| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant Ken Huhman of San |
|
|
Antonio has been awarded two Bronze Stars with Valor for heroic |
|
|
action in Afghanistan; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, A 1992 graduate of Kilgore High School, Master |
|
|
Sergeant Huhman served in the marines for four years before joining |
|
|
the air force in 1996; he has served one tour of duty in Iraq, and he |
|
|
has been deployed twice to Afghanistan; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, In 2007, Master Sergeant Huhman served as a combat |
|
|
air controller in Kandahar Province in Afghanistan, where he was |
|
|
embedded with a U.S. Army Special Forces detachment, engaging |
|
|
Taliban militants in the difficult mountain terrain; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, This outstanding combat controller received his |
|
|
first Bronze Star as a result of his actions on September 5 and 6, |
|
|
2007, when his team was pinned down by Taliban forces; over the |
|
|
course of a harrowing 26-hour period, during which he repeatedly |
|
|
exposed himself to enemy fire, Master Sergeant Huhman coordinated a |
|
|
number of successful assaults by American aircraft; the engagement |
|
|
resulted in 41 enemy fighters killed, while no American lives were |
|
|
lost; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Master Sergeant Huhman earned his second Bronze Star |
|
|
in November 2007, when his team was conducting reconnaissance on an |
|
|
enemy position; for 11 hours he guided attacks by fighter planes and |
|
|
helicopter gunships, continuing to provide direction even after he |
|
|
was temporarily blinded by the explosion of a mortar round near his |
|
|
position; later that night, his skilled and courageous actions |
|
|
helped eliminate a number of highly ranked Taliban leaders, making |
|
|
the region safe for many months afterward; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Now a special tactics recruiting officer in San |
|
|
Antonio, Master Sergeant Huhman embodies the highest ideals of the |
|
|
United States armed forces, and his bravery under fire and his |
|
|
unwavering commitment to the mission and to his comrades-in-arms |
|
|
make him truly deserving of commendation; now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas |
|
|
Legislature, 1st Called Session, hereby congratulate Master |
|
|
Sergeant Ken Huhman on his receipt of two Bronze Stars with Valor |
|
|
and extend to him sincere best wishes for continued success in all |
|
|
his endeavors; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
|
prepared for Master Sergeant Huhman as an expression of high regard |
|
|
by the Texas House of Representatives. |