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First Friday Briefing for March 2004 In this issue: 190th
Military Police Company Returns Home
Hueys
Return Following
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Members
of Georgia’s Company H, 171st Aviation Regiment, and their eight
C-23C Sherpa cargo planes left Feb. 27 for Southwest Asia to
participate in Operation Enduring Freedom. Exactly from where the
unit will carry out its missions is not yet known. Headquartered at
Marietta’s Dobbins Air Reserve Base, The Georgia aviators are one
of four C-23 detachments. The other three are located at
Brooksville, Fla., Frankfort, Ky., and Austin, Texas.
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Lynn,
Rodeheaver Become
Georgia Guard’s Newest General Officers
Commanders
of two of the Georgia National Guard’s major commands are slated
to pin on their General Officer stars in coming weeks. Colonel Tom
Lynn, commander 116th Air Control Wing, and Colonel Stewart
Rodeheaver, commander of the 48th Infantry Brigade, have both
received federal recognition for promotion to the rank of brigadier
general.
The ceremony for Lynn to receive his first star is set for March 12 at Robins Air Force Base. Lynn is responsible for the worldwide employment of the E-8C joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar Systems, J-STARS or Joint STARS aircraft. Joining the Air Guard in 1979, Lynn became vice commander of the 116th Bomb Wing in 1996, and in 1998 was made wing commander. In September 2002, he was appointed commander of what’s now the 116th Air Control Wing.
Rodeheaver received word of his federal recognition on March 2, and details of his pinning ceremony will be forthcoming in the next few weeks. In January, Rodeheaver took command of the brigade. His previous assignments include 108th Armor battalion commander, Joint Operations deputy director and commander of the Regional Training Institute as well as others.
202nd
EIS Airman
Earns 'Engineer of the Year'
Senior Master Sergeant Robert L. Colley, engineering branch chief
for the 202nd Engineering Installation Squadron, Georgia Air
National Guard has been selected as the Engineer of the Year for
2003. Colley competed for the honor against engineers from the
nineteen Engineering Installation Squadrons in the U.S. Air Force.
The announcement was made at the 2004 Engineering Installation
Commanders Conference in Emeryville, CA in February.
"We are extremely proud of SMSgt Colley for achieving this distinctive national honor both for him and for the men and women of the 202nd," said Lt. Col Deborah Nazimiec, commander of the 140-person Air National Guard unit located at the Middle Georgia Regional Airport. Full Story
Top of page116th ACW Feature of PBS Documentary
Georgia’s
116th Air Control Wing was the featured in an hour-long February PBS
special entitled, "High Tech War." The feature was taped
at Warner Robins’ Robins Air Force Base soon after the wing
returned from Operation Iraqi Freedom. Aircrews of the 116th were
interviewed about the unique and highly sophisticated capabilities
of E-8C Joint STARS aircraft. The program aired Tuesday, March 3.
140 Graduate During Winter YCA Ceremony
More than 140 formerly at-risk teens moved another step closer to fulfilling their personal goals on Saturday, February 28, as stepped to the stage in Macon to receive diplomas from Youth Challenge Academy. The students represented the seventh class to graduate from the Youth Challenge Academy campus located at Fort Gordon since it opened in 2000.
Jennifer C. Buck, Deputy Assistant Secretary Defense for Reserve Affairs presented the commencement address and urged students to take the knowledge and life skills learned at YCA and move aggressively toward their personal goal and aspirations.
Maj Gen William N. Searcy, Commander, Georgia Air National Guard recognized more than eighteen graduates who will be enlisting in the armed forces immediately after graduation.
Following graduation ceremonies, Lt. Col.(Ret.) Jan Zimmerman, director of the Fort Gordon-based program, and the YCA cadre met with more than 300 parents and prospective student scheduled to enter the program within the next two weeks.
SECDEF,
Nesbitt Tout Reduction of Accidents
Safety Office, Web
has programs available
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is committed to the goal of reducing Army accidents by 50 percent over the next two years. This will take a team effort and every Soldier has a part to play. Secretary of the Army Les Brownlee, for example, has announced that "Be Safe" is the Army’s official safety campaign theme. The program is designed to be leader driven from the top down and Brig. Gen. Terry Nesbitt, Army Guard commander, has said he intends to integrate Risk Management into everything The Georgia Army National Guard does down to the lowest level. Full Story
Teleconference
to Bring 878th Engineer Bn
Families, Soldiers Together
Family members and Soldiers of Georgia’s 878th Engineer Battalion, who haven’t seen each other since the unit deployed June 2003 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, will be getting together through the wonders of video teleconferencing.
Some 75 families are expected to gather in early morning this Saturday at Southeastern Technical College in Vidalia to spend a precious 15 minutes, hopefully more, each with their Soldier. Joining them will be Brig. Gen. Terrell Reddick, deputy commander Georgia Army National Guard, state representatives Greg Morris and Tommie Williams and Catheryne T. Meehan, Southeastern’s president. Full Story
117th
Air Control Squadron
Recognized for Community Service
Airmen of the Savannah’s 117th Air Control Squadron were recently recognized by the Savannah Community Blood Bank and the Georgia/Florida Blood Alliance for making the highest number of blood donations of any military unit in the Savannah area. The Air Guardsmen gave 39 units of blood that blood bank officials said will benefit more than 120 needy patients in the coastal Georgia area. Full Story
STARC Celebrates Women's' History Month
March is Women’s History Month. To celebrate the contributions women have made through the years to American society and the U.S. military, members of Headquarters STARC are conducting a Women’s History program, Sunday, 2.p.m. to 3:15 p.m., in the drill hall of Ellenwood’s Oglethorpe Armory. A reception will follow the program.
Several displays celebrating the women of the Georgia National Guard to include Col. Laura Strange, Col. Maria Britt, Col. Iva Wilson-Burke, Chief Warrant Officer Beverly Pack, Sgt. Maj. Jackie McKinney and retired Sgt. Maj. Judy Cole will be present. Guest speaker for the event will be State Rep. Mable Thomas. Full Story
Annual
EANGGA Conference
Slated for Late April
Members of the Enlisted Association of the National Guard of Georgia hold their 2004 conference April 23 to 25 in Emerald Pointe Resort and Conference Center at Lake Lanier.
To register early, request a registration form by e-mail from Sgt. Maj. Jackie McKennie at Jackie.mckennie@ga.ngb.army.mil or contact McKennie by telephone at 404-675-5354. Full StoryHistory
Afficionados Sought;
Membership Drive Announced
The Historical Society of the Georgia National Guard, the organization dedicated to preserving the heritage of the Georgia’s armed forces, is starting its 2004 loyalty fund drive and offering special incentives for those who wish to join this year. Full story
Army Times Seeks Exemplary Soldier
Somewhere out there in the Georgia Army National Guard there’s a Soldier who needs to be recognized not for the medals he’s won but for the things he’s done in taking care of Soldiers and serving his community.
If you know someone like that, that person may be eligible to become the 2004 Army Times Soldier of the Year. Full Story|
A look at what happened in February
in March 27, 1917 – Georgia’s 2nd Regiment of Infantry returns to Macon after serving five months, Oct. 22, 1916 to March 22, 1917, along the U.S. – Mexican border. The unit, however, isn’t mustered out after its return. Instead, it’s drafted two weeks later into federal service for duty in World War I. Several other Georgia units are also retained for federal service and war duty in March. March 31, 1898 – Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt, expecting war with Spain, notifies the governor of Georgia that he should prepare the state’s naval militia for "any sudden call to duty" by President William McKinley.
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