Kentucky Air Guardsman honored by Louisville Armed Forces Committee

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  • By 123rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
  • 123rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
KENTUCKY AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, LOUISVILLE, Ky. --  Staff Sgt. Jeff Kinlaw, a combat controller in the Kentucky Air National Guard's 123rd Special Tactics Squadron, was honored with the Patriot Award for outstanding military during the 92nd-annual Louisville Armed Forces Committee Dinner, held May 20, 2011, at the Galt House in Louisville, Ky.

Presenting the award were Admiral James A. "Sandy" Winnefeld Jr., commander of U.S. Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command; Maj. Gen. Edward W. Tonini, Kentucky's adjutant general; and Col. Steven Bullard, vice commander of the Kentucky Air National Guard's 123rd Airlift Wing.

Kinlaw, who was selected as the Kentucky Air Guard's Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year for 2011, volunteered to deploy to Afghanistan for five months in 2010.

During that deployment, he conducted 15 combat missions with NATO allies, destroyed 15 improvised explosive devices, executed 75 presence patrols and engaged the enemy on numerous occasions with both small-arms fire and calculated airstrikes, resulting in more than 10 enemy casualties. He also educated U.S. and Afghan National Army soldiers on air power integration, including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; munitions and tactics.

"Sergeant Kinlaw is relatively new to the unit, but he came out of the gate hungry for action," said his supervisor, Capt. Garrett Dawson. "He's extremely motivated and dedicated to exercising his technical skills -- a true warrior committed to taking the fight to the enemy."