HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Brett Majesky, section chief of special mission support with the 1st Special Operations Communications Squadron, earned the Special Operations Forces Communicator of the Year Award for his performance in 2020 by providing significant contributions to the special operations forces mission with his expertise in internal and tactical communications systems, satellite communications and in his ability to lead and develop junior Air Commandos.
The SCOTY awards were established to recognize enlisted, warrant officer, commissioned officers, and civilian communicators who have demonstrated leadership, integrity, and significant contributions to improve SOF communications mission capabilities.
“The SOF Communicator of the Year award criteria states that the individual displays high ethical standards and characteristics that embody a SOF communicator’s spirit, values, and skills,” said Majesky. “But a majority of it is about attitude. Your attitude and how you interact with other people is a considerable portion of how far you make it in teams and amongst other individuals in the SOF community.”
The 1st SOCS supports the global warfighting and readiness missions of Air Force special operations forces by providing a full spectrum of communications and computer systems supporting Air Commandos, at home or deployed anywhere in the world.
In one incident, Majesky served as a team lead for the Department of Defense and SpaceX experiment connecting SOF aircraft to a next-generation satellite constellation resulting in a 400-fold expansion of network capabilities. Additionally, Majesky ensured the success of AFSOC’s first AC-130J gunship deployment by configuring command and control for four aircraft enabling effective targeting missions within 12 hours of their arrival in the area of responsibility.
“Master Sgt. Majesky and his team have a challenging and unique mission set which falls outside of what a standard Air Force communicator is trained to accomplish,” said Senior Master Sgt. Paul Coleman, flight superintendent of special missions support with the 1st SOCS. “Because of this, his team must frequently trailblaze to meet SOF requirements and cross utilize Air Force Specialty Codes to create a tailored skillset. Majesky trusts and empowers his team, allowing them to be the drivers of innovation and they have absolutely crushed it.”
He also led a 33-member team providing innovative solutions for U.S. Special Operations Command’s first persistently-connected deployable tactical network capability, cutting tasking preparation time from three weeks to eight hours.
“A lot of everything that we do here directly ties back to Air Force Special Operations Command and USSOCOM missions,” Majesky said. “It’s the exercise support, deployments, and base support that we do that goes back to the communicator of the year award—making sure that the SOF mission can continue.”
Majesky attributes the award to his team for their hard work and dedication in providing various aspects of communications both at Hurlburt and worldwide, and to his leadership for their support and guidance during his time at Hurlburt.
“Being where I am now, I don’t get to interact as much as my troops do,” Majesky said. “They are the ones out there, working incredibly hard, like AFSOC, to find ways to make the mission happen any time, any place.”
Beginning next year, Majesky will be deploying with the Amphibious Readiness Group/Marine Expeditionary Unit with the U.S. Navy as the lone Air Force senior noncommissioned officer Special Operations Forces Liaison Element subject-matter expert. In this position, he will support policy development, key leader engagements and decision development, plan meetings, and conflict resolution among the leadership, components and external service units.
“He’s a quiet leader and when I need something done immediately, he is one of the individuals that I go to,” said U.S. Air Force Capt. Dustin McClure, flight commander of special missions support with the 1st SOCS. “No question that this type of award just solidifies what we already know about him; he is an absolute professional. The guy executes at a rank above what he wears, and I do not doubt that we will see him as a senior master sergeant very soon.”
Majesky works toward educating and supporting his Airmen and the missions of AFSOC and SOCOM and has proven to be a valuable asset to the 1st SOCS and his leadership due to his expertise in communications systems.