Georgia
Guardsmen Continue to Support
Iraqi Freedom, War on Terror
More than 4,000 Georgia Army and Air National
Guard members remain mobilized in support of Operation Iraqi
Freedom and other operations on the US War on Terror. That
number includes more than 3,000 deployed to the Middle East.
Here's a brief look at some of the events of the past several
weeks....
More Georgia
Guard Units Mobilize
Some 210 Georgia Army Guard members are the
latest to mobilize in support the US War on Terror. The units
include the 110th Combat Support Bn. (Columbus), 82nd
Maintenance Co. (Columbus), and the 166th Maintenance Co.
(Jackson). In addition 150 soldiers of the 165th POL Co.
(Brunswick) will mobilize in early June. After post-mobilization
training at Ft. Stewart, the units will support Operation Noble
Eagle and will be assigned to support force protection measures
at military facilities in Washington D.C. and in the
southeast.
277th
Soldier Has Family Reunion in Kuwait  Camp
Doha is a long way from their Ohio home, but for
Sgt. 1st Class Jeffrey Mackim of the 277th
Maintenance Co. and his brother Capt. Mark Mackim the camp
was as good as place as any for a small family reunion. Brother
Mark is assigned to the 1st Armored Division. Their mother
helped arrange for their meeting, said Sgt. 1st Class Mackim,
who works fulltime at the Guard's Calibration Shop at the CSMS
in Atlanta. As part of the 277th, he is a telephonic
communications system supervisor. “I knew he was coming down
to Kuwait when I was at Fort Benning (Ga.),” he said. “I
called my mom and she relayed a message to him and we were able
to link up here.”
165th
Airlift Wing Gets Some Unusual Patriotic Support
 One
day before the Georgia Guard’s 165th Airlift
Wing left for the Persian Gulf, Lt. Col. Stephen Melton and his
fellow airmen took their families to the Cracker Barrel Old
Country Store in Pooler. After breakfast, Melton planned to find
a flag that his crew would carry the next day to the Persian
Gulf. He never expected he would find one before he even left
the restaurant.
During breakfast, he noticed the
American flag on display in the Cracker Barrel dining room. With
some encouragement from his companions, he asked Associate
Manager Mike Killeen if the 165th could "borrow" this
flag. Killeen immediately responded "yes!" He said
Cracker Barrel would be honored to help. Following an impromptu
presentation ceremony, the soldiers left Cracker Barrel proudly
holding the flag. The airmen with the 165th have
raised what they call the "Cracker Barrel Flag" in
Iraq, Afghanistan, and Oman. Full
Story
Read more on the Cracker Barrel Web Site
277th
Mechanic Helps Keep the 'Lights On' in Baghdad
In the true
tradition of the citizen-soldier, Sgt Joe Harner of the Georgia
Guard’s 277th Maintenance Co. played a key role in getting the
power restored to wartorn Baghdad. In his civilian life, Sgt.
Harner is a power plant engineer and he is a generator mechanic
for the 277th . Shortly after arriving in Kuwait during a
mealtime conversation he explained to a fellow soldier the logic
and sequence of starting a gas turbine generated power plant. It
turned out that he had the exact knowledge and experience the
Army needed to restore power in Baghdad. Within two weeks of his
initial conversation he was drafted to help. He was sent to
several high level briefings and eventually to Iraq’s capital
city to help restore and stabilize the city’s electrical grid.
Since his arrival, the power situation has improved
dramatically..
 The
Georgia Guard’s 878th Engineer Battalion left this past week for
assignment to the Middle East and to assist in the reconstruction
phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Lt. Col. John Heath, the battalion commander,
said his soldiers have been ready for weeks to get their
deployment underway.
"We’ve trained hard, going over tasks we
expect to be given when the unit arrives, and done repeated
training on individual soldier skills to help our troops adjust to
the kind of environment they may find when they arrive ‘in
country," Heath said. "Our people have trained and
retrained to be ready and we’re glad to finally be on our and to
start contributing to the mission." Full
Story
 Brunswick’s 224th Joint Communications
Support Squadron will rotate more than 30 members of its airmen
home from an undisclosed location in the Middle East, squadron
officials recently said.
