First Friday briefing [Sept. 7, 2001]

Georgia Department of Defense First Friday Briefing, September 2001
JSTARS Replaces B-1 for Air Guard
Rep. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., announced Thursday there is a new mission for the Air Guard's 116th Bomb Wing that ends questions of what would happen to it and the unit's more than 1,100 airmen.
That mission would find Air Guardsmen stationed at Robins Air Force Base flying the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) reconnaissance aircraft, which are also based at Robins.
"We're excited about this because it means all our personnel will be used, so there'll be no reductions in personnel," said Chambliss.
"Secondly, the weapons system is such a valuable asset to the Air Force and the Army that it's going to be around for years to come," he added. "That means the 116th is going to be at Robins for several years."
JSTAR and B-1 missions require similar personnel including pilots, weapons system officers, navigators and maintenance technicians. This allows Air Guardsmen to remain at Robins.
Eleven JSTARS aircraft, which are converted Boeing 707s, are stationed at the air base. Plans call for 19 aircraft in all to be there, Chambliss said. JSTARS was first used in Desert Storm, when the system still was being developed.
The new mission replaces the B-1 Bomber mission, which the Air Force has decided to downsize. What would happen to the B-1s and the 116th has been major issue for Georgia politicians since the Air Force announced its intention to reduce the B-1 fleet earlier this year.
First Guardsmen Return from Bosnia
Smiles and looks of relief greeted well-wisher as the first group deployed Georgia Guardsmen left the aircraft that brought them to Hunter Army Air Field in Savannah Sept. 4 after six-months deployment in Bosnia.
Most of the 123 48th Brigade soldiers that made up the first wave manned Camp Comanche during their tour of duty in the Balkans, while the remainder were at Forward Observation Base Connor.

The next group of deployed soldiers begin returning in mid-September and will continue through early October when the remaining 1,077 Guardsmen finally set foot on Georgia soil.
After turning in their weapons and being welcomed home by Maj. Gen. David B. Poythress, Georgia's Adjutant General, Guardsmen from elements of 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment; 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry; and the 148th Forward Support Battalion, boarded buses bound for Fort Stewart.
Once on post, the soldiers filed into Jordan Gym for a brief welcome home ceremony and then met briefly with friends and loved ones, some who had been waiting at Fort Stewart most of the day.
With their initial hellos said, the troops got back aboard the buses that brought them to Stewart for the short ride to barracks at the National Guard Training Center. There, they shed their equipment, checked themselves out and headed home for two well-earned days of rest.
The group began their processing from federal service on Friday.
117th Airmen Return From Kuwait
Sixty members of the 117th Air Control Squadron returned Tuesday from a three-month deployment to Kuwait.
The airmen arrived home aboard a military chartered jet at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah. They were then put aboard buses and taken to 117th's headquarters where they met their family members, friends and Air Guard officials.
More than 250 members of the squadron monitored the skies in the remote Kuwaiti desert since June. They were the lead element for all air control operations in the No-Fly Zone in Iraqi.
The Savannah-based Air Guardsmen kept a constant lookout for Iraqi aircraft violating the zone established in 1991 by the United Nations.
The 117th was also charged with controlling U.S. military aircraft flying inside the No-Fly Zone. If Iraqi aircraft strayed through the controlled airspace, the Guardsmen were responsible for alerting and getting U.S. warplanes into the air at a moment's notice.
Air Guard Unit Deploys to Bright Star
Forty members of the Dobbins-based 283rd Combat Communications Squadron left Wednesday as the advanced party for three-months deployment to the Republic of Egypt as part of the multinational operation Bright Star.
In all, 90 members of the 283rd will travel to Egypt in two rotations over the next month.
The unit is the lead combat communications unit for the exercise. It will establish consistent and reliable communications links between all exercise locations.
This is the fifth time the 283rd has participated in Bright Star. The Air Guardsmen are expected to return in late November.
202nd Prepares for Saudi AEF

