First Friday briefing [Nov. 5, 2004]

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First Friday Briefing for November 2004
Deployment Update

118th Personnel Service Company
Deploys for Iraqi Freedom
Forty seven Georgia Guardsmen of the 118th Personnel Services Detachment at Fort Gillem are the latest Georgia Guardsmen to deploy in support of Iraqi Freedom. More than 150 family and friends gathered at the Oglethorpe Armory on Monday, October 25 to say their final goodbyes and to steal away a final few minutes with their husband and wives before departing for eighteen months to Kuwait and Iraqi.

Moore succeeds Westgate as
165th Airlift Wing commander
Savannah's 165th Airlift Wing undergoes a change of command on Saturday, November 6 when Col Thomas R. Moore assumes command from Col. Stephen Westgate who was recently been appointed Chief of Staff of the 3,000member Georgia Air National Guard. The change of command will occur at the Headquarters of the 165th at the Savannah International Airport.

Georgia Guard's C-23 Sherpa: 'The aircraft that can' in Iraq
Reprinted from Stars and Stripes
BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq -- Fourteen hours before takeoff, the operations center of the 171st Aviation Regiment, owner of the C-23 Sherpa, gets a call that absentee ballots must absolutely, positively get to an airfield southwest of Mosul. Can it do it? Of course.
Chief Warrant Officer 4 James Jackson, operations officer, adds an extra stop on a planned flight to Mosul. Throughout the evening, he'll continue to change the cargo list: adding a needed box of blood for one stop and a crew of F-16 mechanics to another. Each time the phone rings, the mission can change.
Full story

Blanton takes command of 201st
Service, Supply BN
Newnan's 201st Supply and Service Battalion (pictured above, right) welcomed a new commander and said an emotional goodbye to its first during a change-ofcommand ceremony at the unit's armory, Saturday, Oct. 2, 2004. Lieutenant Col. Kelvin S. Newsome, who has served as the 201st's commander since its inception two years ago, moves to DOL as its defense movement coordinator.

116th Air Control Wing awarded the
NGAUS Spaatz Trophy
Georgia's 116th Air Control Wing has been awarded the prestigious Spaatz Trophy, awarded to the overall outstanding ANG flying unit. The trophy, which is awarded by the National Guard Association of the United States, was presented to Brig. Gen. Tommy Lynn, the unit's commander, at ceremonies at the State Capitol earlier this month. The award criteria covers seven areas: events of national and international significance, exercises and deployments, operational airlift missions, human resources, accident-rate history, unit awards, and community involvement.

161st Med welcomes Hendrix
As unit commander
Georgia Army National Guard Maj. Cheryl A. Hendrix is the new commander of Marietta's Company B, 161st Medical Battalion. Major Anthony J. Labadia, who spent more than two years as the unit's commander, including a deployment to Iraq, is now with State Medical Command.

116th Airmen honored for heroic acts
Three Airmen of the 116th Air Control Wing were recognized Wednesday for going beyond the call of duty in assisting with off-base vehicle accidents. Warner Robins Mayor Donald Walker officiated at a brief on-base ceremony. Staff Sgt. John Wright was credited with saving the life of a pregnant Perry woman whose lower arm was severed in a July accident. Wright was returning home after his night shift in the 116th Maintenance Squadron and arrived on the scene immediately after the accident occurred. Senior Airmen Joe Ciancio and Charles Simpson were recognized for assisting local law enforcement with a massive traffic control problem following a fatal accident on Interstate 75 in July. The airmen, both members of the 116th Security Forces Squadron, were returning home from weekend duty at Robins.
New program touts
Opportunities for spouses
Georgia National Guard Spouses who hold a bachelor degree or higher, and may have been considering a teaching career now have a resource for following through on that goal. Georgia is one of six states participating in the Spouses to Teachers program. Operated under DANTES' Troops to Teacher program, the spouse's version is a joint effort between DANTES and the Department of Defense to lead spouses to a career in public education.

