The Air Force Institute of Technology’s School of Systems and Logistics honored Robert “Tony” Jones with the 2023 John W. Demidovich Award during a ceremony on 2 August.  Established in 1989, the Demidovich Award is the highest honor the school’s faculty can bestow, recognizing outstanding ability and sustained service throughout an individual’s tenure.  

“I am honored and humbled to receive the Demidovich award,” said Jones.  “AFIT has a lot of incredible educators on staff and it is truly an honor to be selected for this award.” 

Jones, the course director for the Air Force Fundamentals of Acquisition Management course, is the 18th recipient of this distinguished award. The ceremony was attended by Demidovich’s son Chuck, his grandson Randy and eight previous award winners.

Capt. Jeremy Collins, an acquisition management instructor and former student of Jones, narrated the event. In his remarks, Collins praised Jones for his impactful teaching and mentorship, recalling his own experience as a student influenced by Jones.

“A little over 8 years ago, I sat in this very classroom as a brand new acquisitions officer,” said Collins. “One of the instructors was Tony Jones. My experience in the course was so impactful, it inspired me to return to AFIT as an instructor. To this day, Tony continues to educate and mentor me as a part of his team. I promise you, Tony’s enthusiasm and dedication to educate our acquisition workforce is unmatched.”

Jones' career reflects the ideals, vision, enthusiasm, innovation, creativity and excellence exemplified by Demidovich. His insights into preparing incoming acquisition professionals were adopted as the core objectives of the FAM course by senior career field managers from SAF/AQH for twelve consecutive years. Jones' strategic objectives for the 28 FAM lessons have formed the foundation for the initial education and training of over 3,700 program managers, engineers, and scientists, enabling them to deliver advanced weapon systems with precision and minimal collateral damage. 

Continuously improving the educational content, Jones has implemented a 20% annual update to the FAM curriculum to keep pace with evolving Pentagon policies. He introduced critical thinking lessons, modernized course capstone exercises based on student feedback and developed a digital engineering lesson to align with the Air Force's digital transformation efforts. His expertise in software development led to the overhaul of the software engineering lesson, integrating elements of the Department of Defense's Adaptive Acquisition Framework, emotional intelligence, interest-based negotiation, tailored acquisition strategies for space systems, and expedited contracting approaches.

Jones’ innovative use of technology, gamification and multimedia is unparalleled. He introduced KAHOOT as a trivia game to reinforce learning and created a Poke'mon GO-like game, PRO'JEK MON, to teach key concepts of DAFI 63-101. His efforts have significantly enhanced both instructor effectiveness and student learning.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Jones demonstrated remarkable adaptability by leading his team of ten instructors in transitioning 120 hours of in-person classes to a fully virtual format in under three weeks. He developed “how-to” instructions, created 28 asynchronous lessons and adapted synchronous lessons to emphasize critical thinking through real-world examples and facilitated discussions. His inventive approach ensured the continuity of initial skills training despite global disruptions.

Beyond teaching, Jones' consultancy work has had a global impact. He developed a project management course for the Iraqi Ministry of Defense using a road construction analogy for clarity, which was quickly adopted by U.S. Central Command. His curriculum and teaching materials were praised by United States Forces - Iraq for their leadership. Additionally, Jones jump-started the development of the Air Force Materiel Command's Acquisition Instructor Course, delivering the curriculum four months ahead of schedule to meet the Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force’s vision of an elite program management cadre. 

The Demidovich Award is named after Dr. John W. Demidovich, a distinguished faculty member who served at the School of Systems and Logistics from 1965 to 1986 as both a military and civilian. Best known as a dynamic lecturer and speaker, Demidovich was a champion of new educational methods and technology and was actively involved in pioneering distance learning efforts at the school.  He was internationally known as a proponent of creativity, both in the classroom and in the workplace, and led innumerable seminars and classes aimed at spurring students to new ways of problem solving and new pathways of thought.  Demidovich passed away in 1987, but his legacy continues to influence the School of Systems and Logistics.

The Demidovich Award is not presented annually but only when a faculty member meets the high standards of excellence personified by Demidovich.  The award honors exceptional teaching, creativity, curriculum development and innovative approaches to student engagement. Recipients of the Demidovich Award are regarded as the school’s leading educators, mentors, and visionaries.  Previous Demidovich Award winners include:

• Virgil Rehg (1989)
• Douglas Goetz (1990)
• Gregory Garrett (1992)
• Dennis Campbell (1994)
• Carl Hayden (1995)
• Dennis Dragich (1996)
• Steven Malashevitz (1997)
• John Paciorek (1998)
• John Reisner (2003)
• Mark Caudle (2005)
• Paul Joyce (2008)
• Charles Youther (2010)
• Steven Glazewski (2012)
• Jerry Stonecipher (2013)
• Mike Mowry (2015)
• Richard Sugarman (2018)
• Eric Glover (2019)