Serving for Aug. 16, 2012
August 15, 2012 1:22PM
Updated: September 17, 2012 6:03AM
Here is a look at what Southlanders are accomplishing in the military including news from Park Forest, Chicago and Crestwood.
Estrada graduates combat training
Army Pvt. Antonio X. Estrada has graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C.
Estrada is the son of Martha Adkins, of Park Forest. He is a 2010 graduate of Rich East High School.
Leal wins Army award
Army Sgt. Sharia C. Leal has been named Noncommissioned Officer of the Year for the U.S. Army Public Health Command Headquarters and Headquarters Company.
Selection was based on the individual’s exemplary duty performance, job knowledge, leadership qualities, teamwork, significant self-improvement, personal achievements, notable accomplishments and community service and support.
Leal is a training noncommissioned officer assigned to Aberdeen Proving Ground near Aberdeen, Md. She has served in the military for four years.
Leal is the daughter of Maria C. Carraco, of Chicago. She graduated in 1998 from Thomas Kelly High School in Chicago and earned a bachelor’s degree in 2006 from Robert Morris University in Chicago.
Crestwood soldiers participate in combat training
Soldiers with Battery B, 2nd Battalion, 122nd Field Artillery Regiment in Crestwood recently navigated through an improvised explosive device (IED) and vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) exercise during the Illinois Army National Guard’s eXportable Combat Training Capability program at Camp Ripley in Little Falls, Minn.
Military officials said the training provided soldiers with the most up-to-date, real-life scenarios they may encounter while deployed overseas.
Provided to the SouthtownStar
