JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. –
Darren Rice, U.S. Air Forces Central Command deputy
director of force protection, was awarded the Air Combat Command Security
Forces “Order of the Shield” on March 29, 2018.
For more than three decades, Darren Rice served in
support of the Department of Defense and the U.S. Air Force.
The Order of the Shield is an award presented to those
individuals who have left a huge impression on the Security Forces career field
and Air Combat Command Defenders in particular. Mr. Darren Rice became the
fourth individual inducted joining Chief Master Sgt. Tommy Baldwin, Ret., Col.
Erik Rundquist, and Chief Master Sgt. Rick Parsons, Ret.
“I’m honored and humbled to be recognized by my
peers,” said Rice. “To have been able to make a difference means the world to
me.”
As the deputy director of force protection, Rice’s
leadership and support has been critical to supporting deployed defenders engaged
in operations ENDURING FREEDOM, FREEDOM SENTINEL, IRAQI FREEDOM, NEW DAWN, and
INHERENT RESOLVE.
“This really is a team effort,” said Rice. “We try to
make sure everyone has the resources they need for their job and send them to
their leadership, commanders, chiefs and supervisors. They have the hard job
and it’s amazing what they do”
Air Combat Command has heavily relied on Rice’s
expertise to guide Airmen in integrated defense operations to protect twelve
locations in seven countries, spanning across an area of responsibility of nearly
four million square miles.