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First Friday Briefing for June 2005
202nd EIS Airman Supports Enhancement Project Staff Sgt. Patrick Ragan of Macon's 202nd Engineering Installation Squadron and ANG communications personnel are working with the Defense Information Systems Agency in Washington to bring 21st century technology to the Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building, President Bush's home. More
Deployment Update
Poythress presented USO Patriot Award USO Chairman Mike Watson presented Maj. Gen. David B. Poythress and
48th BCT Heads to Iraq Bands played, soldiers marched and wives, mothers, children and friends cried Saturday as the 48th Brigade Combat Team was given a formal send
Robert Nardelli, Chairman of The Home Depot with the 2005 USO Patriot Award for their outstanding support for men and women in uniform at the 53rd Military Affairs luncheon. More
CST Gets Realistic with its Training Members of Georgia's 4th Civil Support Team recently participated in training made realistic through the use of live explosives. More
off ceremony at Fort Stewart, Ga. The unit, more than 4,000 strong, headed for its year long mission to Iraq. More
Other stories about the 48th in Iraq...
q 48th Begins its Missions in Iraq q Five injured in mortar attack q Dave Hirschman, AJC Blog q Calhoun Times 48th BCT Blog
Recruiting Improves, Retention High
Georgia Leads Nation in Recruitment
The Air National Guard, with Georgia taking the lead, strengthened its ranks in April as compared to March, though it remains slightly below its overall recruiting goal for the year. The Army National Guard also was short of its recruiting goals, but each National Guard force retained its experienced Soldiers and Airmen at a high level. More
Family Readiness Conference Set
The Georgia National Guard is scheduled to conduct its third annual Family Readiness Workshop and Leadership Conference Aug. 12 to 14 at Atlanta's Sheraton Midtown Hotel Colony Square. More
A look at what happened this month in Georgia National Guard history
1942 Richard W. Titus of Georgia's 101st Separate Coast Artillery Battalion deployed to Port Moresby, New Guinea, in WWII noted in his diary that the only refrigerated supply ship, the McDhui, which brought fresh food to the island was damaged in the harbor by Japanese heavy bombers during an attack. The McDhui, he wrote, was a very important ship to the 101st. For the next six months we had only a few items limited to bully beef, cheese, hard tack, mustard, canned fruit and peanut butter." However, he did note that on a rare occasion they would receive on a rotating basis among the 101st batteries fresh meat flown in by the air force for their messes in exchange for ice cream from the battalion's ice cream machine. Toward the end of the month he entered into his diary, "Oatmeal full of weevils, bread full of weevils." The Japanese bombing of Port Moresby was almost daily then.
1961 Recently converted to the 116th Air Transport Wing, Georgia Air National Guard, the 116th's first C-97 Boeing Stratofreighter was flown by a mixed ANG and adviser crew to Dobbins AFB. This was an historic occasion as Georgia's airmen began to convert their skills from that of jet qualified to conventional. These Stratofreighters had been converted from tankers for a new mission by removal of their huge refueling tanks. By the end of summer 1961, the Georgia Air National Guard had four of the planes.
1999 The 48th Infantry Brigade became part of a reflagged 24th Infantry Division at Fort
Guardsmen Help with JROTC Program
Members of the Georgia Army National Guard recently spent four days getting more "face time" with the next generation of Soldiers at an annual South Georgia Army JROTC summer camp program near Albany. More
Air Guard JAG Heads for Baghdad Georgia Air National Guard Judge Advocate General, Col. Max Wood, heads to Iraq shortly to serve as the Department of Justice attach to the American Embassy in Baghdad. Wood, who is also the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, will be responsible for training Iraqi judges, prosecutors, law enforcement officials and other court system personnel. He is scheduled to be in Iraq for six months.
Riley, Kansas. The 24th was the U. S. Army's first integrated active duty and National Guard division and Georgia's 48th Infantry Brigade was one of three National Guard brigades to be under its command.
Complied by Staff Sgt. Gail Parnelle, GaARNG Historical Section
FSIVA Team Seeks Volunteers
Guardsmen looking for a new challenge are invited to become a member of The Full Spectrum Integrated Vulnerability Assessment (FSIVA) Team. The team is charged with conducting vulnerability assessments of critical infrastructures key resources (KR), and defense Industrial base (DIBs) installations within the state and FEMA Region IV.
FSIVA Teams are one of the newest NGB additions to the homeland defense mission.
For a full list of job avalibilitay and requirements click HERE or call CPT R. J. Faunt at Cell: 404-915-0136, Work Cell: 404-449-6851, COMM: 678-6553476, DSN: 579-3476 or NIPR e-mail: raymond.faunt@ga.ngb.army.mil, AKO: raymond.john.faunt@us.army.mil.
Sgt. Charles C. Gillican, III, 35, of Brunswick, Ga., died May 14 at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, from injuries sustained in a military vehicle accident. Gillican was assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 118th Field Artillery Regiment, 48th Infantry Brigade, Brunswick, Ga.
