Criteria for Nomination and Selection:

Served honorably and with distinction while serving in the command.

Achieved an outstanding record of accomplishment while in the Heritage Organizations by making significant, distinctive and extraordinary contributions to mission success; demonstrated great acts of courage or bravery; or, saved the lives of others through professional skills and/or acts of courage.

Former members of the command are eligible, as follows:

Active duty personnel, being otherwise eligible, must have concluded their assignment(s) in the Heritage Organizations. Only those accomplishments achieved while assigned to the Heritage Organizations will be considered, unless the individual was in a position of great responsibility which allowed him/her to make significant, material contributions to the Heritage Organizations’ mission success through policy making, resource allocation, mission alignment, etc.
Those personnel who continue their association with the Heritage Organizations as Department of the Air Force (DAF) civilians following retirement from active duty are eligible; however, consideration will only be given to accomplishments during the period of active duty. Accomplishments during their period of civilian service will not be considered until final retirement from civil service.
Career DAF cvilians either must have retired from civilian service or concluded their assignment(s) in the Heritage Organizations. Only those accomplishments achieved while assigned to the Heritage Organizations will be considered, unless the individual was in a position of great responsibility which allowed him/her to make significant, material contributions to the Heritage Organizations’ mission success through policy making, resource allocation, mission alignment, etc.

Potential candidates for nomination would include top Airmen and DAF civilians who received Department of Defense, Air Force-level and/or Heritage Organizations-level recognition and/or awards; recipients of major medals (e.g. Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Airman’s Medal) and civilian service awards; recognized acts of bravery, life saving and other awards.

Procedures:

Only members of the HoH will participate in the process of selecting candidates for induction into the HoH.

HoH Nominations will be solicited throughout the year through the association newsletter and by letter. Nominations may be submitted at any time during the year; however, they must be received not later than the first Monday of June to be considered in that year.

Nominations may be submitted by mail, preferably by email, addressed as indicated in the newsletter and on the association’s web site. If submitted by mail, the address should include “Attn: HoH Committee.”

Nominations must be completed using the format specified on the attached example and on the association’s web site.Nominations are limited to only one single page, front and back, using Times New Roman, 12 Font. Nomination not meeting criteria will be returned to the submitter.

If not selected earlier, nominations will be considered for a total of 3 consecutive years.

Individuals may be nominated twice. Third and subsequent nominations for an individual will not be considered unless the committee determines that previous nominations did no contain a true characterization of the individual’s contributions; and therefore, the previous nominations should not be considered valid.

To be eligible for consideration, a member of the association or of the Headquarters 16 AF Command section must make a nomination. Self-nominations or immediate family nominations are not eligible for consideration.

Selection Process:

Each year, the HoH Program Chairman will appoint a Selection Committee consisting of six to nine members (including the chairman), each of whom must be a HoH member. The chairman may choose to solicit the input of other HoH members via e-mail to be used by the committee in their final selection process. The chairman may also choose to solicit committee members locally or from outside of the local San Antonio area; however, any travel required by any committee member will be at their own expense. Every effort will be made to ensure committee members possess backgrounds representative of those nominated.

The Selection Committee will determine the eligibility of all nominations and evaluate the eligible nominations, including those carried over from the previous year. Normally, the committee will select six candidates, ranked in priority order, from which a maximum of four will be selected for induction with the additional two identified as alternates. There may be fewer selected, depending on the quality of the submissions.

Exceptions to the preceding would include those years when selecting HoH members for a decade (e.g. the “Decade of the Eighties”), in which case a maximum of eight could be selected for that year only. Other exceptions may include unusual circumstances such as courageous and extraordinary actions during combat or natural disasters.

There could also be a year that fewer, or no, submissions are selected for induction due to the quality of the submissions not satisfying the criteria for membership.

The HoH Program Chairman will maintain the rank order listing of the selected candidates. Should one or more of the selected individuals decline induction or be determined to be otherwise ineligible, the HoH Program Chairman will submit the next ranked nominee(s) for induction with the coordination of the Selection Committee.

The HoH Program Chairman will inform the association Board of Directors of the individuals selected for induction into the HoH. Board approval is assumed unless a “for cause” issue is presented. A “for cause” issue is defined as derogatory information unknown by the Selection Committee during the evaluation which would result in the individual being ineligible for induction into the HoH. “For cause” issues will be resolved by the Board of Directors and the HoH Program Chairman.

Following Board review, the HoH Program Chairman will send a letter of notification to the 16 AF Commander listing the names of selectees with biographical information fo each nominee.

Notification of Candidates for Induction:

HoH Program Chairman will send a congratulatory letter to each candidate to notify them of their selection for induction into the HoH.

The letter(s) will contain information and instructions regarding the date and time of the induction ceremony, agenda and sequence of events, requirements for photographs, and requests for information regarding guests attending the induction ceremony and the dinner/dance event.

Presentation of Awards:

The HoH Induction Ceremony is a major component of the association’s sponsored 16 AF Annual Reunion which is usually conducted during the last weekend of September.

The HoH Induction Ceremony and attendant activities will be coordinated with the 16 AF’s liaison officer attached to the association’s Board of Directors. The liaison officer will conduct detailed coordination with the 16 AF and the 16 AF Commander, who normally participates in the Induction Ceremony.

Each inductee will be presented a personal plaque during the Induction Ceremony. A master plaque recognizing all inductees will be displayed in the Hall of Honor at the 16 AF headquarters.

The association will provide each inductee with a distinctive name badge, identifying the individual as a HoH member.

Inductees will be honored during the Induction Ceremony and will be recognized during the Annual Meeting and the banquet. The association will host each inductee and one guest at the banquet. Inductees may invite additional guests to the banquet on a pay-as-you-go basis.