CRESTVIEW — Recognizing a Crestview veteran's contributions emphasizes the importance of the Economic Development Council’s Defense Support Initiative to the tri-county region, business leaders say.

DSI representatives Kim Wintner and Jim Heald honored Maj. Tom Moody, U.S. Army (retired), for his seven years of volunteer service. The initiative, formed in 1991, aims to attract, maintain and support military units’ county presence “while advocating for environment and community infrastructure," Moody’s proclamation states.

“We couldn’t doour support to military members without Tom,” EDC board chairman Heald said during Thursday's presentation at the Crestview Community Center.

Moody, appointed in 2007 as the Crestview Area Chamber of Commerce’s representative, “tirelessly provided his subject-matter expertise in liaison execution for Army 6th Ranger Training Battalion, the 919th Special Operations Wing, the Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal School, the Florida National Guard, and the Army 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) cantonment site development and personnel community integration,” an EDC proclamation states.

Moody developed “an extensive regional brief” delivered by the Northwest Florida Defense Coalition in Washington, D.C., and facilitated DSI leadership site tours of local military installations.

In addition, he has tirelessly advocated for local military programs and units, and for veterans support services, according to the EDC’s proclamation.

“Tom is our star member,” chamber of commerce Executive Director Wayne Harris said. “You can count on him night and day.”

Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Defense Support Initiative recognizes Crestview veteran's service

Air Force Airman Shauntrice Hartley graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio, Texas.

The airman completed an eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills.

Airmen who complete basic training earn four credits toward an associate in applied science degree through the Community College of the Air Force.

Hartley is the daughter of Alicia Chapman of Crestview, and granddaughter of Leroy and Rose Caldwell of DeFuniak Springs.

She is a 2012 graduate of Walton Senior High School.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Hartley graduates from military training

WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. — Air Force Senior Airman Nickolas J. James' responsibilities include dispensing prescriptions, contacting doctors if there is a problem with the prescriptions, and counseling patients on their prescriptions.  

It's all in a day's work for James, a 509th Medical Support Squadron pharmacy technician, who has served in the Air Force for four years.

He is a 2006 Crestview High School graduate.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: SERVICE MEMBER SNAPSHOT: Nickolas J. James

The Emerald Coast Young Marines are among the nation's top Young Marines units that encourage drug-free communities. Now, the organization has an award to recognize the achievement.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Young Marines youth organization's Enrique "Kiki" Camarena Award honors six units — one award per division — for drug demand reduction efforts through community education and peer-to-peer role modeling.

Emerald Coast Young Marines, of Crestview, is the Division 3 winner.

Other winners include: Division 1, Westover Young Marines, Chicopee, Mass.; Division 2, LCpl Caleb Powers Young Marines, Fredericksburg, Va.; Division 4, Pikes Peak Young Marines, Colorado Springs, Colo.; Division 5, Lapeer County Young Marines, Attica, Mich.; and Division 6, East Valley Young Marines, Mesa, Ariz.

The awards were presented June 5 at the Young Marines annual Adult Leaders’ Conference in Washington D.C.

 “The DEA first met with the Young Marines a few years ago,” Tammy Simpson, drug prevention program manager of the DEA’s Drug Demand Reduction Section, said. “We were so impressed with the Young Marines’ initiative when communicating with peers and others about the dangers associated with using drugs. We, at the DEA, congratulate the winning units, and we appreciate the Young Marines' efforts to educate the community and increase awareness about the drug problem.”

Units were judged on drug demand reduction hours, curriculum and the steps taken to reach out to the community to include peers and others.

FYI

The Young Marines is a national non-profit 501c(3) youth education and service program for boys and girls, age 8 through completion of high school.

The organization promotes members' mental, moral and physical development and teaches leadership, teamwork and self-discipline.

The Enrique "Kiki" Camarena Awardcommemorates a DEA special agent and Marine who worked in Mexico and came dangerously close to exposing the top leaders of a multi-billion drug pipeline. He was abducted and brutally murdered in 1985 at age 37.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Young Marines' drug abuse education efforts recognized

NOIRMOUTIER, France — Anthony Brochard became emotional as he observed American World War II veterans who returned to the beaches they stormed 70 years earlier.

With America’s Independence Day approaching, Brochard realized that as the now-elderly men struggled through the surf under the withering fire of German guns seven decades before, they were bringing the Fourth of July’s spirit of freedom and liberty to his country.

Clad as G.I.s, Brochard and Jean-Paul Limagne, members of the Noirmoutier Historic Vehicles association, drove their restored U.S. Army vehicles on a 12-day odyssey between the past and the future.

