive Decisions program and recruited members for a variety of community outreach programs. One of the most successful was the re-launch of the unit's blood drive, which Loya expanded to cover multiple commands, often recounting the very personal reason for his efforts: His daughter, a cancer survivor, needed blood on two occasions during her treatment only to find that none was available.

Out of uniform, Loya raised $1,000 and drew local media attention by walking about 115 miles while carrying an 80-pound cross - the second year he'd performed such a feat in the name of raising awareness for childhood cancer prevention under the Carry Their Cross banner. He plans another trek later this year.

Loya is also the force behind CTC Superhero, which sends volunteers in masks and capes to brighten the mood of the people he calls "the real superheroes" - young cancer patients - at hospitals and fundraising events. Loya himself regularly dons a $600 Spider-Man costume.

Notable quote from his nomination: "'Inspiration' is but a small word for what this man has brought to the year 2014."

Senior Master Sgt. Gene Kapuchuck

Senior Master Sgt. Gene Kapuchuck is a leader in Air Combat Command's (ACC) second largest communications squadron. Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, is a vital communications hub that links the president's airborne command center and the defense secretary with the nuclear launch control centers. When those communications links go down, Kapuchuck's maintainers need to fix them instantly. Kapuchuck led the team replacing E-4B external communications transmission cables resulting in the restoration of the president defense secretary's National Nuclear Air Operations Center capability. During a Milstar NC3 outage, Kapuchuck directed maintenance teams resulting in the sustained message flow of 4 million Nuclear Command and Control messages. He was recognized as the 55th Communications Group Senior Non-Commissioned Officer (SNCO) Lance P. Sijan nominee, the highest award for leadership in the Air Force.

When he wasn't at work, Kapuchuck devoted 840 hours to the 55th Wing Victim Advocate and Omaha Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence crisis hotline. During the World Refugee Day Health Fair, he briefed 200 members on intimate partner violence and available resources, effectively bridging the gap between the military and the local community. His involvement doesn't end there, however. In 2014, Kapuchuck became a Defense Department credentialed Master Resiliency Trainer. He utilized this to train and certify 17 installation Resiliency Training Assistants, effectively strengthening base members' ability to recover from adversity. Kapuchuck volunteers with the Center for Women's Advancement and a domestic abuse and suicide aversion line. He helped one airman, who lost a child, but he declined to talk about that due to privacy concerns.

Notable quote from his nomination form: "He is the only reason I was successful as an Operations Flight Commander. His presence in the squadron is a boon, and I would absolutely want him working with me, or my friends and peers, for the rest of my career."

Command Master Chief Jason Wong

Command Master Chief Jason Wong, a career health services technician, is the top enlisted Coast Guardsman for a sector that includes four stations, a marine science detachment, an aids-to-navigation team and seven cutters. Wong has established himself as a leader on and off the job, who coordinates volunteer efforts in the St. Petersburg, Florida, area.

At the sector, he has organized a study group for petty officers working on their advancements, created a unit-wide "Spring into Fitness" program to promote health, and worked with the local Tampa International Airport USO to coordinate morale-boosting events and trips for his command.

In his spare time, he heads the St. Petersburg Chief Petty Officers Association, supervising all association activities and fundraisers to benefit both Coast Guard personnel and the local community. He also devotes time every week to the Big Brothers and Big Sisters program, mentoring youth.

Notable quote from his nomination: "His strict adherence to the Coast Guard's core values of Honor, Respect and Devotion to Duty, an exemplary dedication to volunteerism, and his selfless community service efforts are exceptional."

Chief Warrant Officer Joel Smith

Chief Warrant Officer 4 Joel Smith oversees the building of mobile offshore drilling rigs and has established himself as a tireless inspector and respected expert who's known for training and mentoring colleagues.

Smith, who's fluent in Spanish, finds time off-duty to help Latinos in need. During several annual trips, he helped expand an orphanage in Bolivia. On his self-funded trips, he has helped build a soccer court, classrooms and a dining facility for the center, which supports about 230 kids a week. Smith has also traveled to Guatemala to assist in building two churches.

Smith volunteers with the disaster relief component of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and has responded to natural disasters, including a tornado that struck Alice, Texas, in 2014. Smith also serves as a mentor for elementary school children and coaches a girls' youth soccer team.