Training provides Guardsmen
With 18-wheeled opportunities
A group of nearly 20 Georgia National Guardsmen are about start phase two of a training program that is jumpstarting their college careers, leading them down the road toward earning a second military occupation skill and steering them in the direction of a potential full-time job. With the passing of the Patriot Act trucks carrying "hazardous materials" must be operated by drivers who have passed a national background check. Every Guardsman, said Lt. Col. Matt Shannon, the Georgia Army National Guard's education services officer, has already passed that check. Through a cooperative effort between the Georgia Guard and Indiana-based Vincennes University , Soldiers can put that to work in gaining a commercial driver's license.
Counterdrug participates
In school event
Members of the Governor's Counterdrug Task Force took the message to stay drugfree to students of a Griffin school this past month. Georgia Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Donna Taylor and Spc. Tracy Windley worked at Crescent Elementary School's Fall Festival along with special agents Sam Jones and Ken Foster, both with the Griffin-Spalding Narcotics Task Force (GSNTF). More than 100 students, their parents and others attended the festival.

Three Georgians honored by National Guard Association The National Guard Association of the United States has recognized three individuals for their service to the Georgia Guard. All three were honored at a ceremony at the State Capitol earlier this month. State Representative Ken Birdsong received the NGAUS Charles Dick Medal of Merit for his service as Chairman of the Georgia House Defense and Veterans Affairs Committee. Also honored were Brig. Gen. Ret. Douglas Padgett, former Assistant Adjutant General-Air; and Brig. Gen. Joel Seymour, commander of the Georgia State Defense Force. Both received Meritorious Service awards from NGAUS.
Youth Challenge Program Gets donated trucks from Cobb EMC Cobb Electric Membership Corporation recently donated six trucks to the Georgia National Guard Youth Challenge Academy. Georgia's Adjutant General. Members of the YCA cadre were on-hand at the EMC facilities to receive the vehicle titles from Cobb EMC CEO Dwight Brown and drove them to the Fort Stewart and Fort Gordon campuses.Cobb EMC is an electric membership cooperative serving more than 177,000 customers in Cobb, Cherokee, Paulding, Bartow and Fulton Counties.

Georgia's Townsend Range
Open to hunters
The Georgia National Guard's Townsend Range is rated as one of the best training facilities for our nation's top fighter pilots, but recently the 5,200 acre range located in prime South Georgia bottom land added another accolade as a prime hunting location. The secluded bombing range operated by the Georgia Air National Guard and owned by the U.S. Marine Corps is barely noticeable from the state highway and accessible only by a single dirt road. However, it conceals property accentuated with tall pines, large oaks and teeming with wild boar, deer and other small game. Hunting on the Air National Guard range has not been allowed until this year and will only be hunted four times this season.

`Theater Immersion Training' New
Watchword for First U.S. Army
"We are in a war with no rear areas or front lines. We have to instill the Warrior Ethos into the mobilized Soldiers we train. Every Soldier must be able to function as an Infantryman. Soldiers must have tough, realistic, hands-on, repetitive training until their response is intuitive." That is the vision that Lt. Gen. Russell L. Honor, Commanding General First U.S. Army, shared with leaders at the First U.S. Army Commander's Conference in Atlanta . He aims to accomplish this with what he calls "theater immersion" training.

A look at what happened in November in Georgia National Guard history:
1946 - Civil engineering in the Georgia Air National Guard begins with the activation of the 104th Engineering Aviation Co. commanded by Capt. Carter B. LeCraw:
1971 - Maj. Gen. Joel B. Paris III, Georgia Air National Guard, is appointed Adjutant General for Georgia. Paris served as TAG until January 1975.
1990 - The 48th Infantry Brigade receives mobilization orders for Desert Shield.
Complied by Staff Sgt. Gail Parnelle, GaARNG Historical Section

Lt. Gen. David B. Poythress The Adjutant General of Georgia

April 3, 2007 Time: 12:11 pm Security Notice

Army National Guard FAQ The latest news from the Georgia Army National Guard. | 2007 NCO, soldier Named | Hurricane Exercise Tests Readines | Guard Deploys to Americus to Aid Relief Effort | G-RAP Pays Off for Guardsman | CERFP Unit Ramps Up With Joint Training Exercise | Lt. Col. Wood Earns Bronze Star | 4th CST Welcomes New commander | Warren Promoted | 221st Welcomes New Commander | Gober Earns Eagles | Artillerymen Honored During Saint Barbara Day Celebration | Calhoun Resident Receives Medals... 60 Years Late |

