3rd Herder receives Bronze Star Medal

  • Published
  • By Brandice J. Armstrong
  • Tinker Public Affairs
Maj. Greg Whitaker, of the 3rd Combat Communications Support Squadron, received a Bronze Star Medal Oct. 31.
   Presented by 3rd Combat Communications Group Commander Col. James Appleyard, the award distinguishes heroic or meritorious aid for ground service while involved in action against a United States enemy.
   "This award confirms what we already concluded about Greg Whitaker even before the deployment to Afghanistan," said Colonel Appleyard. "He is a mission-focused leader that will make it happen no matter what the obstacle."
   The major, who was deployed from May 21 to Sept. 18, had no idea he was set to receive the award.
   "I didn't know I'd won it until the ceremony," said Major Whitaker, who was a Joint Task Force communications planner during his Operation Enduring Freedom deployment.
   The major received the award for his outstanding leadership and technical expertise, which considerably "contributed to the successful prosecution of combat operations," according to his citation.
   The Bronze Star Medal, or "Ground Medal," was envisioned by Army Col. Russell P. "Red" Redder in 1943 to boost morale of the captains of companies or batteries serving under them.
   Gen. George Marshall, Army Chief of Staff, presented the concept via a memorandum to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in February 1944. The next day, President Roosevelt authorized the Bronze Star Medal and made it retroactive to Dec. 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor, according to an Internet encyclopedia.