The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, 20 July 1942, takes pleasure in presenting the Legion of Merit to Chief Master Sergeant Marlon K. Nation, United States Air Force, for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the Government of the United States as Command Chief Master Sergeant, Texas Air National Guard, Austin City, Texas, from 12 June 2015 to 9 February 2018. In this important assignment, the exemplary foresight and ceaseless efforts consistently demonstrated by chief Master Sergeant Nation resulted in significant contributions to the effectiveness and success of the Texas Air National Guard. His exemplary leadership, experience, and aggressive focus on mission accomplishment resulted in more than 50 articles on leadership, retention, mentoring, and military customs and courtesies that were published in Wing, Community, and State publications. His focus on effective force management directly contributed to the state finishing above 100 percent manning during his three year tenure. Chief Nation was critical in the dissemination of information between the Domestic Operations Task Force and the three flying Wings during Hurricane HARVEY. He ensured continuity of operations during the largest Stat e Active Duty mobilization in the state’s history, where more than 2,100 individual orders were generated. Additionally, Chief Master Sergeant Nation made significant contributions to further include the Texas Air National Guard in the joint team concept, building stronger inter-service cooperation across the force resulting in additional presentation in specialized mission sets such as the Joint Counterdrug Task Force, Operation STRONG SAFETY, Operation SECURE TEXAS, and Operation LONE STAR. Finally, Chief Master Sergeant Nation was instrumental in the state’s efforts to modernize the fleet. He was a key contributor in the state’s success in securing newer model C-130Hs, MQ-9 Reapers, additional F-16s and a Cyber Ops Squadron. The superior initiative displayed by Command Chief Master Sergeant Nation culminate a long and distinguished career in the service of his country and reflect great credit upon himself, the Air National Guard, and the United States Air Force.