Air National Guard FAQ The latest news from the Georgia Air National Guard. | Col. Moore Assumes Command of the 116th |Doehling Retires as 116th Vice-Cmdr | Cotter Tapped to Attend Air, Space School | New Positions Follow 165th Change | Smart to Lead 165th | 116th's Thetford lands at State's Airfields | 116th ACW Brings Cheer to Area Families | 283rd Earns Air Force Honor | Basketball Life Pays Off for 116th Officer | 138th MIC Gets New Commander |

State Defense Force Read the latest news from the Georgia State Defense Force.
GADOD News | Governor Inspects Guard During Inauguration Ceremony | |Final YCA Graduation of 2006 Held | Guard Acquires NAS Atlanta property | 138 Graduate from YCA | 23 Earn Public Employee Recognition Honors | Governor Addresses YCA Grads | Employess Earn Faithful Service Awards |

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48th BCT In Iraq

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Moore succeeds Westgate as 116th Airlift Wing commander

Savannah's 165th Airlift Wing undergoes a change of command on Saturday, November 6 when Col Thomas R. Moore assumes command from Col. Stephen Westgate who was recently been appointed Chief of Staff of the 3,000-member Georgia Air National Guard.

The change of command will occur at the Headquarters of the 165th at the Savannah International Airport.

Moore assumes command of the C-130 Georgia Air National Guard unit where more than 150 Georgia Air Guardsmen are currently deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Moore, formerly Vice Commander of the 165th, moved to the Savannah-based unit in March 2002 from the 116th Air Control Wing in Warner Robins.

Colonel Thomas Moore

He began his 23-year military career upon commissioning from the Reserve Officers Training

Corp (ROTC) program at the University of South Carolina in 1981. He graduated from

undergraduate navigator training at Mather AFB, CA and served for five years as a navigator

and instructor navigator with the 11th Air Refueling Squadron and later Chief of Wing Scheduling and KC-135 senior

standardization /evaluation navigator, 340th Air Refueling Wing, Altus AFB, OK.

For one year beginning in April 1988, Moore was an offensive systems officer and weapons and tactics officer on the B-1 and assistant flight Commander assigned to the 28th Bomb Squadron, McConnell AFB,KS. He later became the training unit flight instructor and tactics officer and chief of scheduling for the 338th Combat Crew Training Squadron at Dyess AFB, TX.

For one year Moore was assigned to Langley AFB, VA as a nuclear weapons employment officer for Air Combat Command.

He joined the Georgia Air National Guard in October 1995 as a B-1 Squadron Operations officer at Dobbins ARB and later served a series of senior operations and logistics command positions with 116th Bomb Wing. In June 1998, he became the commander of the 116th Bomb Wing.

Moore served with the 416th Air Expeditionary Group of the US Central Command in Uzbekistan before returning to the 116th as deputy operations group commander.

Col Stephen Westgate, Commander of the 165th AW for more than twenty years was appointed Chief of Staff, Headquarters, Georgia Air National Guard in October 2002.

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116th Air Control Wing is awarded the NGAUS Spaatz Trophy

Georgia's 116th Air Control Wing has been awarded the prestigious Spaatz Trophy, awarded to the overall outstanding ANG flying unit. The trophy, which is awarded by the National Guard Association of the United States, was presented to Brig. Gen. Tommy Linn, the unit's commander, at ceremonies at the State Capitol earlier this month. The award criteria covers seven areas: events of national and international significance, exercises and deployments, operational airlift missions, human resources, accident-rate history, unit awards, and community involvement.

This award, which was named for Gen. Carl Spaatz, the first chief of staff of the

independent Air Force, was adopted by the Association in 1967. It had been presented

by the National Guard Bureau from 1949 until 1967, to recognize the most outstanding

Maj. Gen. David Poythress presents the Spaatz trophy to Brig. Gen. Tommy Linn, 116th ACW commander, during at ceremonies at the State Capitol.

squadron in each existing Air Guard Wing. Selection of the winner of the Spaatz Trophy is based on overall combat readiness during the reporting year and the unit's performance with respect to all other Air Guard flying units.

Factors included in the evaluation are flying safety; aircraft operation readiness; weapons

firing; unit alerts; unit manning; skill level qualifications; retention; drill attendance; operational readiness inspections; outstanding

accomplishments and special missions and exercises. Also taken into consideration are any circumstances which were

considered adverse to the unit mission and beyond the control of the Spaatz Trophy.

