Fort Wainwright Retirement Ceremony

Photo By Staff Sgt. Patricia McMurphy | 1st Sgt. Steven R. Pritchett a Vero Beach native now serving with B Company, 1st Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment, 16th Combat Aviation Brigade, receives his retirement certificate during a ceremony in his honor, June 1, at Fort Wainwright, Alaska.  

FORT WAINWRIGHT, ALASKA, UNITED STATES

06.01.2011

Story by Sgt. Patricia McMurphy 

United States Army Alaska

FORT WAINWRIGHT, Alaska - With a combined total of more than 90 years of service for their country and the U.S. Army, Sgt. 1st Class Chad M. Szych, with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 21st infantry Regiment; 1st Sgt. Steven R. Pritchett, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 52 Aviation Regiment, 16th Combat Aviation Brigade; 1st Sgt. Russell S Hawkins, C 123rd, 16th CAB, and 1st Sgt. Karl Utter, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 16th CAB, were honored in a retirement ceremony June 1 on Fort Wainwright.

Lt. Col. John H Knightstep, commander of the 1/52 Aviation Battalion, 16th CAB, thanked the retiring non-commissioned officers for their unwavering support, patriotism and selfless service to the nation.

“It is important that we remember every soldier who has answered our country’s call to duty,” Knightstep said. “This generation of warriors volunteered to serve our Army knowing the sacrifices and the dangers.”

“The best way we can honor [the retirees] your lives and traditions,” Knightstep said, “is to serve and sacrifice as we have in the past.”

Some of the retirees, such as Pritchett, are leaving the area, but others, like Szych, who has spent more than half of his career in Alaska, plan to retire here.

• Date Taken: 06.01.2011
• Date Posted: 06.07.2011 16:55
• Story ID: 71717
• Location: FORT WAINWRIGHT, ALASKA, US