[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 64 (Tuesday, May 8, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E725]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


HONORING ILLINOIS AIR NATIONAL GUARD TECH. SGT. JACOB CURTIS, RECENTLY 
           NAMED A 2012 AIR NATIONAL GUARD AIRMAN OF THE YEAR

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                         HON. JERRY F. COSTELLO

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 8, 2012

  Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join 
me in honoring Tech. Sgt. Jacob Curtis, of the Illinois Air National 
Guard, who was recently selected as a 2012 Air National Guard 
Outstanding Airman of the Year.
  Tech. Sgt. Jacob Curtis, of Fairview Heights, Illinois, serves with 
the Illinois Air National Guard 126th Air Refueling Wing's Security 
Forces Squadron at Scott Air Force Base. He recently received a phone 
call from Maj. Gen. William L. Enyart, the Adjutant General of the 
Illinois National Guard, to notify him that he was named one of the 
2012 Air National Guard Outstanding Airmen of the Year, the highest 
national achievement the Air National Guard has to offer.
  Tech. Sgt. Curtis will now be in the running to be one of the Air 
Force's 2012 Twelve Outstanding Airmen of the Year, and he has already 
received numerous awards in his military career. He was named the NCO 
of the Quarter in 2011, Squadron NCO of the Year in both 2008 and 2011, 
Mission Support Group NCO of the Year in 2011, and 126th Air Refueling 
Wing NCO of the Year in 2011.
  Col. Peter Nezamis, commander of the 126th Air Refueling Wing, called 
Tech. Sgt. Curtis a ``gifted and giving professional'' and made 
reference to his family's sacrifice for their country as they have 
endured numerous overseas deployments. Curtis has recently returned 
from a 6 month deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
  During his deployment in Afghanistan, while at Bagram Airfield, Tech. 
Sgt. Curtis took decisive action when a nearby building was hit by 
indirect enemy rocket fire. There were several casualties and Curtis, 
the first to reach the scene, saw that one Airman had suffered a broken 
leg that had lacerated his femoral artery. Curtis tied a tourniquet 
around the Airman's leg and stayed with him until medical personnel 
arrived.
  In addition to this act of heroism, Curtis was also recommended for 
this award because of his ``dedication to duty, superior knowledge, and 
unwavering volunteerism.''
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Tech. Sgt. 
Jacob Curtis on being named a 2012 Air National Guard Outstanding 
Airman of the Year, and in wishing him and his family the very best in 
the future.

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