Florida baseball honors military, 1st 920th Airman amputee

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During a Florida Fire Frogs minor league baseball game August 18, 2017, the team not only honored all military and 1st responders, but they took time out to pay special tribute to Senior Airman Kevin Greene, the 920th Rescue Wing’s first single amputee to return to military service after a tragic accident resulted in the amputation of part of his left leg.

 

In addition to Airman Greene, several other 920th Rescue Wing Airmen were at Osceola County Stadium in Kissimmee participating in the Fire Frogs vs. the Jupiter Hammerheads opening game festivities at 7:05 p.m.

 

Col. Mike ‘Yeti’ LoForti, the 920th Rescue Wing Operations Group Commander, threw out a perfect first pitch, then the Patrick Air Force Base Honor Guard presented the colors while Master Sgt. Heidi White, 920th Maintenance Group training superintendent, sang the national anthem with her 20-year-old daughter Elissa who sings in the Band Anja and the Dreamers.

 

"It was fitting to honor Airman Greene for his service," said Adrian Robles, Fire Frogs marketing manager. After a roughly 2-and-a-half-year battle to continue to serve in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, Senior Airman Kevin Greene, a healthcare management technician with the 920th Rescue Wing, returned to duty Aug. 5, 2017.

 

Greene, who has been a member of the 920th RQW since June 2012, was hit by vehicle while on his motorcycle stopped at a red light in Melbourne, Florida, on Dec. 17, 2014. He underwent multiple surgeries and intense therapy to get back into top physical shape. Greene was denied his first three requests to return to duty, eventually facing a medical evaluation board at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas, in March 2017. After meeting with the board and passing the U.S. Air Force physical fitness test, the board members deemed him fit for service.


Outside of serving with the 920th Rescue Wing, Greene works as a Registered Behavior Technician at Kaleidoscope Interventions, Melbourne, Florida, working with low-level functioning autistic children. He also coaches youth basketball at a local recreation center. Airman Greene proved himself to be the embodiment of the Air Force core values “Integrity First, Service Before Self, and Excellence in All We Do.”