The Colonel S.B.I. Duncan Leadership Award for 2002 was presented to the Delaware National Guard's soldier and airman whose quality of service best reflects the example set by Col. S.B.I. Duncan during his 35 years of dedicated service in the Delaware National Guard. The ceremony was held during February’s drill weekend at the Col. S.B.I. Duncan Readiness Center in New Castle, the readiness center dedicated in his honor.

Each recipient of the award is recognized for outstanding performance in the areas of leadership, devotion to duty, support of recruiting and retention objectives, and their ability to accomplish assigned tasks.

This year’s honoree from the Air National Guard is Senior Airman Michael E. Cozad. From the Army is Staff Sgt. W. Armore Rice, Jr. Each honoree was also awarded the Delaware Distinguished Service Medal for his accomplishments.

Staff Sgt. W. Armore Rice, Jr. of Company A, 280th Signal Battalion, resides in Seaford. Staff Sgt. Rice has been in the military for 25 1/2 years, with 21 years in the Navy and 4 ½ years in the Delaware National Guard. Rice is a section sergeant in charge of physical training coordination, the unit retention program, and weight control. Outside the unit he is a Labor Manager with a contractor at DuPont.

Senior Airman Michael E. Cozad, of the 166^th Aircraft Generation Squadron, resides in New Castle. Cozad has been in the in the Delaware Air National Guard since 1999. He was born in Sacramento, California and lived mostly in Portland, Oregon before coming to Delaware. Cozad received his B.A. degree from Humbolt State University and is working on his master’s degree from the University of Delaware. He has participated in numerous maintenance deployments, including a two-week assignment as a crew chief for the Air National Guard Antarctica mission