The Army Public Affairs Association is proud to announce retired Sgt. Maj. Jose Velazquez has been selected as the 2024 recipient of the Joe Galloway Lifetime Achievement Award for his exceptional lifetime of accomplishments and contributions to the Army Public Affairs community.
The Joe Galloway Lifetime Achievement Award is an annual award that recognizes a lifetime of sustained extraordinary support to the U.S. Army and to the Army Public Affairs community. The award is presented to a practitioner whose accomplishments broke new ground for Army Public Affairs, who gave selflessly to the community of practice, and who made major and lasting contributions to the profession.
“Sergeant Major Velazquez is the very definition of the Joe Galloway award. His decades of dedication to Soldiers and their Families, and his passion for the public affairs profession, are simply unmatched and extraordinary,” said Rebecca Wriggle, Army Public Affairs Association president. “Sgt. Maj. Velazquez has served at every level with distinction. He was and is the role model to emulate - the embodiment of "Be, Know, Do" as a public affairs NCO, as a leader, and as a person. We are incredibly proud this year to recognize him with our association's highest honor, the Joe Galloway Lifetime Achievement Award.”
Velazquez’ 30 years of service was spent as a broadcast journalist and Public Affairs practitioner. According to his award nomination, he began his career as a broadcast journalist at the Southern Command Network in Panama. This assignment was a prelude to the number of firsts he would attain in uniform. He was the youngest Soldier in the network’s history to anchor a live television broadcast, and his poise and on-air presence led to his stint as the youngest anchor to lead the Army’s flagship broadcast at Soldiers Radio and Television, or SRTV. Velazquez won six first place MG Keith L. Ware awards at SRTV, either as a teammate or individual, during his tenure, and established himself as one of Army broadcasting’s rising stars.
During the early era of Velazquez' service, often a perceived line existed that Soldiers were either great storytellers and technicians, or they were good field Soldiers and leaders. Velazquez's next few assignments demonstrated he was one who could do both, as well as he teach his subordinates to do the same. From The American Forces Korea Network to the 4th Psychological Operations Group, Velazquez led by example – continuing to demonstrate superior technical ability while reinforcing the importance of tactical proficiency. Teams he built and led racked up broadcasting awards, but just as critically, they earned Soldier of Month and Quarter, qualified expert on their assigned weapons systems, and ensured their equipment was ready for deployment.
Through the next years of his career, Velazquez continued to add to his list of firsts – he was the first enlisted Soldier in public affairs to complete the Training with Industry program; the first Army broadcaster to return to SRTV to lead it as the noncommissioned officer in charge, and soon after, earned the first Senior Broadcaster of the Year award. Velazquez's leadership and experience made a impact at SRTV during the two years he led the organization. SRTV produced back-to-back Master Sgt. John T. Anderson Broadcast Journalist of the Year recipients, and earned multiple broadcast and public affairs awards, both military and civilian, as well as distinguished honor graduates and leadership award winners in multiple noncommissioned officer academy classes.
Sgt. Maj. Velazquez was then the first broadcast-background public affairs NCO selected to serve as the public affairs advisor to the 13th Sergeant Major or the Army, Sgt. Maj. of the Army Kenneth O. Preston. In that role, he coordinated worldwide press engagements with partner nations, coalition forces, and international, national, regional, and local media. Velazquez wrote the Army's 2005 and 2006 Congressional Testimony for the Record to the House Armed Services Committee. He wrote many speeches, but most notably, the speech read by Preston in 2004 as he received the Association of the U.S. Army’s George C. Marshall Award on behalf of the American Soldier. Part of that speech is permanently etched in a commemorative display in the Pentagon.
"Jose was an exceptional communicator, both orally and in writing," Preston said in an endorsement to the award nomination. "His written remarks to the Congress in 2004 through 2006 resulted in the Army receiving more than 50 new child development centers."
He went on to add that in 2004, the Association of the U.S. Army recognized the American Soldier with the presentation of the prestigious George C. Marshall Medal.
"I was asked to accept on behalf of the 1.2 million Soldiers serving at the time," Preston explained. "The speech Jose wrote received more than a dozen standing ovations during delivery. These are just a few of the masterpieces that brought credit and recognition to the Army, our Soldiers, and their Families."
After his time with the Sgt. Maj. of the Army, Velazquez was appointed as the First Sergeant of the 22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment and deployed his unit to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom in support of the 82nd Airborne Division in Bagram. After his promotion to sergeant major downrange and eventual redeployment, Velazquez continued to lead from the front. As the senior enlisted member of the Joint Public Affairs Support Element, the only unit of its kind in the Department of Defense, he deployed in support of the Deepwater Horizon gulf oil spill, the Haiti earthquake where he served as the sole official Spanish-speaking U.S. military spokesperson for the task force, and the Fukushima tsunami disaster relief operation.
Next, as the Eighth Army public affairs sergeant major, Velazquez served as the first Republic of Korea Senior Enlisted Mentor, working with his South Korean counterpart to help create a similar functional role in support of the ROK Army Chief of Public Affairs. Then, as the Training and Doctrine Command public affairs sergeant major, he was instrumental again, this time supporting the rollout of the Army’s “NCO 2020” modernization plan, bringing enlisted professional development in line with officer counterpart training, leveraging industry-standard training and technology.
After demonstrating his knowledge, skills, and care for Soldiers, his next and pinnacle position was to serve as the Regimental Public Affairs Sergeant Major in the Office of the Chief of Public Affairs. He was the very first broadcast-background NCO and first Hispanic soldier to serve in that role. He served as the Chief of Public Affairs’ subject matter expert on all enlisted matters, and placed a special emphasis on the enlisted force, focusing on their training, equipment, and their quality of life. Velazquez also strategically managed the careers of the most senior public affairs NCOs and those in key positions, working hand-in-hand with the force’s career managers at the Human Resources Command. While at the Pentagon, he also began the critical work of merging the public affairs and visual information communities under one career management field, which is in place today.
Velazquez also served as the Office of the Chief of Public Affairs liaison to the Army Public Affairs Association. In that role he successfully advocated for the Chief of Public Affairs' concurrence with the association's Order of St. Gabriel awards program. The award was created to recognize excellence and esprit-de-corps in the public affairs regiment. Velazquez worked with the APAA president to finalize the process and was one of the first to be awarded the Ancient Order of St. Gabriel for his impact on the field. Following his retirement from the Army, Velazquez continued to give back to the profession by serving on the association's Board of Directors for several years during its first decade as an organization.
Throughout his military career and life in retirement, Sgt. Maj. Velazquez has made a positive impact on the Army public affairs community and exhibited the visible, tangible intent and spirit of the Joe Galloway Lifetime Achievement Award.
“Jose has given a lifetime of selfless service to our public affairs community, our Army and to our nation," Wriggle said. “He continued to serve our Army Public Affairs family and community after retiring by contributing to our association of passionate professionals, contributions that endure today and will for years to come. On behalf of our entire Board of Directors and the membership of the association, I offer our sincere gratitude and our most heartfelt congratulations!"
Sgt. Maj. Velazquez will receive the award at the association's annual awards reception Oct. 15 in Crystal City, Arlington, Va.