The 116th Air Control Wing (ACW) is the first combined wing in Air Force history comprised of both traditional and fulltime National Guardsmen and active duty Air Force personnel. The National Guard wing was activated in September 2002 with a combination of the former 116th Bomb Wing members of the Georgia Air National Guard and members of the 93rd Air Control Wing of the active Air Force. The combined wing is the largest wing in the Air National Guard numbering approximately 2,400 members. The Wing is the only unit in the Air Force which flies the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System aircraft. Within months of the unit's transformation, it was called to active duty to provide support for Operation Iraqi Freedom. The unit still has personnel and resources deployed.

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Georgia Guard's C-23 Sherpa: 'The aircraft that can' in Iraq

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Editor's note: The following story about the Georgia National Guard's Company H, 171st Aviation, from Dobbins Air Reserve Base, appeared in the European Edition of Stars and Stripes in October
By Juliana Gittler, Stars and Stripes
BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq -- Fourteen hours before takeoff, the operations center of the 171st Aviation Regiment, owner of the C-23 Sherpa, gets a call that absentee ballots must absolutely, positively get to an airfield southwest of Mosul.

Boxy and utilitarian C-23 Sherpas at Balad air base wait to carry cargo and people to airstrips around Iraq. (Stars and Stripes photo)
flight to Mosul.

Can it do it? Of course.
Chief Warrant Officer 4 James Jackson, operations officer, adds an extra stop on a planned

Throughout the evening, he'll continue to change the cargo list: adding a needed box of blood for one stop and a crew of F-16 mechanics to another. Each time the phone rings, the mission can change.

"The Sherpa is the aircraft that can," said Lt. Col. Steven Campfield, commander of the 6th Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment, which includes the Sherpa company. "I would say the Sherpa has been the workhorse in this theater."

It moves critical supplies such as blood, repair parts and ammunition to anywhere with an airstrip.

For safety, pilots fly low and fast, racing along at

Sgt. Eric Muse, flight engineer with

200 miles per hour, 100 feet above ground or occasionally lower.

the 171st Aviation Regiment, Co. H, at Balad, Iraq, looks out the rear door before takeoff in the C-23 Sherpa.

(Stars and Stripes photo)

"We dodge power lines," said pilot Chief Warrant

Officer 4 Dave Smith. "We're down there with the helicopters for the most part."

Danger in a tin can

Back in the States, Sherpas have the same mission, moving small groups of people and medium-size cargo loads.

"All we really did was lift up, change the scenery and add the threat," said Maj. John D. Boyer, company commander.

From the cockpit of the C-23 Sherpa, the view over Iraq is crisp and clear -- probably because it's 100 feet or less to the ground. The pilots, including Chief Warrant Officer 4 Ken Long, pictured, keep the Sherpa low and fast to reduce exposure to attacks. (Stars and Stripes photo)

The threats, surface-to-air missiles, small-arms and indirect fire, force pilots to fly in a safety zone barely off the ground, a place many pilots have flown before.
"A lot of [flying] tactics are determined from reaching back in our brains to our helicopter days. Although you're moving a lot faster than a helicopter, it's not very different," Boyer said.

At a low altitude, pilots use vision, not instruments, to navigate. Pilots and crew stand constant watch for wires, towers, hapless birds and anything suspicious on the ground.

"When we first got here, everything was out of the ordinary," said Sgt. Eric Muse, flight engineer. "That was kind of unnerving."

Very few Sherpas have been attacked and none have been hit. The speed and low flights mean that by the time the enemy sees the plane, it's gone.

