Master sergeant ends honorable career
April 11, 2012 2:24PM
Jeffrey D. Tibble
Article Extras
Updated: May 13, 2012 8:02AM
U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Jeffrey D. Tibble is retiring after serving 26 years of active-duty service.
Tibble was honored at a retirement ceremony March 23 held at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. Present for his retirement ceremony were his proud parents, Robert and Barbara Tibble of Joliet.
Tibble’s last duty assignment before retiring was with 673rd Security Forces Squadron Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska.
During his military career, he received numerous decorations and medals. To name a few, he has received the Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters; Air Force Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster; Joint Service Achievement Medal; Air Force Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters; Joint Meritorious Unite Award with two oak leaf clusters; Meritorious Unit Award; Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Valor Device and 13 oak leaf clusters; combat Readiness Medal; Air Force Good Conduct Medal with seven oak leaf clusters; Nation Defense Service Medal with one bronze star; Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal; Iraq Campaign medal with one bronze star; Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Korean Defense Medal; Armed Forces Service Medal; Humanitarian Service Medal with one bronze star; Air Force Overseas Short Tour Ribbon with four oak leaf clusters; Air Force Overseas Long Tour Ribbon with five oak leaf clusters; Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon with three oak leaf clusters; Air Force Longevity Service Ribbon with five oak leaf clusters; Noncommissioned Officers Professional Military Education Ribbon with two oak leaf clusters; Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon with one bronze star; Air Force Training Ribbon; United National Medal; and NATO Medal-Yugoslavia.
Tibble has been deployed on five separate occasions. In 1994 he was deployed to Kigali, Rwanda as part of Operation Support Home, and in 1995 he was deployed to Zagreb, Croatia as part of the U.S. Joint Task Force Operation Providence Promise. In 2000 and again in 2002 he deployed to Saudi Arabia as part of Operation Southern Watch, 363rd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron. His last deployment was in 2003, when he was sent to Iraq as part of Operations Enduring Freedom/Iraqi Freedom.
Tibble completed basic training Sept. 23, 1986, and graduated from the Security Police Academy security specialist courses in January 1987. His first duty assignment was from March 1987 to June 1988 as an alert fire team member, close-in sentry, close boundary sentry and emergency service team member with the 42nd Security Police Squadron at Loring AFB in Maine. Other duty assignments carried him over seas to Germany and Korea.
His dad, Robert Tibble, was drafted and served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War from 1953 to 1955.
Jeffrey Tibble resides in Anchorage, Alaska, with his wife, Miae, and their two children, Kevin and Emily. His future plans include working in the civilian sector.
We wish Tibble great success for his future employment!
Other military news
The grand opening of the new Armed Forces Reserve Center and the Joliet Training Area is scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon April 14. The Joliet AFRC and Local Training Area are a $23 million construction project.
The Joliet Armed Forces Reserve Center is at 20610 S. Arsenal Road in Elwood. The AFRC is comprised of a new 600-person reserve center that was completed in November 2011 and a new $8.7 million Area Maintenance Support Activity facility that was completed last fall. The Joliet Local Training Area is comprised of more than 3,500 acres and includes various ranges and a rappel wall. The site also includes a 150-kilovolt photovoltaic solar array. The array is designed to operate in conjunction with the local utility grid, allowing it to power the 60,000-square-foot Armed Forces Reserve Center directly from the inverter and send any excess energy back to the utility grid.
Guided tours of the reserve center, the photovoltaic array and the maintenance facility will be available after the opening ceremony.
For more information or to R.S.V.P., contact Randy Belden at randolph.j.belden@usar.army.mil or 608-377-1350.
Jean Edwards seeks veterans to write about in this column that features a local veteran. She can be reached at 815-773-7172 or jedwards@stmedianetwork.com.
