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UNIFORMED SERVICES AWARDS

The FAPAC Uniformed Services Awards recognize and honor members of the Uniformed Services which include the armed forces, commissioned corps of the Public Health Service, and the commissioned corps of the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration.

The award is presented during the FAPAC National Leadership Training Program (NLTP). The NLTP is held each year in the month of May to coincide with Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.

Performance Period: 2022 Fiscal Year (Oct 1, 2021 to Sept 30, 2022) or Calendar Year (Jan 1 to Dec 31, 2022)

Point of Contact: awards@fapac.org

Congratulations to the
2023 Uniformed Services Award Winners

Col. Damon Delarosa, U.S. ARMY Corps of Engineers

Col. Damon A. Delarosa assumed command of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Alaska District on Aug. 14, 2020, at Joint-Base Elmendorf Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska. He oversees a multimillion-dollar program that provides engineering, construction, planning, contracting, real estate, emergency operations, environmental and regulatory services to the military; federal, state and local governments; as well as the public in Alaska. In addition, the organization supports U.S. Indo-Pacific Command by designing and constructing humanitarian assistance projects in countries throughout Southeast Asia. Under the DoD Foreign Military Sales Program, the district also oversees master planning, requirements validation, design and construction of infrastructure for the Government of India's C-17 aircraft at Hindon Air Force Station, India.

Commissioned in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers following graduation from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York in 1998, Delarosa has served in a variety of command and staff positions at the platoon, company and battalion levels, as well as joint positions, both at home and abroad. His last assignment was as the human resource manager for both engineer and chemical colonels in the Colonels Management Office for the Office of the Chief of Staff of the Army. His most recent Corps experience was as commander of the Walla Walla District with responsibility for an area that covers six states stretching from the Tri-Cities in Washington to Jackson Hole, Wyoming from 2016 to 2018.

Delarosa first deployed in 2002 with the 25th Infantry Division as the mine action officer for the NATO Stabilization Force mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Then, he deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom with the 82nd Airborne Division as the theater security engineer from 2004 to 2005 and again as commander of Headquarters Company for the 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion from 2006 to 2007. He also deployed to Iraq as a battalion executive officer for 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment from 2010 to 2011 in support of Operation New Dawn.

Captain Jack Tsao, U.S. Navy

CAPT Jack Tsao is a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He holds an undergraduate degree in biochemistry from Harvard College, a master’s degree in biochemistry from the University of Cambridge, England, a doctorate in Physiology/Pharmacology from the University of Oxford, England, a medical degree from Harvard Medical School, and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Memphis. He completed neurology residency at the University of California-San Francisco, a behavioral neurology fellowship at the University of Florida, and the U.S. Air Force Air Command and Staff College Joint Professional Military Education program.

On active duty, Captain Tsao was stationed at Naval Hospital Jacksonville, Florida as neurology department head, the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences as neurology faculty, and was selected to become the inaugural Director of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Programs for the US Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, where he managed Navy and Marine Corps TBI policy and programs. Since transferring to the Navy Reserve in 2015, he has served as the Senior Medical Officer for Navy Operational Support Center Memphis, Assistant Senior Medical Executive for Operational Health Support Unit Camp Lejeune, Executive Officer and Chief Staff Officer for the Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV) N81 (Capabilities & Assessments) Reserve unit, Commanding Officer, Commander U.S. Navy Central Command/Commander 5th Fleet Medical Reserve unit, and Navy Reserve Neurology Specialty Leader.

As a civilian, Captain Tsao is the Dr. Edwin Kolodny Professor of Neurology at New York University Grossman School of Medicine and conducts clinical research focused on treatments for phantom limb pain in amputees, for which he was awarded the 2014 United States Navy Hero of Military Medicine by the Center for Public-Private Partnerships at the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, and clinical effects of blast exposure and concussion on the risk for developing dementia. He was been awarded the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Navy Commendation Medal (2 awards), Air Force Achievement Medal, Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Award, and Expert Pistol Medal.

