First Friday briefing [Dec. 6, 2002]

December 6, 2002
In This Issue...
ROC Soldiers Receive Military Honors Perdue visits 116th ACW Guardsmen Recognized by Atlanta Journal Constitution Airborne March to Atlanta Commemorated State Partnership Program Georgia Hosts Diversity Conference Families of Deployed Airmen Remembered Soldier Readiness - 118th PSSD Important Part of Process 108th Uses Pigskin to Strengthen Community Bond 1st Aviation Holds its Annual Formal Guard Helps Federal Pen Celebrate Veterans Day MI Soldiers Place Big in Local Competition Date Set for Next OCS Orientation
ROC Soldiers Receive Military Honors
Nine members of Savannah's Rear Operations Center earned the Bronze Star for their service in Afghanistan as part of Operation Freedom and with the Coalition Joint Civil-Military Operations Task Force. Another 13 unit members were awarded the Joint Service Commendation Medal, and four others were presented with the Joint Service Achievement Medal.
he presentations were made during an awards ceremony at the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum in Pooler near Savannah.
Awarded the Bronze Star were Col. C.J. Nutter; Lt. Col. Richard C. Barr Jr.; Maj. Anthony Abbott; Maj. Sidney T. Babjak; Maj. Charles W. Crowder; Capt. Jimmie A. Hilton Jr.; Maj. Lutalo O. Olutosin; Sgt. Maj. Neil G. Russell; and Sgt. James C. Scott.
Joint Service Commendation Medal were received by Sgt. 1st Class Eric M. Anderson; Sgt. Michael P. Banister; Sgt. Paul A. Tremblay Jr.; Capt. Danavan J. Bussey; Sgt. 1st Class Larry W. Carter; Sgt. 1st Class Walter Colonel Jr.; Sgt. Patrick M. Grover; Staff Sgt. Tazz L. Hardwick; Staff Sgt. Karon D. Hubbard Jr.; Spc. Kacy L. Jones; Sgt. Larry Kane; Sgt. Patrick S. O'Brien; and Capt. Sidney Wynn II. Spc. Lynnette A. Johnson, 2nd Lt. Cristina Marin, Staff Sgt. John E. Schaffer and Capt. Tony C. Weber were presented the Joint Service Achievement Medal. Full Story

Perdue visits 116th ACW Gets First-hand Look at the Future
Governor-elect Sonny Perdue visited the 116th Air Control Wing at Robins Air Force Base to learn about the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) mission and the Air Force's first Future Total Force wing.Perdue spent more than two hours at Robins touring an E-8C JSTARS aircraft, addressing the 116th's airmen and learning about the "merged wing" concept, which combines active duty and Air National Guardsmen into one cohesive unit. He also learned about the 116th's history, its facilities and organizational structure, and how the 116th fits into the state organization plan. Full Story
Guardsmen Recognized By Journal Constitution
Three Georgia Army National Guard soldiers received the 2002 Atlanta Journal Constitution Army Achievement Awards in November. Pictured at right are Sgt. 1st Class William R. Threatt Jr. (left) and Cpl. Trent B. Lindgren, both of the 118th Personnel Service Detachment; and Pfc. Lakeisa Grant, a mechanic with the 648th Engineer Battalion. Also attending the ceremonies were (pictured at left) Maj. Gen. David B. Poythress, Georgia's Adjutant General, and Jim Wooten, a retired Guardsman and editorial page editor for the Journal Constitution.
Airborne March to Atlanta Commemorated
Members of Company H, 121st Infantry Regiment at Fort Gillem marched for three days and 101 miles from the Northeast Georgia town of Toccoa to Atlanta to commemorate the 118-mile trek made by Easy Company and the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment in December 1943 on its way to Fort Benning for parachute training. Full Story
State Partnership Program Guardsmen Part of Change in Former Soviet Satellite
Maj. Anthony Sutter and Chief Warrant Officer Tom Golden are seeing changes take place almost daily as the Republic of Georgia travels the long road back from years of domination by the Soviet Union. Sutter and Golden are pilots with 1st Battalion, 171st Aviation Combat Support. They continue to build the partnership between the two Georgias by teaching Republic of Georgia military pilots how to fly the UH-1 Huey helicopter.
Sutter and Golden are among the five-to-eight Georgia Guardsmen who have been traveling to Tbilisi regularly since 10 Hueys were given the former Soviet satellite country. The helicopters, donated by the Untied States and Turkey, will be used to for security missions along the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceylon oil pipeline that is under construction. Full Story