At least twenty-six airmen from the 202nd Engineering Installation Squadron in Macon are preparing to deploy Oct. 1 to Saudi Arabia as part of its American Expeditionary Force mission. The 202nd joins will join with three other Air Guard units from St. Louis, New Orleans and Tennessee for the 90-day deployment. The Georgia Guardsmen will be based at Prince Sultan Airbase in Saudi Arabia.
Oglethorpe Next Phase of Award Process Outlined
For the past year a team of individuals from throughout the Georgia Department of Defense have been working on the organization's submission for the prestigious Georgia Oglethorpe Award.
Now, with the 55-page formal application submitted, the team has moved into the next phase: preparing for a potential site visit.
Official confirmation of a site visit won't come until later this fall. Brig. Gen. Terry Nesbitt, team leader for this year's application effort, said the state DoD needs to begin preparing, now, before that selection is made. Nesbitt also said the priorities are to identify whom the site visit team will interview and what documents it will need to look at.
The site visit team will consist of eight to 10 trained assessors who will spend nearly a week looking at every aspect of our organization. If the Georgia DoD were granted a site visit, it would be during the first week in November. Last year we did receive a site visit, which is considered a considerable accomplishment for a first-time applicant.
The Oglethorpe evaluation process, which is highly respected in the private and public sectors across the state and region, uses the same criteria as the national Malcolm Baldrige Award to recognize organizational performance. The assessors evaluate organizations in six key areas: leadership, strategic planning, customer focus, information and analysis, human resource focus and process management. A seventh category called "business results" links the other six areas and shows how organizations measure the effectiveness of their key processes.
During the site visit, the assessors will interview a cross section of our organization. The Adjutant General and our senior leaders will be interviewed, as well as members of the team that prepared our application. In addition, the assessors will want to talk to individuals at all levels of our organization and from a variety or units and departments.
"To prepare for the site visit, we're inviting everyone with the Georgia DoD and the National Guard to read the five-page Organizational Profile that was part of our application," General Nesbitt, explained.
All senior and mid-level managers and supervisors are also encouraged to read the entire 55-page application. For those who are on the Department of Defense network, the application is available on the Intranet. Anyone who isn't logged onto the network and doesn't have access to the Intranet, can request a hardcopy of the application from Organizational Development at 404-624-6727.
Counterdrug, Aviators host Honorary Commanders Meeting
The Georgia National Guard's Counterdrug Task Force and First Aviation Group co-hosted the Cobb County Chamber of Commerce the August 22 Honorary Commanders Association meeting at Dobbins Air Reserve Base.
Lt. Col. Robert Cochran, with the Directorate of Joint Operations at Dobbins, briefed the 48 association members who attended about the DJOPS and how the Guard supports the state during emergencies. Lt. Col. Stan Crowder, Counterdrug Task Force coordinator, then presented an overview of the task force

and its effectiveness in the fight against illegal drugs.
First Sgt. Mike Hurndon, Counterdrug's drug demand reduction administrator, followed by explaining what his team does. He also provided a video presentation concerning the impact it has had in Cobb County.
Fellow task force member 1st Sgt. Greg Loper, non-commissioned officer in charge of Counterdrug Special Operations, talked about Special Operations' role, and explained Counterdrug's working relationship with Cobb County's drug task force.
Maj. Brock Gaston, the Guard's flight facility commander at Dobbins, and aviators with the First Aviation Group presented an overview on aviation operations at the base. The honorary commanders then took an orientation flight over Cobb County aboard National Guard Black Hawk helicopters.
The Honorary Commanders Association, a community relations program, is a cooperative effort between Cobb Chamber of Commerce, Dobbins Air Reserve Base and Naval Air Station Atlanta.
Its purpose is to educate the Cobb County business community about the Guard and Reserve's role in national defense.
The association encourages Georgia employers to support employees who are members of the Guard and Reserve. It also tries to bring about a better understanding of the active duty, Guard and Reserve service member.
SDF Holds Picnic for 48th Family Members
Georgia's State Defense Force held a picnic Aug. 25 at the Regional Training Institute in Macon for family members of soldiers with the 48th Infantry Brigade who are in Bosnia.
Although the mission is nearly over, and some of the Guardsmen have begun arriving home, the Georgia State Defense Force and Staff Sgt Melody Springs, the 48th Brigade Family Assistance Center sergeant in charge, held the picnic to help family members deal with their loneliness.
"It's really good to get together with other families," said Strickland. She especially relies on other Guard families because the Stricklands moved from Ohio to Georgia just two years ago.
"I don't have any family members close by like some others do," she said. "So this is really nice."
The State Defense Force provided the food and refreshments and games for the children who attended.
"We wanted the kids to have a good time and the adults to talk to other adults since they have to deal with kids all the time," said State Defense Force Lt. Col. Willie Garner, who commands the SDF's 2nd and 5th brigades.
Wing Captures Softball Championship
The 116th Bomb Wing softball team has brought the national softball trophy back to Georgia.
Team members received the coveted prize after its participation in the 2001 Air National Guard softball championship held in August in Boise, Idaho.

More than 1,000 softball players representing 67 teams from across the U.S. competed in the weekend tournament.
The 116th dominated the tournament by going undefeated in the Men's Open division and smashing its final competitor, the 108th Air Refueling Wing from New Jersey, by a final score of 25-12.
Airman Captures Recruiting, Retention Awards
Air National Guard Master Sgt. Kelly Smith, the Air Guard's recruiter in Brunswick has been honored with two third-quarter top recruiting and retention awards.
Smith was recognized for securing the largest number of enlistments during the third quarter for Region III. The Air Guard's 165 Airlift Wing in Savannah was also acknowledged for attaining the largest number of critical accessions during the same quarter.
Historical Society Annual Conference Slated for October
Pack your bags and join the Society Oct. 12-13, in Savannah. The Historical Society of the Georgia National Guard's Annual Conference returns to the Queen City this year and focuses on the Georgia Air and Army National Guard's Korean War service.
This year's conference will be held at the 8th Air Force Museum. Cost of this year's meeting is $20 per person, which includes entrance into the museum. Lunch will be on your own in the Museum cafeteria conveniently located next to our meeting room.
Interested persons may call Mr. John Hardwick, 404-624-6451 for further details.
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