OKLAHOMA CITY – Senate Majority Leader Kim David said she was deeply honored to administer the oath of enlistment to Chief Master Sgt. Scott Irwin, Oklahoma National Guard Joint Force Headquarters Superintendent, as he signed on for another two years of service.  The reenlistment ceremony was held Thursday at the state Capitol in the Senate chamber.

Irwin, of Oklahoma City, first enlisted in the Oklahoma Air National Guard in 1992.  He’s been deployed in support of various operations, including Operation Joint Forge, Iraqi Freedom, Horn of Africa, and Enduring Freedom and has received numerous awards and decorations throughout his career, including the Oklahoma Meritorious Service Medal, the Alfred P. Murrah Service Medal and the Governor’s Distinguished Unit Award Ribbon.

David, R-Porter, is a recipient of the Oklahoma Medal of Freedom for her legislation creating the Guard Advocacy Program to better support quality of life and mental health, and comes from a family steeped in the tradition of military service.   She’s worked with Irwin on key legislative issues throughout her tenure, and said she was proud and humbled to administer the oath of enlistment to her long-time colleague and friend.

“This was such a tremendous honor for me.  My daughter is also in the National Guard, and I’ve seen the ceremony done many times but being the one to administer the oath was a first for me,” David said. “It really was touching and a privilege to be able to do this.”

Irwin said there is a requirement that the person who administers the oath must also be a notary public.  David didn’t hesitate to add that title to her resume.

“She’s been such a good friend to me personally and to the Oklahoma National Guard,” Irwin said.  “It meant so much that Senator David was willing to do this.”

Brig. Gen. Raymond Siegfried, Assistant Adjutant General, Oklahoma Air National Guard, was among those attending the ceremony.

“The Oklahoma National Guard’s reporting relationship is to the governor and the state, so to be able to come here to the Capitol for this ceremony is not only the perfect setting, but it symbolizes and reflects this relationship,” Siegfried said.

For more information, contact:  Sen. Kim David at 405-521-5590, or email [email protected]