Pictured are members of the 174th Attack Wing receive honors during the February 2014 Hometown Heroes ceremony in Syracuse.
(Syracuse, NY – Jan. 2015) Members of the New York Air National Guard received recognition for their service in a combat zone on Saturday Jan. 10 during the 174th Attack Wing Hometown Heroes Salute ceremony for all units on the Air National Guard Base in Syracuse.
Some 80 members of the wing received a Hometown Heroes Salute at the ceremony.
Madison County Airmen recognized for supporting overseas contingency operations as part of the 174th Attack Wing included:
Master Sgt. Michael Adams from Bridgeport
Technical Sgt. Timothy Cullipher from Bridgeport
Staff Sgt. Nathaniel Morse from Lenox
Sr. Airman Daniel Sullivan from Oneida
Staff Sgt. Charles Vollmer from Chittenango
Technical Sgt. Carl Wolicki from Earlville
The Hometown Heroes program recognizes Airmen who mobilized and supported contingency operations such as Operations Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan for 30 or more consecutive days either serving overseas or here in the U.S. since Sept. 11, 2001.
“We recognize the tremendous service and sacrifice of our Airmen and their families supporting the wide variety of missions here in the wing,” said Col. Greg Semmel, 174th Attack Wing Commander. “Our Hometown Heroes salute is a great opportunity to thank them for that service.”
Airmen receive a framed letter from the Chief of the National Guard Bureau containing a Hometown Heroes salute challenge coin. Children of the deployed Airmen will also receive unique Hometown Heroes Salute dog tags.
The Air National Guard initiated the program in August 2008 to celebrate and honor our Airmen, families, communities and those special supporters who have significantly contributed to supporting our Airmen and the Air National Guard mission.
The 174th Attack Wing was established in 1947 as the first Air National Guard flying unit in New York State. It currently flies the state-of-the-art MQ-9 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The wing conducts its combat mission as well as its multiple training missions, including operating the Field Training Detachment (FTD) which trains all Air Force personnel on MQ-9 maintenance procedures, and the Formal Training Unit (FTU) which provides initial qualification training to MQ-9 aircrews