Rubin Avila-Burns
Assistant Station Commander of the
Times Square Recruiting Station
Staff Sergeant Rubin Avila-Burns was presented with an Army Achievement Medal by General William S. Wallace recently for his work in the days following the March 6 bombing of the Times Square Recruiting Station.
Wallace, commander of the United States Army Training and Doctrine command at Fort Monroe, VA presented the award to Avila-Burns, the Assistant Station Commander at the Times Square Recruiting Station, for his diligent work in restoring the station to operations in such a short period of time after the station was hit with a low-order explosive device, causing the front door and windows of the station to shatter.
“We are soldiers and we live by the warrior ethos and soldiers creed - ‘never quit, never leave a fallen comrade and never accept defeat’- I just have to take my hat off to you for never quitting, never accepting defeat and always putting the mission first,” said Wallace. “Thank you for getting this station back on line in such great order.”
While the Army Corps of Engineers made sure the recruiting station was structurally sound, Avila, along with Sergeant 1st Class James Latella, embodied the values of “duty” and “selfless-service” by conducting enlistment interviews, dealing with the media and continuing routine operations. Because of the combined efforts of the Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Army Recruiting Command, the station was operational and officially re-opened at 5:06 p.m. on March 6, fewer than 14 hours after the bombing took place.
The Times Square Recruiting Station is open Monday through Saturday from 8:30 a.m. until 8:00 p.m.
