Deployments, Alerts Continue
More Soldiers, Airmen on the Move

With the war on terrorism pushing forward and the pressure on Iraq to disarm increasing, the deployment of Georgia Army and Air National Guardsmen in support of operations Noble Eagle and Enduring Freedom continues to mount.

In the Air National Guard, units from Savannah and Brunswick have rotated Guardsmen into the theater of operations, while some 300 airmen, both National Guard and active duty, have been deployed from the "combined" 116th Air Control Squadron. Additional, nearly 110 Air Guard Security Police remain on duty providing force protection at Robins AFB and in Savannah. Full Story

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Soldiers of the 1177th Transportation Company said goodbye to families and friends earlier this month as they began their mission to support Operation Noble and homeland security.

The unit’s estimated 160 Guardsmen and their supporters gathered at the LaGrange armory for a last meal and farewells around late afternoon Feb. 1. Early the following morning, much of their gear already on its way to Fort Bragg, N.C., the soldiers boarded buses while clutching a single carry-on bag and then headed out on their own journey to Bragg.

Once it has completed its indoctrination, the 117th will return to Georgia but it won’t be performing its usual mission of moving people, supplies and equipment. This time, the unit will be handling other duties as it augments security forces here at two active-duty Air Force bases.

The soldiers of the 1177th could be on duty for up to one year.

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Army Guard Commander Sets Example

The Commander of the Georgia Army National Guard wants to send a clear message to all of his soldiers that taking the Anthrax vaccine is a smart thing to do. That's why Brigadier General Terry Nesbitt was among the first to line up during the February drill to take the first of a series of shots against the deadly disease. 

Nesbitt received the shot from Spc. Anne Marie Bielefeld, a medic with Medical Company C, 148th Heavy Support Battalion, who was administering inoculations to deploying Guard members.

Armor Up!
108th Hits the ‘Sims’ for NTC

Elements of 1st Battalion, 108th Armor stepped into the virtual training world in mid-to-late January at the Calhoun armory to prepare for its upcoming rotation to the Army’s National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif., in 2005.

This was the first of two rounds for the Georgia tankers in the Army’s Close Combat Tactical Trainer system (CCTT). The 108th will climb back into the system’s M1A1 Abrams tank simulators in 2004.

For three consecutive weekends, tankers with Rome’s Company A, Canton’s Company B and Company C from Dalton, tested their combat and communications skills, and their ability to work as teams. The simulated battles in which they participated were filled with tactical situations the Guardsmen may find themselves when they face the NTC’s OPFOR. Full Story

Two From 116th Complete ABM School
Non-flyers first to attend

Capt. Tom Grabowski and 1st. Lt. Robbie Key are the first members of the 116th Air Control Wing to graduate from the 325th Air Control Squadron’s Air Battle Management School at Tindle Air Force Base, Panama City, Fla.

Before the school, Grabowski commanded the 116th’s communications squadron, while Key was in charge of the wing’s security force squadron. Both gave up their non-flying positions to take the first step in becoming aviators qualified to fly the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) jet. Full Story

Members of the Georgia State Defense Force Army Medical Detachment used their one-day drill for February learning the "ins and outs" of moving the injured to and from an ambulance.

The training took place at the State Department of Defense complex in Atlanta.

More than 20 of the medics, many of them who work as civilian paramedics, firefighters and police officers, spent the day hauling volunteers who acted as patients in and out of a Fulton County Emergency Medical Service Ambulance.

While their colleagues were honing their emergency skills, another group of SDF officers and enlisted members received training on how to better reach out to their communities and tell the SDF story. Full story

Master Sgt. Rick Gottschalk, a recruiter with the 116th Air Control Wing, is the Region III Production Recruiter of the Year for fiscal year 2002.

He will receive a gold recruiter’s badge, which signifies his being the best among his peers, during the annual Air National Guard Recruiting and Retention workshop scheduled for April in St. Louis, Mo.  Full Story

Members of the Georgia Counterdrug Task Force Reconnaissance and Interdiction Detachment (RAID) underwent Navy Helicopter Water Egress training in January. RAID personnel are required to take this training because they may be called upon to conduct drug interdiction missions along Georgia’s coastline and off shore. Full Story

Air Guard’s 202nd Captures Top EI Honors

Master Sergeant Richard B. Putnam of Macon’s 202^nd Engineering and Installation Squadron garnered the top award in the Air National Guard Engineering and Installation community by winning the Air National Guard’s Engineer of the Year Award for 2002. He was recognized for installing complete fiber optic and copper cable installation for the $100 million B-1B bed-down facility at the 116^th Bomb Wing at Robins Air Force Base. The 202^nd also among the finalists for the Air National Guard Support Person of the Year award with Master Sergeant Leslie A. Allen, a 12-year GA ANG veteran being among the top three finalists for the prestigious honor.  In other 202nd news, Msgt Anthony Davis was recognized as the First Sergeant of the Year for the Georgia Air National Guard.

National Guard Back in the Running at NASCAR
Car No. 54 has new team, driver

BelCar Racing, under the partnership of Sam Belnavis and car owner Travis Carter, began putting the No. 54 car through its paces this past week in a three-day test session at Daytona, Fla. The man sitting in the driver seat this season is Winston Cup winner Todd Bodine. Belnavis and Carter believe the veteran NASCAR driver has what it takes to put the car and the team in the winner’s circle. Full Story and Race Schedule

Nominate Your Boss to Attend the Turkey Shoot

Want to send your boss on a trip? How about the Georgia National Guard’s annual Turkey Shoot? The Turkey Shoot is being hosted by the Georgia Guard and the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve at the Townsend Bombing Range on Thursday, May 15. It is a day-long event of bombing and strafing competitions between Air Force, Navy, Marines, National Guard and Reserves. Transportation arrangements will be aboard C-130 and CH-47 aircraft. Full story

	Ivan Nemorin, of McDonough, is sworn into the Georgia Army National Guard by Brig. Gen. Terry Nesbitt. Nemorin entered the Guard in a unique enlistment ceremony along with his twin brother during the January drill.  More photo on the web
	Georgia National Guardsmen, being introduced to Officer Candidate School, knock out a few pull-ups at the Regional Training Institute in Macon Saturday January 11, 2003 prior to entering the dining facility. If they choose to join, participants can choose to complete the 18-month course or an accelerated eight-week 'fast-track' program.
	Colonel (Retired) Paschal English was the guest speaker at the Georgia Air Guard Commanders' Conference in January. The retired Georgia Guardsman gained fame last year as one of the last remaining castaways on the "Survivor" television series. Pictured above, "Pappy," as he became known on the series, poses with Maj. Gen. Wick Searcy, commander of the Georgia Air National Guard.
	Georgia Army National Guard Col. Iva Wilson-Burke is pinned to the rank of colonel by her father, retired Chief Warrant Officer Ivory Wilson, and Brig. Gen. Terry Nesbitt, Georgia Army National Guard commander, on Saturday January 11. She is the first African-American female to be promoted to colonel in the Georgia National Guard. Wilson-Burke, former commander of Georgia's Headquarters Detachment, State Area Command, is now the military personnel officer and the distance-learning manager. More photo on the web
	Governor Sonny Perdue reviews a formation of Georgia Army and Air National Guard members in front of the State Capitol shortly after his inauguration. The 530th Air Force Band was also on hand to welcome the new governor when he arrived at the Capitol on his first day. More photo on the web