OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea - The top missile defense service members on the Korean Peninsula were recognized by the founder and chairman of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance at the Dragon Hill Lodge during the Korean Peninsula Missile Defender of the Year banquet hosted by 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade in Seoul, Republic of Korea Nov 18.
Riki Ellison, three-time Super Bowl champion and founder and chairman of MDAA sponsored the event for the fifth year in a row, a platform he's supported since his college football days at the University of Southern California.
Each recipient was either selected by their service for their contributions to missile defense in the Korean theater of operation, or won a rigorous competition against their peers.
"When you get in that high performance arena, you get put in a competitive cauldron, and competitive cauldrons force greatness," said Ellison.
Each service member was recognized with a spoil of accolades that included a signed football and jersey, courtesy of Ellison and MDAA.
Three of the Army's top six crews were assigned to 2nd Battalion, 1st ADA Regiment. The top engagement station crew went to 1st Lt. Nathanael Agront, Sgt. Robert Dingle and Pfc. Christopher Kline. Sgt. Eric Areizaga and Pfc. Peter Cwalina took home best launcher crew, while Sgt. Austin Eddings and Pfc. Jameson Medellin won best systems maintenance crew.
Rounding out the rest of the top Army crews were Soldiers assigned to 6th Battalion, 52nd ADA Regiment. The best information and coordination central crew went to 1st Lt. Albert Gorbach, Sgt. Erick Larsen and Spc. Marquee Massie. Pfc. Jeffrey Kidwell and Spc. Daniel Cannoy won best battery command post, and Sgt. James Harris, Pfc. Breton Tucker, Pfc. Bernardo Benavidez and Pfc. Kyle Varner were recognized as the best tactical control station crew.
Representing the Navy was Lt. Cmdr. Nam Han, assigned to Commander, Naval Forces Korea, and selected by the Air Force was Capt. Jonathan Morse, assigned to 7th Air Force out of Osan Air Base.
The top crew assigned to the 2nd ROK ADA Brigade was 1st Lt. Hwang, Jaeha, Senior Master Sgt. Kang, Sungmin, and Master Sgt. Lee, Jungmun. The best crew for the 3rd ROK ADA Brigade was 1st Lt. Ann, Young Guk, Chief Master Sgt. Yang, Sungjin and Senior Master Sgt. Jung, Sangho.
"The awardees tonight represent the best missile defenders on the Korean Peninsula," said Command Sgt. Maj. Eric McCray, 35th ADA Brigade Command Sgt. Maj. "It really says a lot about these warfighters, they didn't get here by accident, it was a lot of hard work and commitment on their part."
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