Photo By Andria Allmond | Pa. Air National Guard Command Chief Victor Guerra, of the 171st Air Refueling Wing,...... read more read more
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Tech. Sgt. Andria Allmond
111th Attack Wing Public Affairs
HORSHAM AIR GUARD STATION, Pa. – Master Sgt. Sylvester Fisher, the 111th Attack Wing student flight monitor, was presented with the Pennsylvania Gen. William Moffat-Reilly Medal during a ceremony in the Wing headquarters building here Sept. 10.
Yearly, one medal is awarded to the member with the longest continuous service in the Pa. National Guard – Army or Air Force.
“Most years it goes to the Army, but this year it went to the Air [National Guard]” said Pa. Air National Guard Command Chief Victor Guerra, of the 171st Air Refueling Wing, Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. “Out of 20, 000 Pennsylvania National Guardsmen, it’s quite impressive that Master Sgt. Fisher earned it this year.”
January will mark Fisher’s 42nd year as a militiaman for the commonwealth. He attributes his achievement to a combination of perseverance, commitment and honesty.
“It says a lot about his character in not only military service, but service to Pennsylvania for that amount of time. “ Guerra said. “It is an extraordinary achievement.”
Fisher stated that he has spent nearly the entire tenure of his service with the Pa. ANG as a drill-status Guardsman.
“My only DD214 was from basic military training (BMT),” said Fisher. “I’ve seen commanders come and I’ve seen commanders go, and to have this opportunity to still be here for forty-something years is outstanding to me.”
For a Pa. National Guard member to earn the medal, their time in service must be continuous within the Pa. National Guard. Therefore, any years in the military spent in the active-duty Air Force, the active-duty Army or another military branch are not added to the cumulative years.
As a career-long member of the now-111th ATKW, his roles spanned the communications field, the 111th Air Operations Group and the 111th Force Support Squadron. Today, Fisher serves as the liaison between the Wing's nonprior-service members and their send-off to BMT. His job is to offer basic military knowledge to 111th ATKW recruits and ready them for not only BMT, but also a career with the Air National Guard.
For Fisher, the years accrued allow him to better serve in his current position.
“There’s knowledge I can give the new recruits to say, ‘Look, you can do this,'” he stated. “And you never know how long you are going to be in, so enjoy it and make the best of it.”
| Date Taken: | 09.20.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 09.20.2016 11:43 |
| Story ID: | 210086 |
| Location: | HORSHAM, PA, US |
| Web Views: | 1,022 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Pa. NG recognizes 111th ATKW Airman as longest-serving Guardsman, by Andria Allmond, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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