Marines honor air control trainer

Dick Benoit

Thursday, April 17, 2003 | 10:11 a.m.

Marine Corps Cpl. Derek Armstrong, Chaparral High School class of 1998 and son of Lynn and Robert Armstrong of Las Vegas, was recently selected as Noncommissioned Officer of the Quarter for two consecutive quarters for the Marine Air Control Group 18, Okinawa, Japan.

Armstrong received a commendation for outstanding professional accomplishment, proficiency, leadership, initiative and military bearing and has been promoted to sergeant.

According to his commander, Lt. Col. Jeffrey L. Merchant, Armstrong has made tremendous contributions to the Marine Corps through his leadership, expanding knowledge of the Marine Air Command and Control System.

"Sergeant Armstrong has been instrumental in ensuring successful deployment of our Tactical Air Command Center, which serves as the command post for the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing," Merchant said. As the resident expert in the high-tech command center, Armstrong serves as an instructor for numerous pilots and air controllers helping to ensure successful accomplishment of the squadron's mission and improving the unit's combat readiness.

In addition to his command post duties, Armstrong serves as his unit's guidon for drill and ceremonial purposes, a position afforded only to Marines with superior military bearing, according to his commander.

Armstrong was also recognized for his off-duty community relations efforts. He recently volunteered to help with a local orphanage and the Okinawa Special Olympics.

"Sergeant Armstrong is a fine young American and one of the most dedicated and professional non-commissioned officers in my squadron. He is an invaluable member of our team," Merchant said.

Terrorism responder

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. James Abate, son of Jan Horn of Las Vegas and Jeffery Abate of Kaysville, Utah, is serving in Operation Enduring Freedom at the American Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, while assigned to anti-terrorism-trained 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

The mission of Abate's unit is to provide unified combatant commanders with rapidly deployable and sustainable specialized anti-terrorism forces to deter, detect, defend and conduct initial incident response to combat the threat of terrorism worldwide.

The 4th MEB (AT) is the focal point for Marine Corps anti-terrorism capability. Its specially trained Marines and sailors can respond to missions or can complement the considerable capability of other Marine units, such as the Marine Expeditionary Unit, in response to terrorist threats worldwide.

In brief

The four new Las Vegas airmen studied the Air Force mission, organization and military customs, performed drill and ceremony and received physical training, rifle marksmanship and special training in human relations, earning credits toward associate degrees through the Community College of the Air Force.