Photo By Master Sgt. Joseph Harwood | Senior Airman Matthew Brown, Electrical Systems Airman at the 200th RED HORSE Squadron...... read more read more
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Senior Airman Matthew Brown, Electrical Systems Airman at the 200th RED HORSE Squadron Det. 1, Mansfield, Ohio, recently was awarded the 179th Airlift Wing Base Honor Guard Member of the Year for 2020.
When asked what intrigued him about becoming a part of the honor guard, Brown attributed it to an experience he had when his grandfather passed away.
“My grandfather served in the Army during the Korean War,” said Brown. “He had military honors at his funeral, the legacy the honor guard left with my family was profound. During the final tribute to your loved one’s life, the honor guard is there. The flag is presented in the most beautiful way. It sounds cliché, but it really is a touching moment.”
Brown now gets to be a part of that experience as a member of the base honor guard, and his dedication to the honor guard team landed him the title of the 2020 179th Airlift Wing Base Honor Guard Member of the Year.
“It was a total surprise being nominated; I was completely blown away when I found out that I was going to compete at the state level.”
Brown accredits his leadership in the honor guard and his civilian employer at the time for his success and says that he would not have been able to achieve this without their support and guidance.
“At the time, I was working as a service technician at a Michigan-based company,” said Brown. “They understood the high volumes of details the honor guard was needed for, and they were extremely flexible in my work schedule, which allowed me to be a part of many honor guard details when the need was most dire.”
Brown also said that Master Sgt. Michael Swick, Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge (NCOIC) of the 179th Airlift Wing Base Honor Guard, and Master Sgt. Daniel Petry, the NCOIC of the 121st Air Refueling Wing Base Honor Guard in Columbus, Ohio, was to thank for their dedication to helping him grow as a member of the honor guard.
“Airman of the Year is a wonderful form of recognition, but anyone who says they earned an award on their own simply doesn’t understand how life works,” said Brown. “I have MSgt Swick and MSgt Petry and everyone else on the honor guard team to thank. They put a lot of time into helping train me, rehearsing every aspect of honor guard detail over and over. Without them, I would not be the honor guard member I am today.”
Brown will move forward and compete against the winners from the other Ohio Air National Guard bases at the state level, hoping to move forward to the National Guard Bureau level. There, he would compete against Air National Guard members throughout the United States to secure a spot competing against base honor guard members Air Force wide.
| Date Taken: | 02.07.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 02.12.2021 12:54 |
| Story ID: | 388553 |
| Location: | MANSFIELD, OH, US |
| Web Views: | 272 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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