"You always worry about it, but you get used to it," said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Ken Long.
It's often the more banal obstacles that are a concern.
"When you're going 200 miles an hour, a 3-pound bird can have a huge impact," Smith said.
"All of us have hit birds," Jackson added. "I've seen some birds do some really bad things. Large flocks of small birds, they look just like a big cloud in front of you."
It's low enough to see rocks and shrubs, and smiles --or not -- on people's faces.
"You can see their expressions, it's great," Muse said.
Pilots say flying low isn't necessarily difficult but requires intense concentration and can tire out a crew quickly.
"It's demanding at low altitude," Smith said. "It's physically demanding."
And unlike during higher-elevation flights, crews can never take a breather and rely on autopilot.
On hot days, the cockpit can reach 130 degrees and the heat causes greater turbulence.
Out of the sky
Sherpas belong to the Army National Guard. They've been in use in the States for more than a decade but are now proving their mettle.
The aircraft came to the Army unexpectedly, said Dale Chrisenberry, company maintenance officer.
In the 1980s, Congress bought 12 from a company in Northern Ireland. The Army tried using them, then handed them to the National Guard. Congress bought a total of 44 for the Guard after they proved effective in moving people and cargo in the United States.
They served a limited role in the Persian Gulf War, moving cargo in the rear. For Operation Iraqi Freedom, they were brought in to Kuwait to take some burden off other means of transportation, Chrisenberry said.
To cut flying time and distance, the unit moved this year to Balad, a more central city in the country. From the hub there, pilots circle out to local airstrips, from Mosul in the north to Kuwait in the south.
The C-23 can move quickly around the theater and provide similar supply capabilities as the CH-47 Chinook.
"They needed something in the theater that could do what the Chinook does but with less down time for maintenance," Chrisenberry said. "There's nothing in the middle but the C-23."
Sherpas move about a half million tons of cargo a month and have ferried 9,000 people in six months, Campbell said.
"We can move 200 pounds of blood to Mosul in two hours," he said.
In July, with a day's notice, the company raced blood and ammunition to Fallujah to replenish Marines fighting there.
Not built for looks
Most people are surprised when they see the boxy prop.
"That's one thing we're actually kidded about," Chrisenberry said. "It looks like an antique."
The planes, all about 20 years old, are made of aluminum boxes welded together. Inside, the ceiling is 6 feet high. They're made cheap and are perfect for cargo.
"It's a very durable aircraft. It's not built for looks," Chrisenberry said.
For passengers, the ride can be uncomfortable, particularly in summer when turbulent air builds at low levels, giving it more of a roller coaster ride than a cruising plane.
"It's a trickledown effect," said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Jerry Baker. "Once one person goes, several go."
The ride might be exhilarating or dreadful, depending on your constitution, but the aircraft is certainly memorable. So, too, is its function.
And it's likely to play a role in the Army's future inner-theater, midsize transportation plan.
"What we're doing here is proof of concept," said Boyer. "This is definitely going to

change Army aviation indefinitely."

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New Program Touts Opportunity for Spouses
Georgia National Guard Spouses who hold a bachelor degree or higher, and may have been considering a teaching career now have a resource for following through on that goal.
Georgia is one of six states participating in the Spouses to Teachers program. Operated under DANTES' Troops to Teacher program, the spouse's version is a joint effort between DANTES and the Department of Defense to lead spouses to a career in public education.
Through the new program, launched in early September, spouses have information and counseling resource that helps them understand requirements for state teacher certification. It also provides them with an update of the most critical teacher needs, financial assistance for degree completion, certification programs and state specific programs that lead to certification.
Spouses to Teachers also assists programs participants with information concerning the transfer of certification from state to state, as well as help in locating employment.
Those seeking teacher certification, who have a bachelor degree or better, receive financial assistance in the form of a reimbursable $250 stipend that pays for tests required as part of the certification process.
Degreed Spouses also will receive counseling on their options for achieving certification and information on employment opportunities. Non-degree holders receive help identifying degree completion programs, state and federal financial assistance and job placement.
Another benefit for program participants is the Web site www.SpousesToTeachers.org
The site provides links that will take spouses to other Web locations that deal with recruiting new teachers, job searches, resume and interview tips, financial aid and other teacher certification programs.
For more information contact Lt. Col. Matt Shannon, the Army National Guard's education officer at 678-569-5302 or by e-mail at matthew.shannon@ga.ngb.army.mil
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Georgia's Townsend Range Open to Hunters
First Paralyzed Veterans Hunt Scheduled
Georgia's Townsend Range is rated as one of the best training facilities for our nation's top fighter pilots, but recently the 5,200 acre range located in prime South Georgia bottom land added another accolade.....as a prime hunting location. The secluded bombing range operated by the Georgia Air National Guard and owned by the U.S. Marine Corps is barely noticeable from the state highway and accessible only by a single dirt road. However, it conceals property accentuated with tall pines, large oaks and teeming with wild boar, deer and other small game.
Hunting on the Air National Guard range has not been allowed until this year and will only be hunted four times this season. Hunters who are participating in the restricted hunting season applied early once the notice appeared in local newspapers. Hunt applications had to be received by September 18th to be entered into the drawing. Selection was made by lottery with 111 lucky hunters chosen.
On November 1st and 2nd, the range hosted the first Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) hunt at which two disabled veterans, one from the first Gulf War and the second from Iraqi Freedom will be honored. Joining this special hunt will be Brig Gen Thomas L. Conant, Commander; HQ Marines at the Pentagon and Lt Col. Lew Deal, USMC (retired), Director of Outdoor Sports Program and Development for the Paralyzed Veterans of America. The two-day hunt will be the topic of an upcoming television show entitled "Hunting the Country" produced by Mossy Oak Brand Camo. Special arrangements have been made for the two disabled hunters, one in a wheelchair and the other with limited sight.
The Townsend Range Hunting Program provides an excellent venue for all types of hunters-- archery, rifle and blackpowder, according to TSgt Brian K. Leverette, Range Maintenance NCOIC and the organizer of the Townsend Range hunts. The PVA hunt is sponsored by Marine Corps Air Station, Beaufort and hosted by the Georgia Air National Guard.
"We have put in countless hours of our personal time preparing the range for hunters," says Leverette. "We have prepared and seeded numerous food plots to create deer movement and increase the availability of food for the deer; we have placed signs delineating all the areas, we have scouted promising terrain; and arranged for the proper disposal of animal carcasses once a hunter bags his game," continued Leverette.
Each hunter is given a specific area to hunt and has that area for the entire two day hunt, only twenty areas are available on the range property.
Usual limits for Townsend Range is a single deer or a single hog per day. According to Leverette, an archery hunter in one of the Range's early hunts bagged a 8-point deer during the range's opening day. 33 hunters participated in the two day archery hunt, five deer were taken and a 200 pound boar was bagged. Numerous sightings of large buck were reported; however, not many stepped within the relatively short range of a bow.
The next scheduled hunt at the Range is following Veterans Day, November 12-13. All scheduled hunts for the 2004 season are filled to capacity. Slots for hunters who cancel out or do not show up to hunt will not be filled due to the safety course and legal paperwork that has already been accomplished for the lottery winners. For more information, contact TSgt Brian Leverette at DSN 860-3006/Commercial 912-963-3006.
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Training Provides Guardsmen with 18-Wheeled Opportunities

