Rome Airman receives Air Force Commendation Medal

The 224th Air Defense Group (ADG) at the Eastern Air Defense Sector recently recognized seven New York Air National Guardsmen for outstanding performance. Recognized Airmen included Tech. Sgt. Ryan Watson of Rome, N.Y., who received the Air Force Commendation Medal.

A Cyberspace Operations Craftsman at the 224th Support Squadron, Watson engineered a virtual network that linked EADS with the U.S. Secret Service during 78 Presidential flights. He also served as part of a risk management team, validating nearly 1,000 controls and milestones for a new NORAD network, and wrote a disaster recovery instruction.

The 224th ADG is composed of the 224th Air Defense Squadron and 224th Support Squadron, located in Rome, and Detachment 1 and Detachment 2 that serve in the Washington, D.C. area. The 224th ADG provides the forces to conduct the Eastern Air Defense Sector's mission. Part of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, the Sector is responsible for the air defense of the eastern U.S.

For more information about the New York Air National Guard, visit www.dmna.ny.gov. For more information on the Eastern Air Defense Sector and the 224th Air Defense Group, visit www.eads.ang.af.mil.