Senior Master Sergeant Naziroh Brockman, U. S. Air Force

Senior Master Sergeant Naziroh Brockman distinguished herself through exemplary service as Human Resource Advisor for the 194th Wing, Camp Murray, Washington from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022. During this time, Sergeant Brockman offered courses in Emotional Intelligence, Unconscious Bias, Effective Communication, Navigating Leadership Difficulties, and Coaching to over one-thousand wing members, and provided key leadership instruction to the thirty first sergeants of the Washington Air National Guard. Additionally, she facilitated four speed mentoring events, serving over one hundred junior Airmen, aiding in their career development. At the direction of the wing commander, she coordinated the Washington Air National Guard Professional Development weekend to include all logistics, financial planning, on-sight management, and provided training of twelve instructors who taught courses to 400 emerging leaders from across the state. Sergeant Brockman served as President of the National Guard Association of Washington, where she worked with state legislators to expand the National Guard Post-Secondary Grant program to include certification programs and master’s degree funding and explored affordable childcare options for members on drill weekends. She spearheaded an effort to raise over ten thousand dollars to help fund nine education scholarships for Washington National Guard Members. Finally, Sergeant Brockman developed and led the 194th Wingman Project Council, the wing diversity, equity, and inclusion organization. Working closely with the wing commander and a select team of Airmen, the council facilitated six four-lenses trainings leading over two hundred wing members, conducted a real-time interactive Remesh survey that helped to drive wing-wide diversity initiatives, and presented the wing’s annual diversity training event on unconscious bias to over one hundred senior leaders. Her work in this arena specifically targets empowering young women in leadership roles. The distinctive accomplishments of Sergeant Brockman reflect great credit upon herself and the United States Air Force, and make her most deserving of the 2023 Federal Asian Pacific American Council Uniformed Services Award.

Staff Sergeant Sujuan Zhang, U.S. Space Force

Staff Sergeant Sujuan Zhang is a member of the 343d Recruiting Squadron as the Non-Commissioned Officer-in-Charge of the Personnel Section at Offutt AFB, Nebraska. Staff Sergeant Zhang was born in Pinxiang, China. After elementary, middle, and high school, she attended Jiangxi Radio & Television University, graduating with an associate degree in accounting. She later moved to South Korea, where she worked as a Chinese language teacher. While she was teaching in South Korea, she met and married an American civilian. After marrying, they were transferred to Hickam AFB, RAF Mildenhall, RAF Lakenheath, then Altus AFB, Oklahoma. After several years of working and living within the Air Force environment, she decided that she wanted to serve in the Air Force as an American citizen. She started basic training in 2017, one day before her 40th birthday. She excelled in Basic Training and scored in the upper 97 percentile of her fellow recruits in physical fitness. Afterward, she attended technical school at Keesler AFB. She arrived at Offutt AFB for her first assignment in June 2017. She tutored 97th Intel Squadron Chinese linguists and improved their deployment rate from 60% to 93% using her Mandarin proficiency and teaching background. She received “Promote Now” from 55th Maintenance Group Commander and was quickly promoted to Staff Sergeant after her first testing cycle, scoring in the top three of the Air Force in her career field. She has worked in 55th Force Support Squadron Military Personnel Flight, 55th Maintenance Group, and is currently in the 343d Recruiting Squadron. She has earned the squadron’s NCO of the Quarter, two group Non-8R Top Support quarterly awards, was coined by the Wing Chief of the Weather Headquarter and was selected for the unit’s Senior Enlisted Leader Achievement of the Year award.

Captain Eva J. Van Camp, U.S. Coast Guard

CAPT Eva Van Camp assumed the duties of Commander, Sector Long Island Sound in July 2020. She oversees the daily Coast Guard operations in Connecticut and Long Island, NY comprised of over 500 Active Duty, 200 Reserve, 16 Civilians, and over 1300 Auxiliary members across Sector including seven small boat stations, two Aids to Navigation Teams, two 87ft Patrol Boats, a 65ft icebreaker tug, a Marine Safety Detachment and a Sector Field Office. Captain Eva Van Camp graduated from the United States Coast Guard Academy with a degree in Marine and Environmental Science in 1997. Following graduation, she reported for her first tour of duty as a Deck Watch Officer onboard USCGC LAUREL homeported in Mayport, Florida.