Nearly 20 Georgia National Guardsmen are about start phase two of a training program that is jumpstarting their college careers, leading them down the road toward earning a second military occupation skill and steering them in the direction of a potential full-time job.

With the passing of the Patriot Act shortly after Sept. 11, 2001 , trucks carrying "hazardous materials" must be operated by drivers who have passed a national background check. Every Guardsman, said Lt. Col. Matt Shannon, the Georgia Army National Guard's education services officer, has already passed that check.

Students pose for a class picture after completing the first phase of the course leading to their commercial drivers license.

Through a cooperative effort between the Georgia Guard and Indiana-based Vincennes University , Soldiers can put that to work in gaining a commercial driver's license for

operating a semi-tractor trailer rig, Shannon said.

"We not only strengthen the civilian firms that have partnered with us in this effort, but also promote recruiting and retention within the Guard," he added.

Phase one of the program took place this past month in the classrooms at Macon 's Regional Training Center . There participants learned the ins and outs of operating the big rigs.

Phase two, which happens this month, takes course participants to the Vincenns campus where they will spend two weeks doing onthe road training. Once completed the Soldiers return with a learning experience that will help toward gaining second MOS as a military truck driver, but also put them in position of gaining employment with companies such as Mohawk, Shaw Industries and Transport America .

The latter, Shannon said, has already offered up 100 jobs here in Georgia .

As the Soldier gains, so does the Guard, he added.

"The service ends up with more qualified drivers, but also Soldiers who have earned 17 college credits for their efforts, have had the school completely paid for and have earned promotion points in the process," Shannon said. "All that adds up to people who are more inspired to staying in uniform because the organization has made a positive impact on their lives and the lives of their families."

