Birds fly high in Afghanistan and this “Hawk” soared!
Terry Hawkins (Hawk), Tulsa District USACE set the pace with the Mission Support Services division as an Administrative Support Specialist, while deployed in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel and Resolute Support Mission, Afghanistan District.
Hawk is one of those pure individuals who will tell you like it is and not mince words. Respected and well-liked among his peers he truly has left a void as he has re-deployed first and foremost to his family, and secondly to the District that gave him his wings and sent him on his journey to the contingency mission overseas.
The Transatlantic Afghanistan District is happy to have had Terry Hawkins on the team. Prior to his departure from this enduring mission he was presented with as he would call them “the standard” Global War on Terrorism Medal.
This medal however, symbolizes the honor and achievement of civilians with the Department of Defense to defend freedom against danger that may develop on foreign soil. The ribbon’s blue stripe is associated with the Department of Defense; gold represents excellence; black and red symbolize threat of terrorism; and the red, white, and blue are for patriotism and love of freedom.
Hawkins, an Army Veteran wears this medal proudly. He was also presented with the Department of the Army Commander’s Award for Civilian Service, which read in part, “Mr. Hawkins processed more than a hundred civilian and military awards and was responsible for the daily accountability reporting of our almost-daily changing and distributed USACE team to higher headquarters.
“Terry is the ultimate team player, stepping into a multitude of diverse roles to ensure the mission was executed with minimal impact to productivity. His willingness to support the District was critical to the success of how we say hello, how we say thank you and how we say good bye.”
But Terry also knew how to maintain the enduring time in between the hello’s, thank you’ s, and good bye’ s. His support to the NATO mission in theater earned him the NATO Medal for service in relation to the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan during his time in theater.
“Thank you all for a great deployment,” said Hawk. While there have been ups and downs, all in all it has been a great experience.”
He was very grateful to his supervisor for what he called “seeing something in me and giving me the chance to work outside my comfort zone.” Hawk is just one of those dynamic individuals who can take a blank slate and create a process from it.
His parting words to those remaining at the district were to take care of each other, respect one another, and accomplish the mission. Castle Strong Hawk! Tulsa District will enjoy hearing your “war stories”.