KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- The Air Force Reserve Command announced the recipients for the 2021 Public Affairs Awards for Communication Excellence and a 403rd Wing Airman earned top honors.
Staff Sgt. Kristen Pittman, a public affairs specialist with the 403rd Wing PA office, received the Staff Sgt. Christopher S. Frost Outstanding Communication Noncommissioned Officer Award, recognizing her technical, leadership and managerial skills in execution and improvement of PA programs.
The award is named for the former 377th Air Base Wing PA NCO killed in a helicopter accident in 2008 while deployed to Iraq. Frost, 24, was supporting a command team responsible for organizing and training Iraqi security forces.
“Staff Sgt. Pittman, and our 403rd Wing Public Affairs team, exemplify the highest standards supporting AFRC and wing communication efforts to keep our Airmen and the public informed about our wing mission,” said Col. Stuart M. Rubio, 403rd Wing commander. “We are proud of her achievement and congratulate her on this honor.”
Pittman, joined the Air Force Reserve’s 403rd Wing in January 2017 and was a member of the wing’s developmental and training flight. She started with the Wing Public Affairs office in September 2018, serving as a traditional reservist and was hired to work full-time as an Air Reserve Technician in July 2020. As an ART, she manages the wing’s website and eight social media accounts and assists with media operations and community relations.
In Fiscal Year 2021, Pittman and fellow 403rd Wing Public Affairs Airmen, provided content for more than 1,400 social media posts about the wing’s mission and Airmen to its eight sites and 192,000 followers, reaching 3.8 million people worldwide with 28 million impressions. Additionally, she posted 180 wing stories on wing events, programs and accomplishments to the unit website, www.403wg.afrc.af.mil, visited by 236,000 people. She also deployed with the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, better known as the Hurricane Hunters, to Reno, Nevada, to cover the atmospheric river missions. She oversaw media operations and highlighted the weather-data gathering mission to a national audience.
“I strive to come in everyday and just do my best, so it’s nice to be validated in a sense through this type of recognition,” said Pittman. “But I’d be remiss if I did not shout out all of the great men and women in the 403rd Wing with their unique, inspiring stories and their hard work that make this unit and its missions so special and worth telling the world about.”