Georgia Department of Defense First Friday Briefing, February 2002 
Barnes Honors Guardsmen 
Surrounded by more than 100 Georgia Army and Air National Guardsmen and State Defense Force members on the steps of the capitol rotunda, Gov. Roy Barnes proclaimed Jan. 29 as "National Guard Day in Georgia." Barnes, who has seen the Georgia Guard used in its domestic and international roles, praised the 12,000-member Guard force for its dedication to the nation, the state and Georgia's communities. 
The governor specifically recognized the 1,200 members of the 48th Infantry Brigade who spent six months last year in Bosnia as part of the NATO peacekeeping mission. Brig. Gen. Robley S. Rigdon, commander of the 4,000-member brigade and the Task Force Eagle commander while in Bosnia, presented Barnes with the state flag that flew over all six base camps. 
The governor also acknowledged the more than 650 Georgia Army and Air Guardsmen who are part of Operation Enduring Freedom and Noble Eagle. This number also includes the more than 150 Guardsmen on duty at Georgia's eight commercial airports. 
Besides praising the National Guard for its dedication and professionalism, Gov. Roy Barnes surprised the Guard with the announcement of his unqualified support for passage and funding  this year - of the National Guard retirement bill. 
Representative Ann Purcell (D-Gray) of Savannah was the principal author of the bill that would provide retirement funds for Guardsman with 20 years of service. This piece of legislation has been in consideration for more than eight years. In additional news, Rep. Ken Birdsong (D-Gordon) introduced legislation Wednesday that would exempt from state income taxes the military pay for guardsmen and reservists called to active duty for more than three weeks. Following ceremonies inside the capitol building, Maj. General David B. Poythress, Georgia's Adjutant General, and other Guard officials visited the House and the Senate. Each body passed proclamations recognizing the Guard and its contributions to the state and the nation. Afterward, House and Senate members gave Poythress, Brig. Gen. William T. Nesbitt, Army Guard commander; Maj. Gen. William N. Searcy, Air Guard commander; and Brig. Gen. Joel Seymour, State Defense Force commander a standing ovation. 
State DoD Wins Oglethorpe Award 
Gov. Roy Barnes recently announced that the Georgia Department of Defense would be receiving the 2001 Georgia Oglethorpe Award for Performance Excellence in the government category. 
"This is the capstone to many years of hard work by many people, and it certainly rounds-out a great week for the Georgia Department of Defense," said Maj. 
 
 Gen. David B. Poythress, Georgia's Adjutant General. 
This is the DoD's first Oglethorpe award, and it is one of four organizations receiving this prestigious honor. The other recipients fall into the business and education categories. 
Georgia DoD officials will be presented the award at a March awards banquet in Savannah. 
Each of this year's recipients should be proud of what they have achieved, Barnes said. This award represents a commitment to hard work and excellent business practices," he added. 
"The Georgia Oglethorpe Award is an honor you earn," said Victoria Taylor, executive director of Georgia Oglethorpe. "You might compare it to an organization earning its Ph.D." 
"It involves a rigorous self- and third-party organizational assessment and all applicants receive a written report detailing their respective strengths and opportunities for improvement against our Criteria, which is the same used by the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award," she explained. 
In the past five years, Georgia Oglethorpe has provided almost $3 million in virtually free consulting to 34 Georgia organizations. Business, industry, government, education, healthcare and nonprofit organizations across the state are encouraged to participate. 
The Georgia Oglethorpe Award was introduced in early 1997 and is run as a nonprofit 501 (c) (3) at the Georgia Department of Labor. Its focus is strengthening Georgia's economic development initiatives by raising the performance bar of Georgia's organizations and people. 
SDF Enlists New Members 
After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, many people felt the need to become more involved in their communities, their state and the war on terrorism. 
For 125 Georgia residents the Georgia State Defense Force helped them fill that need. 
These newest members represent the largest number of individuals to be inducted at one time, nearly doubling Defense Force manpower. They were sworn in Jan. 10 and 11 during ceremonies held at the State Department of Defense Complex on Confederate Ave. 
Increased interest in the SDF is a result of the efforts of Clark Howard, an Atlanta radio show host and television consumer advocate who also joined the organization's ranks. He let his listeners know about the organization through his radio show and his web site. 
Like many others, Howard wanted a way to give back to the community after the terrorist attacks. When he found out about the SDF he became one of its biggest supporters, Howard said. "It's an honor that so many people would trust me on this," Howard said. 
116th, 117th Receive Unit Awards 
The 116th Bomb Wing at Robins Air Force Base and the 117th Air Control Squadron in Savannah are among 19 Air Force units that have been awarded the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award. 
 