Captain Van Camp departed USCGC LAUREL for District Seven Command Center as a Command Duty Officer coordinating law enforcement and search and rescue response missions in the nation’s busiest area of responsibility. Other operational tours include: Chief of Response at Sector Hampton Roads, where she coordinated Search and Rescue, Law Enforcement, and Incident Management covering 3000 miles of Virginia’s navigable waterways, supervised five 87’ Patrol Boats, six small boat stations and a specialized Sector Boarding Team. Chief of Waterways and Chief of Enforcement at Sector New Orleans, and Navigator of the USS DECATUR (DDG-73). In 2010, as the Chief of Enforcement, Captain Van Camp synchronized the initial and follow-on contingency response for the Deepwater Horizon Spill, which became the largest man-made environmental disaster in U.S. history.

Captain Van Camp served in several other staff positions including Executive Assistant to the Director of Governmental and Public Affairs for the Coast Guard, Senior Strategic Analyst in the Emerging Policy for the Deputy Commandant for Operations, Comptroller and Operations Department Head at Base Los Angeles Long Beach, Senior Portfolio Manager for the Office of the Deputy Commandant for Operations Administration and Coordination Staff, and Aide to the Pacific Area Commander.

Captain Van Camp earned a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix in 2003 and a Master’s Degree in National Security Strategy from the U.S. National War College in 2020. Additionally, she completed the Joint Professional Military Education Certification from the U.S. Air Force Air University. Her personal awards include four Meritorious Service Medals with “O” device, five Coast Guard Commendation Medals with “O” device, Coast Guard Achievement Medal with “O” device, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation and Achievement Medals, Volunteer Service Medal and various other personal and unit awards.

Lieutenant Commander Julia Zucco, U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps

Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) Julia Zucco earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in epidemiology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology and Biology from the University of Pennsylvania. With her specialty in epidemiology of Aging and desire to help vulnerable populations, LCDR Zucco found an ideal match with the goals of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and started there as a civilian in 2010. After meeting several officers from the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps at CMS, she was inspired by the USPHS’ mission and values, and was commissioned in 2012.

While at CMS, LCDR Zucco worked in the Innovation Center evaluating new payment and service delivery models, including one initiative holding an entire state accountable for the total cost of care of its residents, one utilizing disease-management interventions in high cost patients, and a multi-site project rewarding primary care home programs that reduce Medicare costs and improve quality of care. These programs impacted the care of 780,000 patients and generated a combined $800 million in Medicare savings. LCDR Zucco also worked on patient experience surveys for the Center for Medicare. Over the course of five years, she spearheaded the issuance of 7M patient experience surveys and coordinated the posting of results online to allow patients to make informed decisions about their health care. LCDR Zucco is currently working on regulations for various providers and suppliers for the Center for Clinical Standards and Quality.

LCDR Zucco is an impassioned supporter of equity for minority populations, including Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI). At CMS, she was the former Chair and current Vice-Chair of the AANHPI Employee Resource Group (ERG). In this role, she built career development opportunities through collaborations across Centers, mentoring partnerships, and educational seminars. LCDR Zucco also holds additional leadership roles in various PHS committees focused on recruiting new officers and retaining current ones through outreach efforts such as engaging recent call-to-active duty officers and hosting networking sessions.

LCDR Zucco has deployed 231 days on 10 deployments for USPHS. In 2022, she deployed a combined 75 days, serving as the Planning Chief to support the USPHS COVID-19 response efforts in the Readiness and Deployment Branch, and as the Officer-In-Charge of an Operation Allies Welcome mission site in Los Angeles to aid in the resettlement of Afghan refugees. Other notable deployment achievements include heading the nationwide distribution of 21 million vials of COVID-19 viral transport media, leading the shipment of antigen test kits to 4,000 nursing home facilities, and conducting the expeditious collection and shipment of over 7,000 COVID-19 specimens for a community-based testing site.

LCDR Zucco is honored to serve in the USPHS Commissioned Corps, and will continue to advocate on behalf of improvements in healthcare for Americans. Her desire to create opportunities for other Corps officers, and the AANHPI community to develop a stronger military and federal workforce.

FAPAC is a 501 (c)(3) nonpartisan, nonprofit organization representing the civilian and military Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) employees in the Federal and District of Columbia governments.
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