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Counterdrug Participates in School Event
Members of the Governor's Counterdrug Task Force took the message to stay drug-free to students of a Griffinschool this past month. Georgia Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Donna Taylor and Spc. Tracy Windley worked Crescent Elementary School's Fall Festival along with special agents Sam Jones and Ken Foster, both with the Griffin-Spalding Narcotics Task Force. More than 100 students, their parents and others attended the festival.
Taylor and Jones provided temporary drug-free tattoos, stickers and coloring books to the younger children, as well as drug awareness literature, trading cards and pencils to the older students.
Windley dressed up as "McGruff" the crime dog. She hugged, shook hands and took photographs with the guests. The response that the children gave to "McGruff" was overwhelming, Windley related. And speaking of dogs, GSNTF Special Agent Ken Foster allowed his canine partner Duke to socialize with the students and their guests during the festival. Duke was a real ham as he rolled over while the children petted him.
The Georgia National Guard's Counterdrug Task Force is part of the Joint Operations Directorate based at Dobbins Air Reserve Base.
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`Theater Immersion Training' New Watchword for First U.S. Army

First Army Public Affairs Office; pao@first.army.mil

"We are in a war with no rear areas or front lines. We have to instill the Warrior Ethos into the mobilized Soldiers we train. Every Soldier must be able to function as an Infantryman. Soldiers must have tough, realistic, hands-on, repetitive training until their response is intuitive."

That is the vision that Lt. Gen. Russell L. Honor, Commanding General First U.S. Army, shared with leaders at the First U.S. Army Commander's Conference in Atlanta . He aims to accomplish this with what he calls "theater immersion" training. "When Soldiers get off the bus at the mob (mobilization) station, they must feel they have arrived in Iraq or Afghanistan ," Honor said.

Lt. Gen. Russell L. Honor, Commanding General First U.S. Army, addresses leaders at the First U.S. Army

Instead of living in a normal garrison environment, Soldiers will see concertina wire, entry control points, and guard towers to simulate the Forward Operating Base (FOB)

Commander's Conference

environment. "In an FOB, small unit leaders not only train on theater-specific tasks," said

Honor, "they have an opportunity to exercise their troop-leading procedures and basic

discipline on a continuous basis."

Since time is limited at the mobilization station, immediately immersing Soldiers into a replicated combat zone enables focused training 24-hours a day, and retraining can take place as needed.

"We can repeatedly train Soldiers on multiple tasks. For example, a single simulated mortar attack trains react to indirect fire, casualty evacuation procedures and 9-line MEDEVAC, damage assessment, counter-battery fire and many other procedures they might never get the chance to practice more than once," said Col. Christian de Graf, commander, 2/87th Division (Training Support).

"In Iraq , a mortar or an IED can hit at anytime not just during scheduled training periods. We can train the Soldiers the way they will fight and the theater immersion concept allows us to do that," said Col. Daniel Zajac, commander, 3rd/87th Division (Training Support). "The standard for how we train Soldiers comes from the theater. We are constantly adjusting our training based on current operations in theater. The theater immersion concept provides the flexibility to do that real time," said Zajac.
"Theater Immersion is a dynamic training approach that gives us greater flexibility to train Soldiers. With theater immersion we can create more events, longer events, ramp up the volume or turn it down based on the training needs of Soldiers and units," said Col. Al Jones, First U.S. Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations. "Our goal is that Soldiers respond to threats intuitively, regardless of the situation in which they might find themselves."

"We have a non-negotiable contract with the American people to prepare her sons and daughters for war," Honor said. "We must use imagination and innovation to do this better than we ever have before. We can not, we will not fail in this task."
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Youth Challenge Program Gets donated trucks from Cobb EMC

Cobb Electric Membership Corporation recently donated six trucks to the Georgia National Guard Youth Challenge Academy. Georgia's Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. David B. Poythress, Col. Frank Williams, Georgia National Guard Director of Youth Programs, and
members of the YCA cadre were on-hand to receive the vehicle titles from Cobb EMC CEO Dwight Brown and drove them to the Fort Stewart and Fort Gordon campuses where they will be used. The Academy provides at-risk youth with military, academic, work, and life skills training. Program participants benefit from improved employment potential and learn to become productive citizens.

Maj. Gen David Poythress, Georgi's Adjutant Georgia's Youth Challenge Academy program, an 11-year-old organization with campuses

General, accepts the titles for six trucks

located at Fort Stewart and Fort Gordon, has graduated approximately 4,000 formerly at-risk

donated to the Georgia National Guard's Youth Challenge Program. Making the

youth. The program is considered one of the top Youth Challenge Programs in the nation.

presentation is Cob EMC Dwight Brown

Cobb EMC is an electric membership cooperative serving more than 177,000 customers in

Cobb, Cherokee, Paulding, Bartow and Fulton Counties.

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