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CMSgt (Ret) Wayne Norrad Awarded the Bull Simons Award

Congratulations and well deserved Chief!

As most of you know, CMSgt Wayne Norrad served on the ACA Board of Directors over the years and was the President in recent years. We were privileged to receive Chief Norrad’s guidance and honored to follow his leadership. Wayne has been and still is, a driving force for all things Air Commando and we celebrate his achievements.

The ACA is pleased to share the following social media post from the AFSOC Commander, Lt Gen Tony D. Bauernfeind, “Earlier this month during SOFWEEK 2024, Chief Master Sgt. (Ret) Wayne Norrad received the Col. Arthur “Bull” Simons award, a lifetime achievement award and USSOCOM’s highest honor.

This award is named after the legendary Col. Arthur “Bull” Simons who gained national recognition for an American POW rescue attempt at Son-Tay during the Vietnam War and for the rescue of 2 American business executives held prisoner in Iran during the 1979 Revolution. It’s presented to those who embody the spirit, values and skills of a Special Operations Unconventional Warrior.

Chief Norrad, nicknamed “The God Father” in the special operations community, enlisted on Feb. 25, 1966 as a B-52 nuclear bomb loader. Norrad separated from the Air Force for about 10 months before he returned seeking to add more excitement in his career. In June 1971, he began his training as a Combat Controller.

During his 30-year career, Chief was instrumental to the success of many combat and contingency operations to include: JUST CAUSE in Panama, URGENT FURY in Grenada, and DESERT STORM/SHIELD in Iraq. He was essential to integrating Special Tactics into Joint Special Operations teams while developing high altitude/high opening parachute tactics. As the AFSOC Senior Enlisted Advisor, he led the charge on multiple enduring efforts, such as the creation of Special Duty Assignment Pay, codifying battlefield lessons into procedure and enabling the “Valor” device for Air Force Commendation and Achievement medals. He also is credited for leading Special Tactics Airmen in the first set of Memorial Pushups, a now staple of AFSOC heritage and tradition, in the aftermath of a training accident that resulted in the death of a CCT.

We are lucky to have people like Chief Norrad in our Air Commando family who paved the way for us. Congrats on this momentous honor!”

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