The 224th JCSS provides communications for the
Special Operations community. Its 22 members returned this past
week to Glynco Jetport in Glynn County. Their return signals the
end of the unit’s overseas mission.
Members of the 224th have served continuously
in Operation Enduring Freedom — America’s war on terrorism —
since their federal activation just days after Sept. 11, 2001. In
addition, the airmen participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Over
the past two years, members of the unit have served in eight
countries around the world.
48th
Brigade and STARC Annual Training Underway
 It's
dress rehearsal leading to the big event for the 4,000 men and
women of the 48th Infantry Brigade currently undergoing annual
training at Fort Stewart near Savannah. Over the next two weeks,
Georgia's enhanced brigade will be preparing to meet the enemy
at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif., in 2005.
In the two year roadmap leading to the NTC,
the 48th will make a stopover at Fort Riley, Kan., in 2004 to
further hone its combat skills.
"This is an important time
for the brigade," said Brig. Gen. Terry Nesbitt, the
Georgia Army Guard commander. "What makes it so important
is that the 48th will replace an active Army brigade while the
Army brigade ‘stands down’ and goes through
transformation" into a lighter, more mobile force.
Full
Story
Web
Photo Gallery
Army
Guard Names Soldier and NCO of the Year
 The
Georgia Georgia Army National Guard has announced the 2003
Soldier and NCO of the Year.
Spec. Wendell R. Kestle, Jr. was selected as
Soldier of the Year. He's a member of the 277th Maintenance Co,
78th Troop Command and is currently deployed with his unit in
support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The 2003 NCO of the Year is Sgt. Nicole McKenzie
of Company C, 148th Forward Support Bn., 48th Infantry Brigade.
"These soldiers are to be commended for
their outstanding achievement," said State CSM James
Dennis, in announcing this year's recipients. "Their
professionalism and hard work have enabled them to achieve this
high honor."
Baker
Awarded State Employee of the Year Award
 Frank
Baker, Family Readiness Coordinator for Savannah’s 165th
Airlift Wing, was selected as the State Employee of the Year for
Georgia for 2002. Baker,
a veteran of the Georgia Air National Guard, was presented the
award at ceremonies in Atlanta attended by Governor and Mrs.
Sonny Perdue. Baker was
recognized for his important contributions in the category of
community service, one of seven categories for the state honor.
Nominated by co-workers, as Family Readiness Coordinator
Baker is instrumental in assisting families of Georgia National
Guardsmen deployed around the world. Full
Story
Guard,
Lockheed Martin Dedicate New Technology Center
 The
Georgia National Guard teamed with Lockheed Martin in Marietta
and the Peach State STARBASE, at Dobbins Air Reserve Base to
bring the excitement of aviation, math, and science to area
students by dedicating the Lockheed Martin Technology Center.
STARBASE is a National Guard youth program
serving at-risk fifth grade students in the Cobb and Marietta
School districts. Lockheed Martin's $25,000 donation to the
center will help the youth program purchase new equipment,
software and technical training aids.
"We teamed with the Peach State STARBASE
because we share the same commitment to inspire community youth
to improve math and science skills," said Lee Rhyant, vice
president and site manager for Lockheed Martin. "The best
investment we can make is in our youth, and we are proud of this
partnership with the Department of Defense, Dobbins ARB, the
Cobb County Schools, and Marietta City schools." Full
Story
Flag,
Workshop, Conference Mark Historical Society Calendar
A flag presentation, an annual workshop and
conference have been keeping the Historical Society of the
Georgia National Guard Inc., quite busy in the past month.
