LDS fighter pilot earns U.S. Air Force award
E-mail story
It's easy. Send a link to the story you were just reading to a friend. Just fill out the form on this page and we'll send it along.
Your name and e-mail address are transmitted to the recipient. Otherwise, it is considered private information; see Privacy policy.
MONTEREY, CALIF.
The United States Air Force recently announced that Major Derek "Maestro" O'Malley of the Monterey Ward, Monterey California Stake, is the winner of the annual Lt. Col. Anthony C. Shine Award. This prestigious award recognizes an outstanding fighter pilot for proficiency and professionalism in flying a fighter aircraft as well as community involvement. The Shine award was established in honor of fallen Air Force fighter pilot, Lt. Col. Anthony C. Shine.
The award was presented at Langley (Virginia) Air Force Base by Colleen Shine, the daughter of the award's namesake, and Major General Frank Gorenc, Director of Air and Space Operations, Headquarters Air Combat Command, on March 19.
In Major O'Malley's acceptance remarks, he thanked the Shine family for their sacrifice and their examples.
Born in Albuquerque, N.M., Major O'Malley was commissioned as a distinguished graduate of the Air Force ROTC program at BYU in 1996. After graduating from pilot training in 1998, he attended F-16 initial qualification training at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz. He accumulated more than 1600 F-16 flight hours in operational flying assignments. While assigned to Spangdahlem Airbase, Germany, he was selected as the 22nd Fighter Squadron and 52nd Fighter Wing Flight Commander of the Year.
He planned and flew in the initial "shock and awe" campaign of Operation Iraqi Freedom. For his combat actions, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism. Following combat deployment, he attended the United States Air Force Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base near Las Vegas, Nev., where he was a distinguished graduate and recipient of the Flying Award. After serving as Chief of Weapons and Tactics for the 35th Fighter Squadron in Korea, he returned to the Weapons School as an instructor.
During his three years at the F-16 Weapons School, he was a three-time winner of the Overall Outstanding Instructor Award, two-time winner of the Outstanding Instructor Wingman Award, and also won the Outstanding Academic Instructor Award.
His expertise also served in the Las Vegas community, from keynote speaker at the Distinguished Flying Cross Society's National Convention, to helping with the organization of two annual North Las Vegas Stake youth conferences and Boy Scout camps.
He is currently attending the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey, Calif. Upon graduation in September 2009, he will report to Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., to join the initial instructor pilot cadre for the F-35 Lighting II.
He and his wife, Samantha, have an eight-year old son, Conner. He is a member of the Young Men presidency in the Monterey Ward.
In an e-mail, Major O'Malley explained the origin of his call sign "Maestro": "I have an identical twin brother (Colin), who is actually a real maestro. He composes orchestral music for film and television. … In 1999, I was a brand new F-16 pilot. Colin composed a symphony called "The Pilot's Hymn," which he dedicated to all fighter pilots. The piece was quite beautiful.
"Through a complex series of events, former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, agreed to host a concert featuring Colin's pilot hymn. My wing commander and I flew two F-16s to Florida to attend the concert and meet the President and First Lady.
"At the end of the concert, Colin received a huge standing ovation, and I joined him on the stage. The maestro's baton was placed in my hand, and as the orchestra began to play, I began conducting. I improvised and hammed it up quite a bit. The video of the event circulated in Air Force circles. Thus, I was given the call sign Maestro."
