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    2025 Outstanding Young Military Awards Recipients

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    Major McKenzie Ehrhardt - Marine Corps

    Major Ehrhardt entered active duty as a Marine Corps Officer in 2012 and assumed her role as a Judge Advocate in 2021. She has served in multiple positions including Trial Counsel, Senior Trial Counsel, Complex Litigation Counsel, and currently serves as a Commandant's Fellow at the U.S. Attorney's Office - Eastern District of Virginia. Major Ehrhardt distinguished herself as a leader as a Senior Trial Counsel of a five attorney unit embedded with NCIS Special Agents. Major Ehrhardt further demonstrated leadership and litigation skills when she was selected to serve as the Complex Litigation Counsel for the entire Eastern Region, prosecuting the most serious and high visibility cases. In her current role as a Fellow, Major Ehrhardt is prosecuting serious federal offenses including human trafficking and child sexual exploitation cases. The distinguished accomplishments of Major Ehrhardt reflect great credit upon herself, the United States Marine Corps, and the Department of Defense.

    Major Maureen Dowling - Air Force

    Major Maureen Dowling entered active duty as an Air Force Judge Advocate in January 2017. She has served in multiple positions to include as Chief, Research and Specialized Contracts Branch; Chief of Operations Law and Command Policy; Area Defense Counsel; and Chief of Administrative Law. Maj Dowling distinguished herself as a key leader in the Air Force when she led 10 DAF attorneys in the Air Force's largest acquisition law branch, providing 3,000 contract law reviews that powered $28B in DAF research and development. Through her efforts, the team supported 75 percent of AFRL's R&D efforts and fielded AFRL's Risk Identification and Security Countermeasure (RISC) program, a cross-functional capability that prevents the flow of critical R&D to the enemy. The distinguished accomplishments of Maj Dowling reflect great credit upon herself, the United States Air Force, and the Department of Defense.

    Lieutenant Commander Connor Simpson - Coast Guard

    Lieutenant Commander Simpson entered active duty as a Coast Guard Judge Advocate in June 2016. He has served as a Staff Attorney, Flag Aide to The Judge Advocate General, Defense Counsel, Instructor, and Trial Counsel. He distinguished himself as a key leader while assigned as Coast Guard Liaison Officer to the Naval Justice School where he provided 709 hours of exceptional indoctrinal legal training and instruction to 1,284 newly accessed Coast Guard, Navy, and Marine Corps judge advocates. Additionally, he conducted a comprehensive review of the Coast Guard's legal curriculum, resulting in the revision of eight Coast Guard specific lecture blocks and the development of two new blocks of instruction, ensuring timely and accurate legal training that will have a lasting impact on the Service. The distinguished accomplishments of Lieutenant Commander Simpson reflect great credit upon himself, the United States Coast Guard, and the Department of Homeland Security.

    Major Curtis Cranston - Army

    MAJ Curtis Cranston entered active duty as an Infantry Officer in May 2012 and joined the JAG Corps in May 2018. He has since served in multiple positions to include Brigade Judge Advocate, Chief of Administrative and Civil Law, and Associate Professor at The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School. MAJ Cranston has distinguished himself through authorship of award-winning publications, development of new and novel trainings for use across the JAG Corps and the Army, and with exceptional volunteerism that positively impacts his units and their local communities. The distinguished accomplishments of MAJ Cranston reflect great credit upon himself, the Army JAG Corps, the United States Army, and the Department of Defense.

    Lieutenant Kyra Ziesk-Socolov - Navy

    LT Kyra Ziesk-Socolov entered active duty in 2021. She has served in numerous legal roles stateside and overseas, to include as a Trial Counsel, Deputy Staff Judge Advocate, and Command Judge Advocate for the Navy's most geographically remote installation. LT Ziesk-Socolov demonstrates exemplary legal acumen and selfless dedication to service and mission, advising commands worldwide on ethics, investigations, administrative, operational, international, and military justice-related matters. LT Ziesk-Socolov distinguished herself as a key leader by serving as the Navy's sole on-ground liaison for a sensitive international security matter onboard Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia, with her legal analysis forming the basis of multiple official and diplomatic communications expressing U.S. policy positions on the issue. LT Ziesk-Socolov's distinguished  accomplishments reflect great credit upon herself, the United States Navy, and the Department of Defense.