PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. – Twelve Army Reserve soldiers from North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command’s Army Reserve Element were honored Saturday using a new soldier recognition program enacted recently by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Bush.
The NORAD-USNORTHCOM members were thanked for their prior service in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom with a “Welcome Home Warrior-Citizen” ceremony held at the Duncan-Selix Army Reserve Center at Fort Carson, Colo.
Honorees included Lt. Col. John Thomas Creel; Lt. Col. Jeffrey Williams; Maj. Sheila Ladd; Maj. Willard Lipe; Maj. Steven Howery; Maj. Timothy Vidra; Maj. Scott Weakley; Capt. Kristina Gibbs; Capt. James Leblanc; Capt. Stacy Prater; Chief Warrant Officer Mary Koepp; and Chief Warrant Officer Shannon Taylor.
Eventually all Army Reserve soldiers mobilized to support Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom will receive the “Welcome Home Warrior-Citizen” award from the U.S. Army Reserve. The individual presentations consisted of an encased American flag, a specially-designed commemorative coin, a lapel pin set for the soldier and spouse, and a Welcome Home Warrior-Citizen flag.
The presiding officials at Saturday’s ceremony were Maj. Gen. George W.S. (Steve) Read, commander, U.S. Army Reserve Readiness Command, Fort Jackson, S.C., and Command Sgt. Maj. Posey Grier, U.S. Army Reserve Readiness Command, Fort Jackson, S.C. Maj. Gen. Robert B. Ostenberg, Deputy to the Commander for Reserve Forces, NORAD-USNORTHCOM, and U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. D. Scott Frye, Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Commander, NORAD-NORTHCOM, were among the leaders in attendance.
Maj. Gen. Ostenberg thanked the families of the Reserve soldiers for their commitment. “We can never repay you for your sacrifices,” he said. “These soldiers couldn’t have done it without your support.”
Maj. Gen. Read traced the role of the Army Reserve soldier from Concord to Gettysburg to Omaha Beach and beyond. “You take your place next to those honored citizens,” he said. “When the call to the colors came, you were there.”
He added, “Someday your grandchildren will ask, ‘Grandma, what did you do during the war?’ Now you have a story to tell them.”