The South Dakota National Guard’s 114th Fighter Wing was nationally recognized with the Winston P. Wilson Trophy at the National Guard Association of the U.S. General Conference and Exhibition on August 26.
114th Fighter Wing Vice Commander Col. Jon Friedman accepted the trophy from Maj. Gen. Duke Pirak, Acting Director Air National Guard during the conference.
The award is named after Maj. Gen. Winston P. Wilson who served as the Chief of the National Guard Bureau from 1963 to 1971 and was the first Air Force officer to hold the position. The award is presented annually to recognize outstanding flying Air National Guard units, based upon several criteria to include effectiveness during deployments, exercises, inspections, accident prevention, and other significant contributions. The 114th Fighter Wing flies the F-16 Viper aircraft.
This is the seventh time the 114th Fighter Wing has received this award. The previous awards were presented in 1981, 1983, 2007, 2010, 2019, and 2022.