AFSFC Airmen win corrections annual awards

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  • AFIMSC Public Affairs

Great news out of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California! Three Air Force Security Forces Center Airmen beat out their joint-service teammates to win yearly honors. Congratulations to 320th Correctional and Rehabilitation Squadron members Senior Airman Qwantez Harris, Junior Service Member of the Year; Staff Sgt. Pedro E. Perez, Service Member of the Year; and Tech. Sgt. Paul M. Palmer, Senior Service Member of the Year.

Junior Service Member of the Year
Senior Airman Qwantez Harris ensures the safety and security of 120 inter-service inmates and 176 joint staff members at the Level II/III Department of Defense confinement facility at Naval Consolidated Brig Miramar. His duties include inspecting inmate housing units and enforcing compliance with naval regulations, the American Correctional Association standards and the Prison Rape Elimination Act. He performs cell searches and perimeter inspections to prevent contraband introduction and trafficking, serving as the direct representative of the command duty officer in his role as Master Control Center Supervisor, where he oversees the daily operations of the facility. During the year, he managed and oversaw 730 frisks, 740 cell searches, 350 strip searches, 27 prisoner intakes, 31 prisoner releases, 104 visitations, 86 escorts, 103 security patrols and over 250 daily routine evolutions in the brig. 

Service Member of the Year
Staff Sgt. Pedro Perez, operating in an E-6 billet, is responsible for leading 120 prisoners through daily supervision and directly supervises six designated quarter supervisors and NCOs to ensure good order and discipline within a Department of Defense joint confinement facility. As a Dorm Leading Petty Officer, he coordinates with six department heads to operate personal affairs for three housing units. As a unit team member, he is directly responsible for administrative actions, enforcing regulatory standards, and changes and implementation of programs that align with the brig’s commanding officer’s operational vision.

Senior Service Member of the Year
As a dedicated Command Investigator, Tech. Sgt. Paul Palmer’s scope and impact of his leadership included the management of criminal investigations involving both staff and prisoners to maintain order and discipline, essential to the mission of incarcerating and rehabilitating military offenders across all service branches. In collaboration with local and federal agencies, including Naval Criminal Investigative Service, he oversaw critical pre-trial and post-trial processes. As an interim Command Duty Officer, he also ensured daily operations within the $45 million DOD Joint Military Confinement Facility, covering 10 shortfall CDO roles and oversaw the safety of 176 Joint Service members and civilians, as well as 120 inter-service prisoners within a 208,000-square-foot facility.