Georgia Hosts Conference Participants Get Lessons in Diversity
Diversity was the action word for the three-day National Guard Conference held in Savannah in November, which brought together more than 300 Guardsmen from across the nation for intensive discussion and instruction. Georgia was selected to host his national gathering of diversity managers due in part because of its pioneering efforts in the area of human relations.
Brig. Gen.. Julia Cleckley, special assistant for human resources to the Director of the Army National Guard, and the Army Guard's first Afro-American brigadier general, opened the conference with an assessment of the state of diversity in the National Guard. She applauded the conscientious efforts being made throughout the Guard to enhance diversity training and awareness.
Col. Jimmy Davis, the event's coordinator and human resources officer for the Georgia Department of Defense, said this was a facilitator's conference where diversity managers were instructed on the techniques of implementing a highly effective diversity program. Full Story
Families of Deployed Airmen Remembered
The men and women of Brunswick's 224th Joint Communications Support Squadron will not forget the families of unit members who have deployed as part of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Noble Eagle this holiday season.
An estimated 100 families of deployed Guardsmen will be the very special guests for a full day of holiday activities, games and events on Saturday, Dec.7, at the unit. A festive holiday lunch prepared by unit members will be provided followed by the traditional arrival of Santa Claus at noon. The day's celebration will conclude with each family having the opportunity to see and speak with loved ones through a special video link established at the deployed location of the 224th. Full Story
Soldier Readiness 118th PSSD Important Part of Process
On a recent "train like you fight" drill weekend, the 56-soldier 118th Personnel Support Services Detachment convoyed to the Columbus armory to help ready other Georgia Army National Guardsmen for potential mobilization.Soldiers performing a mission have other issues to concern themselves with, said Capt. April Asher, who commands the 118th. They shouldn't have to worry about whether their pay status is correct or if their insurance beneficiary is up-to-date, she said. Full Story

108th Uses Pigskin to Strengthen Community Bond
It wasn't tag, it wasn't flag and it sure wasn't touch. This was full contact, "hit `em hard and knock `em down" football played in the name of community spirit and "just plain having fun." Neither were these the usual high school teams who gathered at Bakers Field in Canton on a cold, damp Saturday night in November. The combatants that evening were 32 soldiers of the Georgia Army National Guard's Company B, 108th Armor and alumni of Cherokee High School. Full Story
1st Aviation Holds its Annual Formal
Soldiers and their families of the Georgia Army National Guard's aviation community gathered in November at Stone Mountains' Evergreen Conference Resort for the annual Aviation Formal.
The event, put on by 1st Aviation Group, is in its third year. More than 200 guests filled the resort's main ballroom for a night of honoring fellow soldiers and aviators, past and present, and the newest Guardsman to join Guard aviation. Full Story
Guard Helps Federal Pen Celebrate Veterans Day
R. Wiley (left) warden of United States Penitentiary Atlanta, accepts a certificate of appreciation from Maj. Gen. David B. Poythress, Georgia's Adjutant General, for his support of the Georgia National Guard. The certificate came to Wiley on behalf of the National Guard's Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve program. Poythress made the presentation during the penitentiary's annual Veterans Day program.
MI Soldiers Place Big in Local Competition
Members of the 221st Military Intelligence Battalion put their best efforts into taking the top position of the Combined Federal Campaign golf tournament played at Fort McPherson Golf Club and placing second in the annual Fort Gillem Gallup 5K road race. The battalion's 4-man team took the overall competition by beating 25 other organizations representing different military branches and civilian agencies. Team members for the 221st were Staff Sgt. Ryan Berg, Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Simmons and Spc. Alec Frezzell, all of Company B, and Sgt. 1st Class Colin Thompson of Company H. In the 5K road race, which opened Gillem's 61st birthday celebration, the 221st fielded a mixed team that gave its competitors Spc. Wilton Wood and 1st Lt. Steve Lewentowicz, both of Company H, and Maj. Pete VanAmburgh, administrative officer and battalion executive officer

and his wife Gina VanAmburgh comprised the top runners. Gina VanAmburgh and Lewentowicz also placed first in their age groups.
Date Set for Next OCS Orientation
Georgia's Regional Training Institute in Macon holds its next Officer Candidate School orientation, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Jan. 11. Interested and qualified soldiers are encouraged to attend, but direct coordination through the Guardsman's unit is required. Soldiers attending the orientation will be in a split status and placed on IDT travel orders by their unit.
Full Story
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