Society members recently presented the Georgia
Capitol Museum with the flag one flown by 1st Battalion, Georgia
Volunteers. The flag is in such fragile condition that the
society decided it should be placed with the museum’s flag
collection. Dottie Olson, museum director, and her assistants
proudly accepted the flag and immediately began taking steps
toward conserving and restoring the flag. Full
Story
Historical
Society Fires Restored Field Gun
A World War I French 75mm Field Gun, found in
ruins at Anniston, Ala., Army Depot in 1999, and restored by the
Historical Society, was rolled out onto the fields at Picketts
Mill in early May looking just as if it was rolling onto a
battlefield in 1917. Re-enactors clad in World War I uniforms
surrounded the piece and fired a blank round to prove that its
restoration had been completed.
Total cost of the restoration, made possible by
members of the Historical Society of the Georgia National Guard
Inc., is estimated at more than $8,000. The French 75 will
ultimately be displayed at Headquarters, Georgia Army National
Guard, in Ellenwood. Full Story
Task
Force Holds Botvin Life Skills Training
Georgia’s Drug Demand Reduction Task Force
this past semester provided instruction in Botvin Life Skills
Training to students of New Manchester Elementary School. Task
force members conducted a graduation ceremony for the school’s
3rd grade classes, which consisted of 72 students.
Instructors for the course were Master Sgt.
Antonio Ray and Sgt. 1st Class Theresa Terrell.
Drug Demand Reduction also gained three people
this past month to replace 1st Sgt. Mike Hurndon, Staff Sgt. Keith
White and Staff Sgt. Eugene Marlow. All three were recently called
to active duty in support of the war on terrorism. Sgt. Andrew
Keene, Spc. John Bush and Spc. Idae Jones are their temporary
replacements.
Georgia
DoD Customer Survey Underway
In a continuing effort to improve the Georgia
Department of Defense, the Organizational Development office is
conducting an internet-based survey at http://websurveyor.net/wsb.dll/12894/2003GADODSURVEY.htm
to determine the level of satisfaction among DoD employees and
members.
The office want to know how satisfied the
family is, and it needs your candid replies to this survey. The
survey was released May 1 and is available through July 17. This
is Organizational Development’s first internet-hosted survey.
Officials state they need commanders and supervisors to make
sure their people have access to the Internet for maximum
participation.
The survey measures only a person’s opinion
and perceptions. There are no right or wrong answers. Survey
data will be compiled as a group. Full-time employees/members
should answer the questions based on their full-time
experiences.
Make Sure
You're On-track
For Georgia Military Pension
Georgia National Guard members
planning an upcoming retirement need to be aware of what they
need to do to ensure their state
Georgia Military
Pension. Here's
an update.
 Poppell
Selected as Air Guard’s New ESSO
LTC Rick Poppell formerly with the 165th Airlift Wing has
been selected by Maj. Gen. Wick Searcy to succeed Col. Lou
Burson as the Executive Support Staff Officer (ESSO) for the
GaANG. He assumes the position in August upon the retirement of
Col. Burson. Read LTC Poppell's Bio.
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Photo
Spotlight
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Six new members of the
Georgia State Defense Force were sworn in by the
commander-in-chief, Sonny Perdue in May. The
Governor performed the ceremony while visiting
Jesup. The all-volunteer Georgia State Defense
Force has grown to nearly 900 members. The photo
above appeared in the local newspaper.
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Members of Georgia’s State
Defense Force practice mass casualty exercises
during their units’ annual training period. More
than 100 troopers participated in search and
rescue, land navigation, medical evacuation, and
helicopter operations. The four southern brigades
of the SDF held their annual training in Cochran. (Click on
photo for larger image)
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Staff Sgt. Miles Hawkins, of Macon, talks to a
Robins Air Force Base employee. Hawkins is a truck
driver with the LaGrange based 1177th
Transportation Company, which supports base
security. The unit has been deployed to the middle
Georgia air base since January as part of
Operation Noble Eagle. "It takes me back to
my days as a police officer in Macon," he
said about his base security job. (Click on photo for larger image)
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