HEIDELBERG, Germany-- Two U.S. Army Europe noncommissioned officers have been selected by the Association of the United States Army as winners of this year's Strickland Educational Leadership Award (SELA). 1st Sgt. John Gutierrez, 43, of Houston, is the first sergeant of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 9th Engineer Battalion, in Schweinfurt, Germany. Gutierrez is currently deployed to Iraq with the 172nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team. Sgt. 1st Class Lumanai Snow, 32, of Pago Pago, American Samoa, served as the personnel NCO-in-charge of the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment's Regimental Support Squadron, in Vilseck. She is currently en route to her new duty station in Hawaii. Guiterrez and Snow are two of the three NCOs selected for the award from candidates Army wide. AUSA plans to present the awards during the organization's annual conference in Washington, D.C. in October. The SELA is awarded each year to NCOs who exemplify the Army's vision of shaping future leaders through education and mentorship, said Command Sgt. Major (Ret.) Jimmie Spencer, AUSA Director of NCO and Support Programs. The Larry Strickland Educational Leadership Award honors the memory of Sgt. Maj. Larry L. Strickland, a victim of the Sept. 11th terrorist attack on the Pentagon. Strickland had served as the sergeant major for the Army's office of the deputy chief of staff for personnel. For more information on the program, click this link: www.ausa.org/PROGRAMS/NCO/AWARDS/Pages/SGMLarryStricklandEducationalLeadershipAward