First Friday Briefing for February 2005

171st Aviation Battalion Returns
Following Year-Long Deployment
The Georgia Army Guard's 171st Combat Aviation Support Battalion is back on home soil and is processing off active duty after a year deployed. The 225-member unit arrived at Hunter Army Air Field earlier this week and the Soldiers will return to home station at Dobbins ARB this weekend. The unit, which flies UH-60 Black Hawks, was assigned to two air fields in Kuwait and flew more than 3,800 accident-free hours throughout Kuwait and southern Iraq. In addition to the unit's organic Black Hawks, the 171st CACB had command and control of CH-47 Chinooks along with UC-35 and C-12 fixed wing aircraft in direct support of the combined force land component commander (CFLCC).

48th Brigade First in Army
To Get New Army Combat Uniforms
Members of Georgia’s 48th Brigade Combat Team have begun receiving the new Army Combat Uniform (ACU) and its accessories. The 48th, which is at Fort Stewart training for its up coming deployment to Iraq, is the first brigade, Army wide, to get the uniform. Personnel, known as Team Soldier, from Program Executive Office Soldier and a Rapid Fielding Initiative (RFI) team from Military Professional Resources Inc. (MPRI), began issuing the new gear Feb. 1. They will continue assisting the brigade through Feb. 10. More

Read about the new ACUs

Georgia Air Guard unit Will Link
With 48th in Deployment to Iraq
Members of Brunswick’s 165th Air Control Operations Squadron (ASOS), Georgia Air National Guard, will join their brothers in green with the 48th Infantry Brigade when the brigade deploys to Iraq. “We will accompany the 48th Brigade during their National Training Center rotation in April, “ says Lt Col John Haley, commander of the 165th ASOS,“ and we anticipate continuing with the brigade into Iraq.” While the actual numbers of deploying Air Guardsmen are not confirmed, Haley estimates that from six to 15 joint terminal air controllers (JTACs) will join with the Army once the 48th mission in Iraq is defined. More

Brigade's Best Shine During
Soldier/NCO of the Year Competition
While training, planning and preparation for the 48th Brigade's impending departure for Iraq and the Global War on Terrorism, the 48th Brigade Combat Team (BCT) continued the tradition of selecting the best of the best within its ranks with its Soldier of the Year and Non Commissioned Officer of the Year competition. Specialist Amie Linville (pictured above) is the Soldier of the Year, while Sgt. Chad Mercer is named Non Commissioned Officer of the Year for the 48th Brigade Combat Team. More

116th Air Control Wing Earns 12th
Outstanding Unit Award
The 116th Air Control Wing was presented the Outstanding Unit Award January 3, for exceptionally meritorious service. The 116th Bomb Wing won 11 Outstanding Unit Awards, but this is the first Outstanding Unit Award it has received since the wing blended Air National Guard and active duty members in October 2002. "This recognition is not only for the outstanding performance of the wing in contingency operations - but also for successfully implementing the transformational Total Force concept in an operational wing," said Brig. Gen. Tom Lynn, 116th ACW commander. More

Macon Air Guard Engineers
Prepare for Kabel Fest 2005
Macon Air Guardsmen of the 202nd Engineering Installation Squadron will soon be involved in one the largest Air Force command, control, communications and computer (C4) exercises this year, Kabel Fest 2005.Kabel Fest 2005 is a massive project where the combined strength of the engineering installation (EI) community is being concentrated to provide much need communications infrastructure at Ramstein Air Base. More than 70 personnel from 17 Air National Guard EI squadrons an one civil engineering squadron will combine for this 120-day project. More

Air Combat Command
Commander Visits 116th ACW
Lt. Gen. Bruce Wright, commander Air Combat Command, visited the 116th Air Control Wing in January at Robins Air Force Base. The General  received a orientation flight briefing, toured a Joint STARS aircraft and met with troops. Pictured above, General Wright (center) talks with with Brig. Gen. Tom Lynn,  116th ACW commander, during his visit.

USO Donates 5,000 Phone Cards
To Help Brigade Soldiers
Stay in Touch With Families
Ask a group of Soldier’s what’s important to them, especially when they’re deployed and they’ll give a variety of answers. The most important to many, it seems, is their ability to stay in touch with family and friends. For troops of the Georgia Army National Guard’s 48th Brigade Combat Team, that ability to stay in touch with families and friends got a boost when the brigade’s top enlisted Soldier received around 5,000 pre-paid telephone cards from the USO’s Savannah chapter in Januar at the Fort Stewart Education Center. Command Sgt. Maj. James Nelson accepted the cards on behalf of the troops, some of who joined him for the presentation by Savannah Chapter president Mitchell Bush. More

116th EOD Finds Explosive Device
In Byron Barn
By Tech. Sgt. Beverly Isik
116th ACW Public Affairs
A dusty old storage building tucked away behind an old farm house in the sleepy southern town of Byron, Ga, isn’t exactly the kind of place you’d expect to find dangerous explosives. But, in this business explosive ordnance technicians say they never assume, unless they are assuming “worst case scenario.” The 116th EOD responded to a call from the Peach County Sheriff’s Department, in January. Before they entered the old shop, Master Sgt. John Bell and Staff Sgt. Joseph Fletcher climbed into their 75-pound explosion protection suits and forced on the helmets. More