DAHLONEGA - The University of North Georgia's Department of Athletics has announced the kick off its award-winning Operation Nighthawks of Honor initiative as it recognizes service members who were former or current UNG students.
 
The initiative, which is the annual announcement of UNG Athletics' yearlong tribute to the nation's armed forces, will honor 1st Lt. Weston C. Lee. The 2014 graduate of the UNG died Saturday, April 29, 2017 in Mosul, Iraq, from injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated during a patrol.

Lee, 25, of Bluffton, Georgia, was an infantry officer assigned to 1st Battalion, 325th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
 
He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice at UNG and commissioned as a U.S. Army infantry officer from UNG in December 2014. While at UNG, Lee also was involved in Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, Student Government Association, combat shooting team, and rugby.
 
Lee joined the Army in March 2015, and after Infantry Basic Officer Leaders Course, he was assigned to 2nd Brigade Combat Team as a platoon leader. He deployed to Iraq in December 2016; it was his first deployment.
 
Lee's awards and decorations include the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Ranger Tab, the Parachutist Badge, and the Army Service Ribbon. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, and the Meritorious Service Medal.

The sixth annual Operation Nighthawks of Honor ceremony will be held in conjunction with a home athletic event during the Spring 2021 semester with all proceeds from the evening donated to the UNG Boar's Head Brigade Corps of Cadets Endowed Scholarship Fund to which Nighthawk Athletics has donated over $3,700 since the initiative's inception on the 14th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

Additionally, memorabilia used by the 13 UNG programs to commemorate Lee's service will be organized in a display in the Military Leadership Center on the Dahlonega campus at the end of the year.
 
One of only six federally designated senior military colleges in the nation, UNG is The Military College of Georgia and its nationally recognized Army ROTC program attracts students from across the state, region and nation.
 
UNG has commissioned more than 50 General Officers, ten of whom are currently serving in a variety of command positions including: Commander (Third Army/ARCENT), Commander (XVIII Airborne Corps), Deputy Commander (U.S. Army Europe), Commander U.S. Cyber Command and many more. Many other alumni of UNG completed successful military careers and hundreds are currently serving on active duty today at all levels of command.