LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
Staff Sgt. Dennis Davis was awarded the Bronze Star on May 14 in a ceremony held at Hangar 9 at Brooks City-Base, Texas.
He was awarded the nation's ninth highest military decoration by Col. Joseph Pridotkas, 67th Network Warfare Wing commander, for his outstanding dedication to duty during combat operations while on a yearlong tour in Iraq.
While detailed to a weapons inspection team outside Fallujah in 2007, Sergeant Davis personally spent more than 550 hours "outside the wire," more than any other WIT combined.
A member of the esteemed WIT Team 9, or "close-nit-WIT Team 9," as they were affectionately known, Sergeant Davis' duties consisted of assisting Explosive Ordnance Disposal team members in identifying and analyzing improvised explosive devices and other ordnance.
On one major mission, Sergeant Davis worked on a vehicle borne device factory taken over by coalition forces, where 20,000 pounds of weapons were found.
Another mission involved working on six major VBD sites, where hundreds of Iraqi citizens were taken out of harm's way by finding and disposing of the devices before they could be detonated.
Considered the "key to continuity" he led his team and command to overwhelming success.
Humbled by the entire ceremony, Sergeant Davis told how his days were made easier by his faith in God and countless morale calls to his fiancee and son. He accepted the award in his father's loving memory.
He also recounted remembering the feeling he received the moment he arrived on station, where there was tension between the local nationals and American Soldiers.
The unwanted forces were greeted with looks of hatred on empty war-torn streets in the first month of 2007.
Shortly thereafter, Sergeant Davis experienced the day the war became "real" for him: Feb. 13. That day, his vehicle was attacked and sustained minimal damage by an IED. Sergeant Davis left Iraq in December 2007.