 This coveted honor recognizes a unit's overall excellence in every phase of mission accomplishment. 
Competition for this award is quite keen among Air Force units," said Brig. Gen. David A. Brubaker, Deputy Director of the Air National Guard. 
"Any unit selected for this award is considered to be the absolute 'best of the best." 
This the 11th time the 116th has earned the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award. It is the only unit in the Air Force -- active or reserve -- ever to accomplish such a feat. 
The Wing has flown the B-1 bomber since 1995. In October 2002, the unit will be renamed the 116th Air Control Wing, and will fly the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) aircraft. The 116th ACW is expected to be the largest unit in the Air National Guard and the only wing flying the JSTARS. 
The 117th Air Control Squadron has received the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award on five occasions. 
The role of the 117th is the control and coordination of aircraft operating in a combat airspace. Recently, the unit deployed to Kuwait where it oversaw NATO's Southern No-Fly Zone in Iraq. Members of the 117th are now mobilized in support of Operation Noble Eagle and homeland defense. 
Ceremonies Highlight Outstanding Airmen 
More than 60 medals and awards were presented during a Jan. 13 award ceremony at the 116th Bomb Wing at Robins Air Force Base. 
Among the awards was the prestigious Legion of Merit Award presented to Col. Bob Doehling, Vice Wing Commander of the 116th. Doehling was recognized for his performance and leadership during operations in the F-15 fighter and his guidance in the Wing's conversion to the B-1 and move to Robins in 1995 from Dobbins Air Reserve Base. 
A Distinguished Air Medal, unique for the Air Guard, was presented to Maj. Thomas Bell for conducting the first-ever daytime combat operation in the B-1 during the war in Kosovo. Additionally, Bell and Capt. John D. Erickson were presented NATO medals for support of air operations during the war. 
Lt. Col. Dan Zachman, commander of the 116th Maintenance Squadron, received the Georgia Distinctive Service Medal for leadership by setting new standards in the B-1B Bomber fleet maintenance operations. This included reducing cost per flying hour and increasing deployed mission effectiveness. Zachman's efforts to find, refurbish and put back in service abandoned Air Force support equipment enhanced mission effectiveness. It also saved the Air Force an estimated $10 million. 
Three Georgia Medals of Valor were presented to Master Sgt. Quent Mikeal, Master Sgt. Thomas W. Southerland and Master Sgt. Jack Hankins for acts of heroism. More than 30 Air Force Meritorious Service Medals were presented to other airmen along with several organizational awards and decorations. 
EOD Unit headed to Olympics 
Soldiers from the Georgia Army National Guard's 202nd Explosive Ordnance Detachment stationed in Kennesaw are headed this month to the 2002 Winter 
 
 Olympics in Salt Lake City. 
Members of this specially trained unit performed similar tasks when the Summer Olympic Games came to Atlanta in 1996. 
Security at this year's games will be extremely tight following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. While in Salt Lake, the 202nd will be backing up other Olympic security teams in checking packages, vehicles and personal items for bombs and other explosive devices. 
About 4,500 National Guard, reserve and active duty personnel will be on duty at the 2002 Winter Olympics. An estimated 10,000 Guardsmen from as many as 28 states were on hand for the 1996 Summer Games. 
Medics to Travel to Nicaragua 
About 32 members of Company B, 161st Medical Battalion in Kennesaw are getting ready for their upcoming mission to Nicaragua and their participation in Operation New Horizons. 
An estimated 500,000 Nicaraguans suffer from a variety of diseases, including HIV-AIDS, and many experience sight problems because they cannot afford glasses. 
From April 12 to 28, Company B's medics will visit two remote villages in south central Nicaragua. They will provide routine health care, dental and preventive medicine services to the residents of El Coral and Los Santos. 
Unit members will also dispense about 1,000 pairs of eyeglasses donated by a nationally known community-service organization. 
Operation New Horizons is a U.S. Southern Command sponsored joint training exercise. In existence since the late 1980s, it uses Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine resources to provide medical and engineering assistance to nations in the U.S. Army South area of operations. 
Junior Enlisted Receive New Computers 
Twenty-four soldiers with Troop E, 108th Cavalry stationed in Griffin are the latest Georgia Guardsmen to receive new computers, printers and a year's free Internet access in their homes through the National Guard's innovative LINK program. 
The acronym "LINK" stands for: 
L - Learn valuable marketable skills through distance learning 
I - Invest in a soldier's success in a continual, tangible manner 
N - New Soldiers will become more interested in the National Guard without buying their own computers 
K - Keeping quality soldiers by helping them and their family's access to information about the Guard and its benefits. 
 
