First Friday Briefing for March 2005

Company H, 171st Aviation Home
After Flying Sherpas in Iraq
Despite delays caused by bad weather and aircraft maintenance problems, 30 members of Georgia’s Company H, 171st Aviation arrived in February to a rousing hero’s welcome by family members at Fort Stewart’s Caro Gym. It was December, 2003, when the unit was mobilized for the War on Terror. In March 2004, the Soldiers headed to Iraq where they and their C-23 Sherpa fixed-wing aircraft spent nearly a year ferrying troops and supplies across the skies of that war-torn country.  More

48th Brigade Training Moves
Into High Gear at Ft. Stewart
With Georgia’s 48th Brigade Combat Team in its twelfth week of training at Fort Stewart near Savannah, the more than 4,000 Soldiers who’ll be going to Iraq are in the final stage of collective training. As that part of the process comes to a close, the brigade continues its preparation for moving to the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California in April. There, the 48th will have its warfighter abilities validated by active Army trainers. Once that’s completed, it will move back to Fort Stewart and get ready for that day when it will board the aircraft that will take it to Iraq. More

118th Field Artillery Gets City Flag
To Fly During Deployment
When the Soldiers of Savannah’s 118th Field Artillery step off the plane and onto the hot, sand filled landscape that is Iraq, one of the banners they will unfurl in that war-torn country is that city’s official flag. In a short ceremony before Savannah City Council, Thursday, March 3, the 118th’s commander, Lt. Col. Don Beard, accepted the flag on behalf of the unit from Mayor Otis Johnson.

GSDF Trains For Bridge Inspection
Following Floods, Disasters
Elements of the Georgia State Defense Force have completed a 16-hour training program with the Georgia Department of Transportation in emergency flood response bridge inspection. The purpose of the training was to prepare GSDF members to assist the members of the GDOT bridge inspection team during emergency like the flooding in 1994. More

Actor McConaughey Visits 116th,
Thanks Them For 'Hard Work'
Actor Matthew McConaughey, (center with sunglasses) best known for his roles in “A Time to Kill” and “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” made a special stop at the 116th Air Control Wing during a promotional tour for his new movie “Sahara.”  Robins was his first military stop on the promotional tour, he thanked the troops for all their hard work. More

116th ACW Member Receives
Airman’s Medal for Risking Life
Picture this … You are strolling down the coastline of a Florida beach. You hear the seagulls in the distance and the waves flirting with the shore. It is an ordinary day.  Suddenly, you see arms flailing in the water and you hear screams for help. You have to act, but what do you do? Capt. Kenneth Ebi, 128th Airborne Combat and Control Squadron assistant flight commander, was awarded the Airman’s Medal for Heroism March 1 because when the same situation arose in May 2003 he put his own life at risk and knew exactly what to do. More

165th Airlift Wing
Flies Missions to Uzbekistan
Pictured above, pilots and Navigators belonging to the 165^th Airlift Wing, Georgia Air National Guard, conduct pre-flight briefings in preparation for their return to Karshi-Khanabad (K2), Uzbekistan as part of their continuing support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.  The 165th AW was ordered to a forward deployed location in Southwest Asia to help with missions for Operation Iraqi Freedom.  More

State Defense Force Honors Legislators
At Annual Dining Out
Georgia State Defense Force honored lawmakers, and supporters in February at a formal officers' dining out. Honorees included U.S. Representative Lynn Westmoreland, State Senator John Douglas, and State Representative Steve Davis.  Consumer advocate and radio/TV personality Clark Howard, who has been a member of the Georgia State Defense Force since 2001, presented each of the legislators with engraved plaques of appreciation recognizing their continuing support of the GSDF. More

Confederate Avenue Monument
Salutes Deployed Guardsmen
Georgia Department of Defense employees at the State Headquarters in Atlanta unveiled a granite memorial in February honoring Army and Air Guardsmen deployed for the Global War on Terror. Doyce Henry (pictured left) of the Facilities Management Office, developed the idea for the monument, which is mounted in front of Building 21 on the Confederate Avenue complex. Master Sgt. Joseph Stevens (pictured right) of the Directorate of Workforce Development, was instrumental in getting the plaque designed and installed. More