927th Reservists Sweep Awards At Military Appreciation Banquet

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Shawn Rhodes
  • 927th Air Refueling Wing
TAMPA, Fla. -- --  Socialites, politicians, veterans, and warriors gathered to honor the best among them at the 2013 Military Appreciation Banquet February 27, 2012.

Among those honored were the Reserve Officer of the Year and Reserve Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year. Both awards went to citizen Airmen of the 927th Air Refueling Wing.
Maj. Zach Davidson, chief of training with the 927th Operations Group, received the Reserve Officer of the Year award.

"(Davidson) recently returned from a two month deployment to Southwest Asia where he refueled U.S. and allied forces' aircraft supporting combat operations in Afghanistan," said Col. Thom Pemberton, commander of the 927th OG. "Zach was instrumental in raising over $150K in a short 9 months so the first USO to open anywhere in several years could conduct a grand opening at the Tampa International Airport on 6 Sep 2012."

Senior Master Sgt. Tom Lehmann, the superintendent of the 927th Logistics Readiness Squadron, took the Reserve Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year Award.

"Lehmann and his family are extremely active with the Baldomero Lopez State Veteran's Home where they regularly volunteer," said Maj. Bret Wedding, commander of the 927th LRS. "Additionally, he regularly volunteers with the Newsome High School Band Volunteer Boosters where he donates his time to raise money for the band. He also collected more then 250 trash bags of recyclable material from lake Michaela over the last two years."

In attendance was Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn and Florida Lt. Governor Jennifer Carroll. However, the star of the evening was the keynote speaker retired Lt. Gen. Russel Honore. Honore was best known for his command of the Joint Task Force Katrina, which citizen Airmen played a major role in. He spoke about the legacy set down by George Washington who was outnumbered and outgunned - yet still prevailed.

"It takes leadership and sacrifice to make something great happen," said Honore. "On our worst day (our military) is still better than anyone else in the world."

The general closed his speech by likening the military to sheepdogs that keep the wolves at bay.

"Honor your sheepdogs," Honore told the captive audience. "I know Tampa knows how to do that."