ALBANY, Ga. - A Marine officer from Mt. Hermon was recently awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his role in the Global War on Terrorism, military officials announced this week.
Maj. Kevin R. Scott, a supply officer currently stationed in Florida, was awarded the high honor during a ceremony in January by Maj. Gen. Willie J. Williams.
 COURTESY PHOTO Maj. Gen. Willie J. Williams, commanding general, Marine Corps Logistics Command awards Maj. Kevin R. Scott the Bronze Star Medal Jan. 3. Advertisement |
"I am honored to be here and present this award to you and say thank you so much for what you have done," Williams said during the ceremony.
According to the citation, Scott, while under enemy fire on repeated occasions, immediately set up at Landing Zone Dogwood to receive and account for more than 10,700 excess supply items and arranged for their timely transportation to the United States via sealift and airlift.
Four years of combat in the Global War on Terrorism had resulted in a critical equipment crisis for the Marine Corps. The inspector general of the Marine Corps identified literally thousands of excess principle end items no longer being utilized in combat with no means to return them to the United States to fill enormous home station equipment shortfalls.
That's where Scott came in.
Scott's performance and that of his command, operating in an austere environment, assisted the forward deployed Marine Air Ground Task Force by "taking a rock out of their pack" by taking control of all excess equipment in Iraq and processing it for movement out of theater back to the U.S., the summary of action read.
The Iraqi base where Scott was stationed received indirect fire on a frequent basis, sometimes daily for weeks before a lull.
Additionally, Scott's position required him to frequently travel between forward operating bases to coordinate operations with other Marine personnel and, on occasion, was subject to indirect fire as well.
According to the summary of action, it was during these times that Scott displayed his leadership and calmness which was directly responsible for the calming effect that permeated to the members of his team.
"Whenever anyone receives an award or a promotion, it feels great. But for an officer to receive an award or recognition, it isn't that officer's award, it belongs to the personnel that were with him," said Scott as he addressed the crowd during the ceremony.
"If the Marines don't have the equipment to train to be effective, then naturally they can't be effective when performing their duties and responsibilities, but it's even bigger than that," said Scott. "Not having the equipment, the Marines lose that competitive edge that defines us. Having a great force requires equipment and if you marry the two together, you have an unbeatable force."
Scott added that he could not have done his job without the support of his wife Glynda and their 7-year-old son Karsten.
Scott's mother, Romenia S. James of Mt. Hermon, said Thursday that she is very proud of her son, and she is very glad he returned home safely.
"I am just so happy and thrilled for him," she said. "We know that there is a God that watches over us daily."
James said her son will be deployed to Afghanistan later this month. She said she will continue to pray for him every day.
Daily News assistant managing editor Jacob Brooks contributed to this report.
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