Army civilian honored by South Florida Federal Executive Board

DORAL, Fla. (July 12, 2024) - Army Gen. Laura J. Richardson, Commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), and Marine Command Sgt. Maj. Rafael Rodriguez, recognized U.S. Army civilian Eric Lightfoot for being awarded the 59th annual South Florida Federal Executive Board's Federal Employee of the Year award.

Lightfoot was awarded in the 'Service to the Community' category during a ceremony June 27. He serves as SOUTHCOM's Branch Chief of the Training & Exercise Division.

Mr. Lightfoot leads SOUTHCOM efforts related to the advancement of the highest priority joint military concepts, join doctrinal development, wargaming, training assessments, and lessons learned from the command's operations, activities, and investments.

The award summary highlighted many of Lightfoot's accomplishments serving the South Florida community, including his 300 hours of mentorship for 22 high school age young men, serving Thanksgiving meals to 2,000 people, assisting 629 homeless individuals, devoting 100 hours to community clean-up activities, coordinating the donation of 200 clothing articles to young men, supporting health screenings for over 600 families, and volunteering over 20 hours to raise scholarship funds.

The South Florida federal community includes approximately 35,000 employees in 130 federal entities, and in the previous fiscal year, only 347 individuals were nominated for the award.

SOUTHCOM is one of the nation's six geographically focused unified commands. The command is responsible for U.S. defense and security cooperation with partner nations in the Caribbean, Central America, and South America, as well as U.S. military operations in the region.

The headquarters, located in Doral, Fla., is comprised of more than 1,200 military and civilian personnel representing all U.S. military services and several other federal agencies.