Honor Guard's aim:
'Focus on the fallen'
Members of the Georgia National Guard Military Honor Guard are meticulous about their uniforms – shirts pressed crisp and shoes polished to a mirror shine. Their movements during funeral honors are deliberate and perfectly choreographed to the high standards set at Arlington National Cemetery. Sharp appearance and discipline aside, this small group of full-time Soldiers’ aim is not to draw attention to themselves, but to render a final professional tribute to fallen service members. Full Story

NGTC Director Lee
earns eagles
Lieutenant Col. David S. Lee of Statesboro, garrison commander and director of the National Guard Training Center, was promoted to the rank of Colonel during a ceremony at Fort Stewart. In his position Col. Lee has responsibility for the overall operation and supervision of the training center to include training, property and base operations support.

GSDF joins search for missing
Gwinnett County youth
Members of the Georgia State Defense Force’s Atlanta-based 1st Brigade assisted Gwinnett County authorities in November in their efforts to find 18-year-old Justin Gaines who disappeared early in the month. More than 135 GSDF volunteers used their military skills to help law enforcement officers scour Gwinnett County and the surrounding country side in the hope of locating the Gainesville State College student .

560th BSB Soldier runs NYC marathon;
Slots open for Guard marathon team
Master Sgt Devika Hull of Headquarters, 560th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade finished the New York City Marathon in early November with a time of 4:14:07. It was her fifth marathon and the time was her personal best. Hull is a member of the Georgia National Guard Marathon Team. The National Guard Marathon is held each year in Lincoln, Neb., during the first week of May. Anyone interested in trying out for team should contact Lt. Col.  Jeffrey Olive at 678-462-9031. Male runners should have a time of better than four hours and females runners a time of four and a half hours.

MG Nesbitt formally takes office
Major Gen. William “Terry” Nesbitt formally took command of Georgia’s National Guard and Department of Defense Dec. 1.  Nesbitt, a Vietnam veteran, brings more than forty years of military experience to the job. He was formerly Commander, Georgia Army National Guard, and served as Georgia’s Director of Homeland Security. Among the General’s many accomplishments was his selection to command Joint Task Force G8, an all-service organization of more than 7,000 personnel to conduct military support operations for the Sea Island Summit in June 2004.

Annual Atlanta Journal Awards
Go to Guard threesome
Three Georgia Army National Guardsmen and two Army Reserve Soldiers  were honored during The Atlanta Journal Constitution’s annual Army Reserve Components Achievement Awards ceremony, in November. The Guardsmen recognized were Pfc. Brandon Conway, an infantryman with Winder’s 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry, Staff Sgt. Christopher Aldred, assistant operations non-commissioned officer with Augusta’s 878th Engineer Battalion, and Sgt. 1st Class Andrew B. Gideon, a platoon sergeant with Calhoun’s 1st Battalion, 108th Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Target Acquisition squadron. In presenting the awards, Jim Wooten, assistant editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and a retired Georgia Army Guard colonel, expressed his gratitude and respect for the men and women in uniform. Full Story

First female chaplain joins
Georgia Army National Guard
A new chapter in the spiritual well being of the Georgia Army National Guard began in November when 1st Lt. Esther J. Gant, a United Methodist minister, was sworn in as the first female chaplain in the history of the Georgia Guard in a ceremony in Atlanta. Gant will work with her male counterparts in the 139th Chaplains Detachment until she is permanently assigned to a unit. “I wanted to serve my country. It is definitely an honor. I wanted to be with Soldiers and civilians to help them during times of happiness and distress." said Gant. “I love pastoral and spiritual care. This was my calling," she added.

4th CST undergoes certification testing
Soldiers with Marietta’s 4th Civil Support Team had their abilities to respond to and assist civil authorities with situations involving hazardous materials tested in November. The evaluation was conducted at Dobbins Air Reserve Base by U.S. Army North, 5th Army, Civil Support Readiness Group East. In the scenario two homeless men had entered a warehouse earlier in the afternoon and discovered a make-shift laboratory in one of the building’s first-floor rooms. One of two men died from exposure to whatever was being produced at the lab. Local police responded to citizen calls for help, but after realizing the situation exceeded their capabilities, cordoned off the area and called in the 4th CST. Full Story

Elam takes command of
221st Military Intelligence Bn
Lt. Col. Mark Elam took the reins from Maj. Matthew S. Saxton during a change of command ceremony held at the 221st’s MI headquarters at Fort Gillem on Dec. 1. Saxton, moves on to command 3rd Squadron, 108th RSTA. Although he leaves the battalion, he continues in his full-time position as manager of the State Partnership Program. Elam, served as assistant chief of staff, National Guard, for the Military Intelligence School at Fort Huachuca, Ariz., before returning to Georgia.

Counterdrug Task Force conducts
Training for law enforcement
National Guard Soldiers from the Georgia's Counterdrug Task Force Ground Reconnaissance Team recently instructed 23 law enforcement officers who participated in its ninth Basic Woodland Operations Course at LaGrange. The five-day course gave officers more than 60 hours of Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) credit with all training conducted by National Guard instructors. Land navigation, mission planning, surveillance techniques, field craft, and force protection tactics were all part of the comprehensive training the group received. Full story

Gala highlight CERF-P achievements
The tone of the evening was firmly established when Maj. Gen. Terry Nesbitt told more than 250 members of the newly certified Joint Task Force 781st CERF-P,  "is the tip of the spear in homeland security,” said Nesbitt. “From what I have seen so far there is no place to go but up because you measured up to the challenge."

Paralyzed vets enjoy hunting Experience at Townsend Range
A group of Georgia Air National Guardsmen assigned to Brunswick's Townsend Bombing Range and a handful of local outdoorsmen are making a big difference in the lives of paralyzed American military veterans. On Veterans Day weekend, volunteers including 14 Air Guardsmen hosted 12 paralyzed American veterans during a three-day hunting experience on the sprawling 5100-acre National Guard range in south Georgia. Full Story

Ga State Defense Force Conducts
'AT' at Fort Stewart
Members of the Georgia State Defense Force conducted their Annual Training in November at Fort Stewart. The event afforded GSDF units an opportunity to coordinate their disaster relief planning.
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