When a devastating earthquake hit northeastern Afghanistan last week, the 27 members of the 122nd Rear Operations Center were ready to provide assistance from their base Kabul. The Georgia Army Guardsmen were activated in December and have been in Afghanistan participating in Operation Enduring Freedom as part of a coalition unit known as the Coalition Joint Civil-Military Operations Task Force.
The ROC was tasked find relief supplies, arrange transportation, determine what threat Taliban and al-Qaida fighters might be and make sure security was available after aid workers arrived on the scene. An estimated 1,000 people died in the March 25 quake.
Lt. Col. Rick Barr, deputy commander of the 122nd, said the unit took only 45 minutes to plan the operation. That plan, Barr said, was for the military to get the relief pipeline flowing and then let the United Nations and nongovernmental organizations take charge. Helicopters from the 10th Mountain Division and 101st Airborne Division flew more than 90 tons of supplies to the region.
Before the earthquake, unit members focused on getting Afghan schools in shape for the school year that began March 23. Col. C.J. Nutter, the 122nd's commander and deputy commander of the task force, said many schools have been damaged or destroyed by two decades of fighting in Afghanistan.
The unit has also been working closely with the interim national government and local officials throughout the country to begin what they feel are vital rebuilding projects. Those projects include cleaning silt out of clogged canals in time for spring planting, repairing bombed-out bridges and damaged hospitals and helping women's groups get organized.
Over the past three months, the unit has identified about 150 projects it and Afghan officials believe are vital. Only 38 have been approved for funding, but they stretch from Mazar-e-Sharif in the north to the capital, Kabul, in central Afghanistan to Herat in the far west, Nutter said.
-- Some of the information for this story was taken from an April 2 article filed by Atlanta Journal-Constitution staff writer Ron Martz
A standing ovation and cheers of support met Georgia Department of Defense representatives when the DoD was announced a 2001 winner of the Georgia Oglethorpe Award for performance excellence during the awards banquet in March. Brig. Gen Terry, Nesbitt, who led the team in preparing and submitting the 55-page application, accepted the award on behalf of the organization.
The Georgia DoD is the first state agency to win the honor.
The Oglethorpe Award, which is the highest level of state recognition for an organization in Georgia, uses the Malcolm Baldrige quality criteria to measure performance excellence.
Started in 1997, the Oglethorpe Award's purpose is to strengthen Georgia's economic development initiatives by raising the performance bar of the state's organizations and people.
In addition to the Georgia Department of Defense, recipients this year include Turner Studios, Stephens County Middle School, and the Facilities and Operations Division of Gwinnett County Public Schools. Only eight organizations have won the award since its inception.
Scott A. Hammond, Air Guard chief of staff, became the Georgia National Guard's newest general officer during a March ceremony at Dobbins Air Reserve Base. He becomes one of the youngest general officers in the Georgia Air National Guard's 47-year history.
A native of Lancaster, Ohio, Hammond is a 1975 distinguished graduate of the United States Air Force Academy. He is a command pilot with more than 3,300 flight hours in the T-37, T-38, F-15 and B-1. Among his active duty assignments, Hammond served as assistant to the deputy chief of staff, Plans and Operations, at the Pentagon and was an F-15 pilot with the 33rd Tactical Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.
Hammond joined the Georgia Air Guard's 116th Tactical Fighter Wing in December 1985 as its air operations officer and served in various command capacities including instructor fighter pilot in the F-15, commander of the 128th Fighter Squadron and vice wing commander. He also represented the wing in the prestigious "William Tell" fighter competition.
Hammond is a Boeing 727 captain and chief pilot with Northwest Airlines. He serves as Chairman of the Northwest Airlines Safety Action Program. He and his family live in Villa Rica.
The new Georgia Army National Guard Detachment established at North Georgia College & State University in January in Dahlonega was activated March 11 in a ceremony on North Georgia's Owen Drill Field.
The detachment, which is named the Cooperative Cadet Training program, trains North Georgia cadets who are also members of the National Guard. The cadet/Guardsmen attend half of their drill weekends at the university and the remainder of their military obligations with their regularly assigned units.
Maj. Ben Sartain, NGCSU's National Guard liaison, said the unit is designed to enhance the leadership of National Guard soldiers and to keep them in the Guard once they commission as officers.
Lt. Col. Bill Shaw, North Georgia's Army ROTC executive officer, said this first unit of it's kind where military training takes place at a public university. Its activation solidifies the university's commitment to the Georgia Army Guard.
The new detachment conducted its first training weekend Jan. 12-13, with cadets traveling to Pine Valley and rehearsing infantry patrolling operations. In February, the soldiers were in Winder where they used the Army's JANUS war fighting simulator to conduct a battle scenario.
