Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Welch, son of Marguerite Welch of Rumford and the late Ivan Welch, has been awarded the 2005 Citation of Honor for NATO’s Operation Command.

“His significant accomplishments and high quality leadership have greatly contributed to the success of allied command operations and air force missions,” according to the citation.

Welch is in Germany, with missions to many European countries and Afghanistan and next Abu Dhabi. He has formerly served at the Mexican Embassy and in Korea, among other places.

A 1977 graduate of Rumford High School and a 1981 graduate of the University of Maine in Orono, he and his wife, Sally, have two grown children, Nikki and Ian.