Notable quote from nomination: "Chief Warrant Officer Smith makes community service a top priority. He is involved with several organizations doing some pretty amazing work."

Command Master Chief Bruce Forester

Command Master Chief (EW/AW) Bruce Forester is the epitome of the citizen sailor. The aircrewman has balanced his 19-year naval career, including myriad deployments and activations, with decades of service to the Virginia Beach Fire Department.

Forester transitioned to the medical community and completed three deployments with Joint Special Operations Aviation Detachment Arabian Peninsula in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom; he tallied 96 high-risk, direct on-target missions and received three Air Medals. He did four combat tours with Naval Special Warfare's Operational Support Team 2, and now serves as the top enlisted sailor for 2nd Navy Expeditionary Logistics Regiment in Williamsburg, Va.

Forester has been a fixture as a long-standing volunteer with the Virginia Beach rescue squad. He's also volunteered with the Fisher House, Chesapeake's 4-H Hippology Study Group, and as a CPR instructor. As a volunteer with a FEMA task force, he has delivered aid in the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing, the 9/11 attacks and several hurricanes. He was a committee member for Hampton Roads Naval Museum's National Museum of the Surface Navy, has led his Chief Petty Officer Association for multiple years, and helped the Chesapeake Sheriff's Office establish the "Project Life Saver" community program, which monitors elderly citizens who suffer from debilitating illnesses, such as Alzheimer's and dementia.

Notable quote from her nomination: "His commitment and dedication is unmatched, and reflects upon his lifetime actions not only to his Sailors and their families for which he serves, but, to the community for which he lives."

Master Sgt. Elder Gomez

Master Sgt. Elder Gomez, 34, is 4th Assault Amphibian Battalion's logistics chief, but also the unit's stand-in first sergeant working to mentor Marines under his command. He has served nearly 17 years in uniform, six on active duty, and made a handful of deployments including one to Iraq during the 2003 invasion. Most recently, he deployed to an unnamed country in U.S. Northern Command, leveraging his Spanish fluency to teach foreign troops close quarters battle techniques.

Beyond playing a pivotal role in his unit, Gomez is also a stalwart of the Alvin, Texas, community located just south of Houston. There he serves as a deputy sheriff for Brazoria County, where he is also a team leader and tactics instructor for the county SWAT team. Much of his work is done in the city's "barrio," a poor section of town plagued by gangs and drugs where he himself grew up.

His early struggles in life as the poor son of Mexican immigrants who moved to Texas in the 1980s before earning citizenship allow him to gain the confidence of struggling youth. He works tirelessly to steer them toward higher education and military service. Gomez also has a track record of quickly solving serious crimes. In 2013, his linguistic skills paired with a close working relationship with his community helped him track down the hit-and-run killer of a 15-year-old girl within a day of her death. A year later, Gomez took just four hours to clinch a confession in Spanish from a man who killed his own wife.

Staff Sgt. Joseph Fontenot

Inspired by a chance meeting with a young soldier, Joseph Fontenot went from playing in a heavy metal band to shipping off to boot camp.

He is now Staff Sgt. Fontenot, a decorated veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan who has served as a drill sergeant and volunteered countless hours to give back to his community.

He was nominated for this award by his chain of command at the U.S. Army Drill Sergeant Academy, where he served until this spring before returning to the 101st.

"To me, having the respect of my peers means a whole lot," Fontenot said. "It's validation that the last 10 years of spending an ungodly amount of hours trying to do the right thing, it was not in vain."

Fontenot joined the Army as a field artillery soldier when he was 31, later than most and after successful stints playing bass in metal bands such as Acid Bath and Jacknife.

It was on tour that Fontenot ran into a young soldier who made an impression on the road-weary rocker from Larose, Louisiana.

"This kid's probably 19 years old and probably has more direction than I did when I was 30 years old," Fontenot said. "When we got home, I decided I wanted to join the Army."

Fontenot credits his drill sergeants for "setting the precedent for me for my whole career."

When he became a drill sergeant, Fontenot discovered he liked forging new soldiers.

He was later selected to become a drill sergeant leader. He spearheaded the creation of the drill sergeant prep program, designed to better prepare candidates for the nine-week school.

He also started an Adopt a Highway effort and volunteered at the veterans hospital, a homeless children's shelter and Camp Kemo, for kids fighting cancer.