Three individuals and two organizations with the Georgia Department of Defense have been selected to receive Georgia public employee recognition awards.
This year's recipients are:
This year's awardees will be honored May 8 as part of the Public Employee Recognition Day celebration at the State Capitol. The event will held be during Georgia Public Employee Recognition Week, May 6-10, which is in conjunction with the National Public Service Week sponsored by the National Governors Association.
One of six Georgia Army Guard M88A1 Recovery Vehicles undergoing depot-level repairs by Marine Corps Logistics Base maintenance center in Albany was unveiled during a March 28 ceremony.
Maintenance Center employees, officials with the Georgia Guard and the National Guard Bureau in Washington, state and local politicians gave a standing ovation as the camouflage tarp covering the 112,000-pound vehicle was removed.
The first of the M88s rebuilt at the center was returned to the Guard March 8. Work on it was completed Feb. 27. Another of the M88s is expected to leave the center's maintenance bay this month.
The other two recovery vehicles arrived at the center for rework the day of the ceremony. It's expected the National Guard Bureau will fund at least two more vehicles by the end of this fiscal year, bringing the number of M88s receiving needed depot-level maintenance to eight.
Under the M88A1 Rebuild Program, the vehicles are disassembled, their hulls sandblasted, primed and painted. Components from each M88 is inspected, replaced or rebuilt. Each vehicle is then reassembled and road tested before it's returned to the Guard.
Members of the Air Guard's 116th Bomb Wing attended the reading of a resolution April 1 in the chambers of the Georgia State Senate honoring the unit and its airmen.
Senate Resolution 776 co-sponsored by State Senators Michael J. Moore and Jack Hill, and others, outlined the Wing's history and its eventual change in October from flying B-1 bombers to operating Air Force JSTAR aircraft.
It also commended the 116th and its members for their continuing role in Operation Noble Eagle and the war on terrorism, as well as the unit's "superb record of readiness, safety and successful global missions."
Col. Tom Lynn, 116th BW commander and several of his airmen were on hand to receive the resolution from Moore and Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor.
About 32 members of Company B, 161st Medical Battalion in Kennesaw are about to spend part of their spring giving aid to people in Nicaragua as part of Operation New Horizons.
The medics will visit two remote villages in the south central section of the country from April 12 to 28. They will provide routine health care, dental care and preventive medicine services to the residents of El Coral and Los Santos.
Unit members will also dispense about 1,000 pairs of eyeglasses donated by community-service organizations.
An estimated 500,000 Nicaraguans suffer from a variety of diseases, including HIV-AIDS, and many experience sight problems because they cannot afford glasses.
Operation New Horizons is a U.S. Southern Command sponsored joint training exercise. In existence since the late 1980s, it uses Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine resources to provide medical and engineering assistance to nations in the U.S. Army South area of operations.
The Georgia Army Guard is continuing its search for soldiers to fill the ranks of a new unit it's forming.
Soldiers who are qualified fuel handlers are being sought for the 165th Quartermaster Company, said Maj. Joseph Hoffman, 78th Troop Command personnel officer.
The 165th will be stationed in Brunswick. Its mission will be to "receive, store and transfer bulk petroleum to divisional and non-divisional units." It will also establish and operate temporary petroleum storage facilities for general support of divisional and non-divisional units.
Hoffman said those soldiers who may be thinking about leaving the Guard because of the long commute to their present units might want to give joining the 165th some thought.
Anyone wanting more information should contact Hoffman by e-mail at Joe.Hoffman@ga.ngb.army.mil
The Georgia National Guard Counterdrug Task Force hosted two courses presented by the National Interagency Civil-Military Institute this past month at Dobbins Air Reserve Base.
A three-day Gang Violence and Drug Symposium provided the latest information on gang prevention activities to 38 local and state law enforcement officers. The symposium addressed various ways of reducing gang activities in communities. Past operations and programs that reduced drug trafficking and violent crimes perpetrated by gangs were analyzed.
The Substance Abuse Prevention Specialist Training was well received by more than 60 from state and location prevention coalitions. The SAPST curriculum is designed to provide pre-service and in-service personnel with up-to-date research based information in the prevention field. Topics included prevention research, current drug trends, cultural relevancy, ethics, human development and social marketing.
The task force will host another NICI course in August, this one entitled "Preparing for and Managing the Consequences of Terrorism," said Lt. Col. Stan Crowder, the counterdrug task force commander. With an expected attendance of more than100 participants, Crowder encourage those interested in the class to register early at the NICI website (http://www.nici.org).
STARC's Military Personnel Office now has in intranet Web site from which Army Guardsmen can access a variety of information.
