Local Resident Receives Award
HAMILTON SQUARE, NJ - Hamilton Square resident Capt.
James Layton, commander, 177th Fighter Wing Civil Engineering Squadron,
was the recipient of the Outstanding Officer – Air Award April 27.
The award was presented at the Wildwood, N.J. Convention
Center during the 2002 Annual Conference of the National Guard Association
of New Jersey. More than 300 commissioned officers, warrant officers,
and retired officers together with their wives and family members attended
the three-day conference from April 26-28.
Highlights of the Conference included the annual business
meeting at which numerous issues and items of concern to the state's citizen-soldiers
were discussed. The program also included award presentations to
the outstanding soldiers and airmen in the New Jersey Army and Air National
Guard.
The conference theme this year was "American Pride."
Brig. Gen. Glenn K. Rieth, The Adjutant General of New Jersey, the keynote
speaker, highlighted the accomplishments of the National Guard in both
Homeland Security and Homeland Defense following the tragic events of Sept.
11 and in the ongoing war against terrorism.
More than 1,700 soldiers and airmen of the New Jersey
National Guard remain on state and federal active duty providing security
at Hudson River bridges and tunnels, airports, nuclear facilities and around
the world. Airmen from the 177th Fighter Wing headquartered in Atlantic
City remain on federal active duty providing CAP (combat air patrol) cover
over the northeast quadrant of North America to include New York City and
Washington, D.C. Aircraft and crews from the 108th Air Refueling
Wing continue to provide in-flight refueling to US Air Force, NATO, and
other allied aircraft in a variety of locations as part of national security,
UN Peacekeeping missions, and Humanitarian assistance missions.
Virtually the entire senior leadership of the New Jersey
Army and Air National Guard were in attendance to include Maj. Gen. Richard
Cosgrave, Commander, New Jersey Air National Guard; Brig. Gen. Kenneth
Wondrack, Assistant Division Commander, 42nd Infantry Division, New Jersey
Army National Guard; Col. Steven Widen, Commander 108th Air Refueling Wing,
and Col. Michael Cosby, Commander 177th Fighter.
|
