The Army Public Affairs Association is proud to announce Master Sgt. Timothy "Matt" Gray as the 2026 recipient of the Master Sgt. Marcia J. Triggs Award of Excellence. Gray is the Public Affairs noncommissioned officer in charge at the Combined Arms Command, Fort Leavenworth, KS.
The Triggs Award is an annual recognition for an Army NCO in grades E-6 through E-8 who has demonstrated outstanding and sustained excellence in leadership. The ideal candidate is one who has made significant contributions to improving the professionalism of the public affairs/visual information career field, has made contributions to the Army Public Affairs and Visual Information mission and practice that will endure for future generations, and is considered so outstanding as to have the potential to become a PA/VI Sergeant Major.
“We are so honored to recognize Master Sgt. Gray this year," said Rebecca Wriggle, Army Public Affairs Association president. “Master Sgt. Gray is the epitome of selfless and dedicated service, and excellence as a leader. Those qualities, and so many individual and inspired team accomplishments, are truly in keeping with the example set by Master Sgt. Triggs, for whom the award is named."
As outlined in his award submission, Gray's public affairs career has accelerated beyond the typical and is born of his passionate devotion to Soldiers and the principles of Army public affairs. Gray arrived on the island of Oahu to the 25th Infantry Division as a staff sergeant in April 2022. Over the last four years, his unparalleled expertise and dynamic leadership have seen him excel in four different public affairs positions, each with increasing responsibility driven by unit necessity, meritorious promotion, and his proven record of success. His career trajectory within a single division is a statement to his adaptability. His ability to be the example for his Soldiers is extraordinary, and his ability to push his Soldiers to excel is characterized as nothing short of remarkable.
Gray assumed responsibility as the NCOIC for the 28th Public Affairs Detachment in the summer of 2025. He immediately forged a new standard of excellence by instilling the warfighter's ethos into his communicators, bringing forth the “Horse, Saddle, Man” priorities from his days as a Tanker. This philosophy - ensuring equipment is reset, imagery is mission-ready, and Soldier needs are met, in that order - guaranteed the unit's capacity to execute follow-on missions with unmatched speed and readiness.
Gray further cemented his role as a standard-bearer for warfighting excellence by leading from the front to earn the coveted Expert Soldier Badge. As one of only four Public Affairs NCOs in the entire U.S. Army to hold this distinction, he personifies a dedication to the profession of arms that resonates with Soldiers from the public affairs detachment to the division level. His legacy of excellence is already taking root, with four of his PAD Soldiers now vying for the badge next year.
Simultaneously, he espoused the communicator side of his role by guiding 15 Soldiers to compete in the prestigious Maj. Gen. Keith L. Ware Public Affairs competition, which resulted in two honorable mentions and his own selection for the esteemed SGM Dawn Kilpatrick Memorial AUSA Scholarship. In less than a year, Gray unequivocally showed the next generation of Public Affairs Soldiers how to be an expert warrior and an elite communicator simultaneously.
His own career glide path forged his values and expertise along the way. Immediately after his promotion to Sgt. 1st Class in October 2022, Gray served as the Division Sustainment Brigade PAO from January 2023 to May 2024. Demonstrating his unwavering "lead from the front" mentality, he deployed within his second week on the job to the Pohakuloa Training Area for 30 days to personally cover the Brigade’s gunnery. While in the position, he continued to refine and expand his UPAR Academy, offering it to sister units to ensure the entire theater met commander's intent and higher echelon communication goals. Over 1.5 years, he conducted four separate academies, training more than 100 UPARs across the PacificTheater.
Gray is described as simultaneously the archetype of a Public Affairs professional and the exact model of a Non-Commissioned Officer for whom Soldiers and Leaders clamber. Given the profound degree of knowledge and surgical precision he brings to every role, Gray is sought after by each new echelon. His level of care for this country’s greatest resource, its sons and daughters, transcends duty hours; he has literally given space in his own home to Soldiers in need, proving his commitment is to the person, not just the uniform. Gray possesses an awareness of social dynamics that rivals the best entertainment interviewers, a skill perfectly suited to his public affairs roles that also enables him to expertly advise Senior Leaders before their most daunting media engagements.
Throughout his last five assignments and seven years, he has been a stalwart advocate for the career field, championing one transformative idea: There are not enough PAOs for the Army in 2026. Accordingly, his creation, relentless refinement, and strategic installment of the UPAR Academy at every command has been one of the most significant steps toward expanding the reach and capacity of the entire public affairs enterprise to capture and tell the Army’s story and help guide commanders to understand the important role public affairs plays in operations.
Now the Public Affairs noncommissioned officer in charge at the Combined Arms Command, Gray's opportunity to shape the future is even greater. The legacy of excellence he leaves in his wake is driven by a unique recognition of the changes needed to stay relevant in the face of technological advancement. Gray’s dedication to the mission, the career field, and the Soldiers who are a part of both, is of a caliber that has already earned his name a place in conversations with the most inspiring Public Affairs Soldiers, alongside Master Sgt. Marcia Triggs.
"Master Sgt. Gray is our 15th recipient of the prestigious Master Sgt. Marcia J. Triggs Award of Excellence," Wriggle said. "We could not be more thrilled to recognize him this year. I believe it and call our Triggs recipients our crown jewels of the community, and Master Sgt. Gray is exactly the caliber of NCO to join our 14 previous recipients. The members of the Board of Directors and I look forward to honoring Matt at our awards banquet on May 29th. Until then, we invite our career field and community to reach out and congratulate this most exceptional of PA NCOs, Master Sgt. Timothy "Matt" Gray!"
The Triggs Award is named after Master Sgt. Marcia J. Triggs, an Army print journalist and public affairs noncommissioned officer. She deployed to Iraq twice with the 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Georgia, and was working at the Office of the Chief of Public Affairs at the Pentagon during the terrorist attacks on 9/11. She remained on active duty until her death.
The Army Public Affairs Association would again like to take this opportunity to thank Bell for their enduring sponsorship of the Master Sgt. Marcia J. Triggs Award for Excellence. Their support makes possible this program to recognize superior Army Public Affairs and Visual Information noncommissioned officers.
Master Sgt. Gray will receive his award at the association's 2026 Awards Banquet May 29 at the Hilton Mark Center, Alexandria, Va.