Gate Change at Confederate
Complex
Guardsmen, civilian employees, and visitors to the Confederate Avenue complex will find themselves entering and exiting the through another gate beginning Saturday. More
Deadline Set for Family Readiness
Award Nominee Applications
June 10 is the deadline set for turning in the names of nominees for this year's Outstanding Family Readiness and Support Award and the Special Appreciation Award. More
Lt. Gen. David B. Poythress The Adjutant General of Georgia
April 3, 2007 Time: 2:08 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 |
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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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General Poythress Earns Patriot Award
The 53rd Military Affairs luncheon, one of the largest Armed Forces Day events in the county was held at the Galleria honoring the men and women of the armed forces past and present. The annual event put on by the Atlanta Regional Military Affairs Council was attended by more than 300 civic and community leaders and members of the armed services stationed in the Atlanta area. This year's event was sponsored by Lockheed Aeronautical System Company and The Home Depot.
USO Chairman Mike Watson presented Major General Poythress and Robert Nardelli, Chairman of The Home Depot with the 2005 USO Patriot Award for their outstanding support for men and women in uniform.
The featured speaker for the luncheon was General Dan K. McNeill, Commanding General US Forces Command who specifically recognized the 4,200 men and women of Georgia 's 48th Infantry Brigade as they prepare to deploy this weekend.
"From their training at the NTC, your men and women are well prepared," said McNeill. "They will make every Georgian proud in the task that lies ahead for them."
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202nd Airman Supports Enhancement Project
Staff Sgt. Patrick Ragan and a team of communications personnel from Macon's the 202nd Engineering Installation Squadron are working with the Defense Information Systems Agency in Washington to bring 21st century technology to the Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building, President Bush's home. Ragan, who's been with the 202nd for two years, serves as a quality assurance inspector for the organization. He is responsible for checking the work of civilian contractors to ensure they have abided by all regulations.
This is just one part of a major effort by the Air National Guard to upgrade presidential communication.
The presidential communications upgrade is "an initiative to modernize the chief executives telecommunications systems to a standards-based, secure, fully interoperable and supportable architecture."
The Air Guard first began participating in the upgrade in June 2003, when officials realized that the communications program was too understaffed to effectively manage the large demands that the upgrades require.
Agency program managers worked with the Air Guard's Command, Control, Communications and Computers (C4) division to fill critical positions in network systems. People, DISA officials explained, were needed for telephony, information assurance, communications systems engineering, information management and quality assurance.
"I brought in those people who had an outstanding rsum, and those who had really good references from their commanders," said Lt. Col. Dian Hall, the program manager. "This is a very demanding environment, so I wanted folks who could go in and do the job without constant supervision."
Ragan said he was on temporary duty in Ecuador in December 2003 when he heard about this program. He submitted his resume, and later notified by the DISA that he had been selected for the job.
By June 2003, additional Airmen joined the White House Communication Agency team, Now, 11 Air Guardsmen have served on the team, with eight still assigned. The original commitment was for 30 days, but that time was too short to effectively accomplish the WHCA tasks, DISA officials said.
Many of the Airmen who volunteered for this assignment, officials said stay with the team for a year or more. Ragan's appointment, for example is for one to three years.
Airmen involved with the White House assignment quickly established themselves as experience and knowledgeable people, fully capable of working with other WHCA personnel.
Ragan and his fellow Airmen have a unique background that combines their military and civilian experiences.
There is a blend of old and new with the White House. Jutting out from the walls are cables for high speed communications and wires wrapped inconspicuously around the tops of rooms. The cable has been painted shades of pink and white to blend win with the decor and maintain a sense of the old architecture.
"This doesn't follow the guidelines of normal telecommunications installation," said Staff Sgt. Patrick Sampson. Sampson, a system administrator from the 190th Air Refueling Wing, is assigned to the team as a quality assure inspector. "It's a completely different design because of the historical significance of the building."
In addition to outstanding support, Air Guard personnel also provide tremendous savings in manpower costs. A year of support, for example, is about $72,000 - four times cheaper than that charged by a contractor.
"Bringing on Air National Guard support brought on people with a broad range of experience and expertise," said Tech. Sgt. Ted Van Landeghem, acting first sergeant for the Air Guard personnel assigned to DISA.
The agency pays a quarter of the cost for the team that it would for the same amount of contractors, Van Landeghem said.
Every WHCA product must be of presidential quality, Ragan said, and he and his fellow Airmen make sure that happens. "Presidential quality means not doing what is considered good - it must be the best," he added. "All the 'I's' have to be dotted, all the 'T's' crossed...every standard must be met."
Although Ragan in a frequent the White House regularly, he also spends much of his time at Camp David
and many of the other places where that Bush. Still, he admitted, he hasn't seen the President since joining the elite communications team.
As much as he compliments his team mates for their dedication and commitment, he also applauds his employer, BellSouth in Orlando, Fla., for allowing him to support the White House. Ragan has been employed by BellSouth for five Years.