The site address is \\intranet\milpo\milpo.htm. The site can only be accessed through computers on the GaARNG server...not the World Wide Web.
Chief Warrant Officer 4 Beverly L. Pack, chief of the officer management team said all units/MACOMs are encouraged to add the MILPO site to their "favorites" and visit it often. Updates will be posted in a timely manner.
As for the Officer Management Team section, individuals who click on that link can find info on upcoming boards, packet suspense dates, all current Standard Operating Procedures, regulations, forms and other "good info to know," she said.
Anyone with suggestions or comments about the new site better should contact MILPO. This site is just a skeleton start and improvements are definitely welcomed, Pack said.
Final plans are being made for the 2002 Joint Annual Commanders' Conference, which will be held 12-14 April at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Macon.
The theme of the three-day event will be the National Guard's role in supporting homeland security. Participants will also celebrate the winning of the Georgia Oglethorpe Award for Performance Excellence. Congressman Sanford Bishop is scheduled to be guest speaker at the Saturday evening dinner. Other presenters will include Col. Jeff Mathis, Homeland Security chief for National Guard Bureau.
Attendance at the annual conference is by invitation only. For information, contact the Directorate of Communications at 404-624-6066.
Warrant Officer Professional Development Day is April 28 at the Regional Training Institute in Macon.
Chief Warrant Officer 5 Gerald A. Key, command chief warrant officer, said all warrant officers are strongly urged to attend and all commanders should encourage their warrant officers to participate. Key also said those who attend are authorized to do so in a split assembly status.
Letters addressed to commanders and warrant officers can be found on the warrant officer Web page under "Hot Topics." The page, he said, can be accessed through the Officer Management Training Section of the Military Personnel Office Web page at \\intranet\milpo\milpo.htm
The 27th Annual State Conference for the Enlisted Association of the National Guard of Georgia is May 31 – June 2 at Jekyll Island's Jekyll Inn.
For more information about the conference, contact Master Sgt. Jackie McKennie at 404-675-5323.
This year's Georgia National Guard Earth Day is set for 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., April 22. Earth Day is an international event that demonstrates concern and initiates support for the environment. Army Earth Day represents the dedication of the Army to sustain and maintain the environment for its soldiers, families and area communities.
Once again, the Army is sponsoring Earth Day at Zoo Atlanta, and the Georgia Guard will be one of the exhibitors. This year's exhibit will include:
April 21-27, 2002 is National Volunteer Week and the State Family Readiness Office is looking for volunteers to visit the Atlanta Veterans Hospital at 0900, April 24.
Individuals who would like to be at the VA hospital but cannot can contribute by donating comfort items such as tooth paste and tooth brushes and mouthwash that contains no alcohol, combs/brushes, soaps, disposable razors and aftershave, and other toiletries. Nail polish for the ladies, lotions, baby oil and socks can also be donated.
Anyone with questions about Volunteer Day at the VA hospital or wanting to signup should call 404-624-6420 or e-mail altamese.finch@ga.ngb.army.mil. Personnel coming from the Savannah area to visit the hospital should contact Frank Baker at 912-966-8363.
For more information about making a donation, call Maj. Rene Kuhn at 404-624-6454.
Signup is underway for the sixth annual 78th Troop Command Golf Tournament scheduled for June 21. Contact 78th Troop Command in Decatur for more information at 404-299-4400 or 404-299-4401.
This year's National Guard Officer/Enlisted Golf Tournament is May 31 at Indian Mounds Golf Course. Deadline to register is 24 May. Anyone interested in registering should do so as soon as possible. This way pairings can be made in advance and changes on the day of the tournament will be minimized.
For more information call Lt. Col. Tim Becton at 478-464-3206 or 706-213-9709. Burton can also be reached by e-mail at timbecton@aol.com
The Family Readiness Office and the Georgia Family Advisory Council will publish the new cookbook, with all proceeds from its sale going to support the Georgia National Guard Foundation.
Georgia's GNGF provides humanitarian support to members of the Georgia Department of Defense and their families.
The Readiness Office and Advisory Council are asking each unit and Family Readiness Group to submit recipes. The book will be filled with the best recipes, which need to be in the Family Readiness Office by May 1. They can be sent by e-mail or snail mail. For more information call 404-624-6454 or 1-800-625-5843.
First Friday Briefing is published monthly for the soldiers, airmen and employees of the Georgia Department of Defense, Georgia Army National Guard, Georgia Air National Guard and Georgia State Defense Force. If you'd like to be added to our subscription list and have the First Friday Briefing faxed or emailed, or you have comments or story submission, call the Directorate of Communications at (404) 624-6060 or DSN 338-6060. Or email Leigh.Burchfield@ga.ngb.army.mil
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