 Including those from Troop E, an estimated 312 Georgia Guardsmen have been given new computers. They are among the more than 10,000 soldiers nationwide who have received them, according to STARC's Recruiting and Retention Division. 
Guard Establishing New Unit 
The Georgia Army Guard is looking for soldiers to fill the ranks of a new ARNG unit. 
Soldiers with command, supply and administration, construction, mechanical and petroleum skills are being sought to laterally transfer from their present units into the 165th Quartermaster Company. 
The 165th will be stationed in Brunswick. Its mission will be to "receive, store and transfer bulk petroleum to divisional and non-divisional units." It will also establish and operate temporary petroleum storage facilities for general support of divisional and non-divisional units. 
Army Guardsmen wanting more information should contact Maj. Joseph Hoffman, 78th Troop Command personnel officer, by telephone at 404-508-7042 or by fax at 404-508-7035. Hoffman can also be reached by paging him at 404-655-0865. 
Georgians Visit to 'See how it's done' 
Army officials from the Republic of Georgia spent Jan. 8 to 17 traveling the state of Georgia and touring its National Guard facilities. 
Three soldiers - Col. Alexander Papidze, Lt. Col. Vladimer Kushitashvilli, Capt. Givi Chikhladze, and their interpreter Guranda Machaidze - were here to learn more about the Guard, how it operates and how its units are mobilized. 
The Georgians visited Company D, 3rd Battalion, 126th Aviation in Winder and toured the 4th Civil Support Team facilities at Dobbins Reserve Air Base in Marietta. They received briefings on the Guard's mobilization process and then watched a mobilization exercise conducted by Company, B, 161st Medical Battalion stationed in Kennesaw. 
The Georgians also traveled to Fort Stewart near Savannah where they toured MATES and the National Guard Training Center. 
After the Soviet Union fell, many of its satellite countries, including Georgia, had to start over militarily. The National Guard Bureau in Washington developed the State Partnership program in 1993. Sharing the same name, the two Georgia's became partners. 
The program helps promote U.S. National interests, while helping to provide a more stable and more secure region. 
Anti-drug Graduates Announced 
A new batch of students has graduated from Botvin Life Skills training conducted by the Georgia National Guard Drug Demand Reduction Team. 
Fifth-graders at King Springs and Sanders Elementary schools successfully completed the Botvin Life Skills course. Helping the students achieve their 
 
 success were Master Sgt. Antonio Ray, Master Sgt. Scott Bates and Staff Sgt. Theresa Terrell. 
Botvin Life Skills is a research-based program. Its curriculum consists of instruction in self-esteem, decision-making, smoking, advertising, stress, communication, social skills and assertiveness. 
Retirement Briefing Scheduled 
The next retirement briefing for Georgia National Guard members and their spouses takes place 10 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 3. 
This event will be held in Savannah at the Eisenhower Armory. Those Guardsmen with 18 or more years of service should attend. 
Gray area retirees and those drawing retired pay are also encouraged to attend. For planning purposes allot one and a half hours for the briefing. 
For more information contact John W. Hardwick, retirement services manager, at 404-624-6451, or by fax at 404-624-6262 
JACC Conference Set 
April 12-14 is the date set for the 2002 Joint Annual Commanders' Conference. This year's meeting will be held in the Crowne Plaza-Macon, with the opening session scheduled for Friday afternoon, April 12. 
Attendance at the annual conference is by invitation only. 
It will include all commanders (battalion/wing/GSU and higher) administrative officers (battalion/group and higher), primary staff officers at the Army, Air and State Defense Force headquarters, Georgia Department of Defense directors and other senior leaders. All Army Guard and SDF sergeants major and Air Guard chief master sergeants are invited and will attend a joint E-9 conference in conjunction with the JACC. 
For information, contact the Directorate of Communications at 404-624-6066. 
First Friday Briefing is published monthly for the soldiers, airmen and employees of the Georgia Department of Defense, Georgia Army National Guard, Georgia Air National Guard and Georgia State Defense Force. If you'd like to be added to our subscription list and have the First Friday Briefing faxed or emailed, or you have comments or story submission, call the Directorate of Communications at (404) 624-6060 or DSN 338-6060. Or email Leigh.Burchfield@ga.ngb.army.mil 
| News Home | First Friday Home |