ATLANTIC CITY AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, N.J. – U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Jason Harden, Chaplain Corps superintendent assigned to the New Jersey National Guard’s 177th Fighter Wing, was awarded the prestigious Air National Guard Chaplain Corps Minuteman Award for 2025 on May 16.
U.S. Air Force Col. Jonathan Bell, director of the Air National Guard Chaplain Corps, presented Harden with the federally recognized award during May’s Unit Training Assembly, highlighting Harden’s extraordinary service in providing immediate care to the families and teammates of two National Guardsmen who were shot in Washington, D.C., just before Thanksgiving in November 2025.
In November 2025, during the D.C. Safe and Beautiful mission, Army National Guard Spc. Sarah Beckstrom and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe were shot while on duty. Upon hearing the news, Harden and U.S. Air Force Maj. Vladimir Steliac, 177th Fighter Wing chaplain, who both also serve at the National Guard Bureau Joint Staff Chaplain's Office, immediately volunteered to go to the hospital in the nation’s capital.
"Chaplain Steliac and I both raised our hands and said that we're going to the hospital to care for them at their bedside,” Harden said. “We did pray over both Spc. Beckstrom, as well as Staff Sgt. Wolfe, but we also provided care for their families."
Operating under intense conditions, the team provided non-stop spiritual care for the victims' families and teammates waiting in the hospital corridors. Beckstrom later succumbed to her injuries, while Wolfe survived and began recovery.
“A lot of their teammates were in the corridor, and we were providing chaplain support for them as well,” Steliac said. “We feel very much encouraged as a Chaplain Corps to have the opportunity to support and make a difference.”
Beyond his military role, Harden’s civilian career directly prepared him to handle the emotional weight of the tragedy. Harden, who has served with the police force since 2005, has been a detective and a member of a major task force.
While Harden worked quietly behind the scenes to support the family and maintain order during the crisis, his leadership actions did not go unnoticed.
“His name will remain in the history of the Air Force's Chaplain Corps as the Minuteman recipient for the year of 2025,” Bell said. “He rose above all the others in the field. Master Sergeant Harden stood beside the families and those service members from the instant that shooting took place, the whole way through, for days of care, not doing this for his own recognition, but doing it to take care of people.”