“When I was approaching the landing beaches wearing my U.S. uniform, I was so emotional and excited to be in this great and wonderful experience,” Brochard said. “It was just for them— the boys, our liberators.”

RAMPANT EMOTIONS

While Brochard drove his 1944 Willys jeep, Limagne drove his GMC troop carrier truck, christened in honor of U.S. Quartermaster Corps Capt. William A. Reed.

Reed’s widow, Franco-American Dr. Marie-Thérèse Reed, one of the founders of Noirmoutier’s 19-year Sister City relationship with Crestview, was also in Normandy in June.

“Jean-Paul took me in Capt. Reed's GMC and we rode a few miles on Utah Beach,” Marie-Thérèse Reed said. “It was extremely moving, and when I saw my husband's picture on the dashboard, I had a hard time not crying with emotion.”

Emotions were rampant during ceremonies commemorating the 70th anniversary of the June 6, 1944, Allied landings.

“When I was seeing the World War II veterans in Normandy, I was so emotional and I was thinking how my debt to them for our freedom is big because of their sacrifice,” Brochard said.

“It was an honor, a great honor, to be in their presence,” he said.

“I was extremely moved by the veterans; there are not many left but what courage!” Reed said. “Who would give his life for his country these days?”

‘THEIR GRANDFATHERS WERE HEROES’

Looking a year ahead, Brochard, Jean-Paul Limagne and their friends in the vehicles club will commemorate the 70th anniversary of France’s liberation and the end of World War II in Europe in May 2015.

Members of Crestview’s Sister City Program will visit Noirmoutier then with students from Northwest Florida State College’s Soundsations, Madrigals and Belle Voci choirs.

World War II concluded half a century before most of the students were born. It might seem puzzling to them to encounter the emotion with which even young Noirmoutrins honor their grandfathers and great-grandfathers’ sacrifices.

“I would say to the students, your grandfathers weren't only soldiers, they were heroes who served in the company of many heroes,” Brochard said. “They were the Greatest Generation, the Band of Brothers, who fought for peace, love and freedom.

“May God keep in peace the fallen soldiers who were their brothers in that terrible war.”

Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: D-Day, 4th of July, bring emotional reflections to Crestview's Sister City

Navy Seaman Recruit John Lewis, son of Charles Lewis, of Crestview, and Romona Huerta, of Orange, Texas, graduated from U.S. Navy basic training at Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Ill.

Training included classroom study and practical instruction on naval customs, first aid, firefighting, water safety and survival, and shipboard and aircraft safety. An emphasis was also placed on physical fitness.

The capstone event of boot camp is "Battle Stations," which gives recruits the skills and confidence they need to succeed in the fleet.

Lewis is a 2008 Crestview High School graduate.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Lewis graduates from Navy basic training

Air Force Airman Jason C. Schiro and Air Force Airman Brandon M. Traywick graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio, Texas.

The airmen completed an intensive, eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills.

Airmen who complete basic training earn four credits toward an associate in applied science degree through the Community College of the Air Force.

Schiro, the son of Cheri and Chris Schiro of Cary, N.C., is a 2012 Crestview High School graduate.

Traywick is the son of Michael E. and Sharon A. Traywick of Crestview.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Schiro, Traywick complete U.S. Air Force training

Air Force Airman Jason C. Schiro graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio, Texas.

The airman completed an intensive, eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills.

Airmen who complete basic training earn four credits toward an associate in applied science degree through the Community College of the Air Force.

Schiro, the son of Cheri and Chris Schiro of Cary, N.C., is a 2012 Crestview High School graduate.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Schiro completes Air Force training

Pat Watkins has earned the Distinguished Service Cross, the second-highest award a soldier can receive, for his actions more than four decades ago.

On Aug. 23, 1968, the now-75-year-old was a young Army staff sergeant asleep in his bunk in a Da Nang, Vietnam compound when multiple explosions shattered the silence. The compound had been attacked — an inside job — and North Vietnamese soldiers were blowing up buildings all around him.

Although wounded in the initial assault, the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) soldier grabbed his Colt .45 and immediately started a counterattack. He shot several intruders, threw his body over a teammate to shield him from a grenade blast and stormed a sniper picking off Americans whose silhouettes were easy targets in the moonless night.

Watkins kept fighting into the next day until the compound was secure again, even hitchhiking back after a medical team tried to evacuate him.

His efforts helped saved a number of soldiers' lives, although the attack was still one of the deadliest in Special Forces history, 18 soldiers killed and more than 30 wounded.

More than 100 of Watkins’ friends and family packed the Special Forces chapel on May 22 to honor him.

His commander applied for the award in 1968, Watkins said.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview man receives belated honor for bravery