16th Air Force adds six new trailblazers to its Hall of Honor

  • Published
  • By Matthew McGovern
Joint Base San Antonio-LACKLAND, Texas --  Every year 16th Air Force honors Airmen who served the numbered air force and its predecessor organizations with great distinction in the careers of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, electronic warfare and cyber enterprises.

This year 16th Air Force leadership inducted six distinguished Airmen at the Hall of Honor Ceremony, Oct. 20. The inductees’ historic accomplishments spanned from their time in the U.S. Air Force Security Service to 24th and 25th Air Forces, before the 2019 activation of the 16th Air Force.   

Maj. Gen. Thomas K. Hensley, 16th Air Force deputy commander, presided over the event.    

“It’s absolutely my honor and privilege to be here as we recognize six truly deserving inductees into the Hall of Honor,” said Hensley. “This ceremony is important as we remember the legacy of the Airmen and the service of those before us who have left impressions that we are still living with today.”

A 16th Air Force Hall of Honor selection committee closely evaluates each inductee, on their professionalism, achievements, and career accomplishments.

“The Hall of Honor pays tribute to the select few who served our nation with distinction and left a lasting legacy within our Air Force,” said Hensley.

The names of the six Airmen will adorn a plaque displayed in the Hall of Honor, each with a description of their accomplishments.

Lt. Gen. Bradford J. Shwedo
Lt. Gen. Bradford J. Shwedo combined Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance, Information Warfare, and cyber into a force multiplier and postured the intelligence community as the driver for cyber warfare and cyber security. Shwedo became the first senior intelligence officer to strategically change the Joint All Domain Command and Control efforts integrating all cyber and ISR forces with the merger of 24th Air force and 25th Air Force, ultimately sustaining our national competitive advantage.  
He championed interoperability of the RC-135V/W Rivet Joint, U-2, and other ISR platforms and worked with national organizations to develop capabilities keeping them integrated with sixth generation fighters. His foresight resulted in the Air Force’s current cyber warfare offensive and defensive capabilities. He was an unmanned aerial vehicle advocate, recognizing their capabilities for collection and lethality.
Shwedo directed cybersecurity activities reducing foreign influence in national elections and further safeguarded to supervisory control and data acquisition systems controlling critical infrastructure such as electricity, water, pipelines, and air traffic control.  

Delores “Dee” Studavent
Delores “Dee” Studavent served 17 commanders and received accolades from three Air Force chiefs of staff, two senators, four San Antonio mayors, and seven congressmen during her 30 years of mistake-free protocol service as the first female and African-American protocol officer in the Air Force.
She proctored the renaming of building 2001 to Larson Hall, coordinated families’ attendance of a remembrance ceremony for operators killed in Afghanistan, Iraq, Djibouti, and Bosnia. Studavent conducted the rededication of the Security Hill RF-4 for the family of a senior U.S. general officer killed in the Vietnam War.
Studavent established ceremonial standards for the Comfy Olympics, now the General Doyle E. Larson Air Force Award, with medals for gold, silver, and bronze winners. She created the courtyard environment for key ceremonies by placing state and territorial flags with aircraft models to recognize those serving in the intelligence community. Studavent’s command, agency, and numbered Air Force protocol office was the Air Force’s “Gold Standard” for all key events and was emulated throughout the DoD.

