AMERICAN HERO AWARD NOMINEE - Richard Tibbetts Jr.
I am the 18 year old daughter of Richard Tibbetts, who just recently retired from the Marine Corps a MSGST, after being in for over 23 years. Of those 18 years of my life, he was gone for AT LEAST half of it. When I was younger he would always go on floats, leaving his wife, daughter, and son behind.
He loves his family dearly, and as much as it hurt him to leave them, he was there for his country, ALWAYS! His recent deployments to Iraq were hard and long. The first was 7 months, the second 1 year, the entire year of my senior year. It killed him to miss that. He was stationed not even at a camp, but a tiny fort on the Iraqi/Syrian border. There was a total of 14 people in his team, plus a few interpreters. They were completely secluded from any civilization. One thing that really hits the heart during these holidays is thinking back to where he was this time last year. On Thanksgiving they were promised a huge fresh meal coming in on a chopper, they looked forward to it for weeks, but all they got was canned turkey.
Throughout his assignment with Border Transition Team 14, he participated in over 100 mounted combat patrols as a patrol leader, gunner or driver, while supervising training and readiness at five border posts as well as security along over 100 kilometers of the Iraq-Syria border. He also contributed extensively to team sustainment efforts. Border Transition Team 14 served as an embedded advisor team with an Iraqi border police unit located approximately 100 kilometers from the Marines at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Waleed and over 130 kilometers from the partnered unit at Korean Village . As a result, the team conducted numerous combat logistic patrols to these Forward Operating Bases to pickup up required items such as bottled drinking water, food, fuel, repair parts and mail. He was an integral part of many of these patrols.
Master Sergeant Tibbetts' final assignment as a military advisor was marked with selfless contribution on many levels as he advised, mentored and trained Iraqi Border Police Units. His dedication to duty and unparalleled professionalism were a key component to success in the region.
The only thing my father has been doing longer than serving the Marine Corps is serving the American Red Cross. The 23-year Marine veteran has been a Red Cross volunteer since age 15. When Hurricane Charlie swept through his home state of Florida in September, Tibbetts requested 21 days of leave to volunteer as an emergency response vehicle coordinator in Bradenton, Fla. He helped provide over 200,000 meals and 600,000 comfort kits to people in need before returning to Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va. His return was short-lived. Another hurricane hit the Southeast the day after his return and Tibbetts was out the door, this time to Andalusia, Ala., and Auburndale, Fla., where he led 25 volunteers in their relief efforts.
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