Chief Master Sgt. Edward W. “Ted” Colquhoun Jr.
Chief Master Sgt. Ted Colquhoun, operator and enlisted trailblazer from basic training to Air Force ISR Agency’s Command Chief, directed the Air Defense analysis for Desert Shield and Desert Storm and followed up by providing joint intel for Operations Deny Flight and Provide Promise. Colquhoun also oversaw the RAF Chicksands move to the Medina Regional Signals Intelligence Operations Center. He directed the National Security Agency Air Intelligence Agency Multi-force Assessment Division, and deployed to the Vincenza Combined Air Operations Center for Operation Deliberate Force – the Bosnian Serb airstrikes.
He led the integration of the AIA JBSA-Lackland Professional Development Center as the AFISRA Command Chief, where he fixed Korean Incentive Program disparities, directed Hurricane Katrina support, and served on the Air Force Cryptologic Transformation Team. His last assignment at Balad Air Base, Iraq, galvanized a special ops partnership that resulted in the capture of over 40 high value targets. Colquhoun fought for intel operators, ground analysts, and aviators for pay, promotion and mission issues resulting in improvements that still stand today.
The “Airman’s Chief” has a documented record of putting enlisted warriors first.   He engaged all levels of leadership as a linguist, analyst, and leader to improve both mission results and quality of life issues.  

Chief Master Sgt. Raymond T. Farrell (Deceased)
Chief Master Sgt. Ray Farrell revolutionized direct linguist support, resulting in linguists onboard special operations forces aircraft. This occurred after his role as the sole Air Force operator on Navy EP-3 missions in support of U.S. and partner nations  during a coup attempt against the Philippine government.
Farrell selected an active-duty team that trained Guardsmen and enabled uninterrupted Southern Command support when the senior scout transitioned to the Air National Guard.  In 2001, his key linguistic skills and cultural knowledge was instrumental for the repatriation of an EP-3 crew from Chinese control after a Chinese J-8 fighter collided with a Navy EP-3 during a series of aggressive maneuvers. The team repatriated the crew following 12 days of negotiations after the crew was detained by the Chinese government on Hainan Island. Farrell transitioned to the Human Intelligence community and conceiving and managing the first-ever enlisted instructors at a sensitive facility known as “The Farm.”   
He and his wife Grace constituted true “Key Spouse” support before the term was formalized. Leadership summarized Farrell’s service by announcing he, “absolutely models a superior enlisted career.”

Senior Master Sgt. Sharon G. Frizzell
Senior Master Sgt. Sharon Frizzell worked key targets during the Vietnam War and her insight during the Mayaguez incident was critical in recovering the captive crew. She was the premier Surveillance and Warning Supervisor, documented by events such as the first Soviet TU-95 overflight of Korea.
Her signals intelligence instructor procedures were incorporated into formal standards, as she trained 1,500 analysts annually and repaired deficiencies in seven courses. As a professional military education instructor Frizzell impacted hundreds of supervisors who often rated her as their most influential instructor.
She oversaw 65 cryptologic courses, managed 8,000 Air Force intelligence professionals in 12 specialties, and executed annual expenditures of over $330 million as a enlisted functional manager. Frizzell located and deployed imagery analysts from multiple major commands to train over 100 analysts in support of Desert Shield and Desert Storm.  

Master Sgt. Beth Yandow
Master Sgt. Beth Yandow certified as the first female RC-135 Airborne Mission Supervisor and one of the first female aviators to fly in combat. She worked with RAF Squadron 51 to Aviano Air Base, Italy, where she provided data link training to Nimrod crews in support of Operations Provide Promise and Deny Flight. She improved theater interoperability through an exchange program with the E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System.
She consolidated datalink knowledge within the 67th Intelligence Wing and developed Joint Tactical Information Distribution System training for RC-135 operators. Her concepts on 26th Intelligence Operations Group airborne collection, for the Global War on Terrorism, earned accolades from Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
Yandow’s assignment with the Joint Combat Identification and Evaluation Team further developed her interoperability knowledge with events designed to reduce battlefield fratricide. She again broke barriers as one of only 60 certified worldwide Joint Interface Control Officers – the CAOC position for orchestrating data link operations.  
The six inductees laid the foundation for 16th Air Force’s current priorities—Grow Readiness, Strengthen Resilience, Mature Information Warfare, Drive Modernization, and Increase Combat Effectiveness.

“The chosen have personified the Air Force core values of Integrity, Excellence and Service, and to our inductees, your accomplishments are truly exceptional and inspirational and I’m absolutely grateful to be part of this ceremony,” said Hensley.