"I can never say enough about the great support they continue to give me, the Guard and the country," he said.
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48th BCT Starts Mission with Send Off at Stewart
| Photogallery | May 14, 2005 -- Bands played, soldiers marched and wives, mothers, children and friends cried Saturday as the 48th Brigade Combat Team was given a formal send off ceremony at Fort Stewart , Ga. The unit, more than 4,000 strong, headed for its year long mission to Iraq . Dignitaries, including Governor Sonny Perdue, Georgia's Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. David B. Poythress and First Army Commander, Lt. Gen. Russell Honor, and Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson, joined the thousands of relatives who watched the Brigade on parade. Gov. Perdue praised the assembled troops for their courage and later presented Brig. Gen. Stewart Rodeheaver, commander of the 48th, with a Georgia flag to accompany his unit to Iraq . Maj. Gen. Poythress, who as Adjutant General oversees Georgia 's National Guard, told the troops that theirs was "an historic mission" and wished the men and women of the 48th "God Speed". He added that the Guard would look after their families while they were gone. This is the largest deployment of Georgia Guardsmen to a combat zone since World War II. The 48th was mobilized during Desert Storm in 1990, and sent to the National Training Center to prepare for the desert warfare, but the conflict concluded before the unit could be deployed. Lt. Gen. Honor few words received the loudest cheers as he declared the 48th "ready to fight!" "They set training records . . . they fired more ammunition than any brigade I've ever seen." Brig. Gen. Rodeheaver, acknowledging the salutes and praise of families and dignataries declared that the 48th "is the best unit I've ever worked with . . we promise you we will do you proud!" Following the formal ceremony, the Brigade members and their families were given approximately 90 minutes say final farewells before troops reported to their barracks to prepare for deployment. | Back | GADOD Home |
Army Gen. Larry R. Ellis inducts National Guard recruits during the Army's birthday celebration in 2002.
National Guard Recruiting Improves, Retention Still High
Georgia Leads Nation in Recruitment Success
The Air National Guard, with Georgia taking the lead, strengthened its ranks in April as compared to March, though it remains slightly below its overall recruiting goal for the year. The Army National Guard also was short of its recruiting goals, but each National Guard force retained its experienced Soldiers and Airmen at a high level.
The Air National Guard, across the nation, finished April with 106,063 Airmen assigned as compared to 106,020 in March. It's the first month-to-month increase since the federal fiscal year began Oct. 1, 2004. The April figure is 99.4 percent of the Air Guard's overall strength goal of 106,700 for the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30 of this year.
Nationally, he Army National Guard finished April with 331,019 soldiers in its ranks, or 94.5 percent of its fiscal year goal of 350,000. The April numbers put the service at 97 percent of the 342,180 Soldiers it had hoped to have by the end of March. Still, April was the second-best recruiting month of the current year, coming behind March, and better than the number of new recruits who joined in April 2004.
"The decreasing number of Army National Guard Soldiers mobilized may have contributed to this success," said Brig. Gen. Frank J. Grass, the Army Guard's deputy director. "We've recently peaked after 18 months at 90,000 to 100,000 Soldiers mobilized, to just more than 76,400 today.
"We expect our requirements will decrease as the active-duty force builds more deployable brigades and the Iraqi security forces are able to assume greater levels of responsibility," Grass added. "That, of course, will reduce the need for Army National Guard combat units."
Army Guard mobilizations peaked in January 2005 with 104,806 Soldiers mobilized. As of May 9 that number stood at 76,472.
"The Georgia Army National Guard leads the nation's trend for improved success in recruiting," said Lt. Col. Pete VanAmburgh, who commands Georgia's Recruiting and Retention Battalion at Joint Forces Headquarters in Ellenwood.
"With overall accessions of new Soldiers exceeding previous years' totals, and a second-place ranking in the nation for recruiter productivity, our recruiters are leading the way for the Army Guard's improved recruiting trend, " he said.
Georgia's Recruiting & Retention Battalion did not exhibit the slowdown in recruiting seen by many of the services, VanAmburgh said. Instead, the organization has grown and become more productive even while others have slipped, he explained. VanAmburgh reported that his people live by the creed "Strength & Honor," and they stay focused on finding the best and brightest in the state who are willing to commit to service in the Guard.
"We've built a strong team of professional noncommissioned officers, all of whom use the best recruiting practices and organizational theories available," VanAmburgh said. "None of us settle for anything but the best from ourselves."
As of May 26, the Georgia Army National Guard has enlisted more than 1,000 Soldiers during this fiscal year and will exceed all mission requirements from National Guard Bureau. For the year, the Air National Guard has recruited 4,817 new Airmen or 80.2 percent of its year-to-date goal of 6,004. The Army National Guard has recruited 26,181 new soldiers or 76.6 percent of its 34,167 goal.
"We're optimistic that our strength will continue to grow," said Lt. Gen. Daniel James III, Air National Guard director. "New directions for recruiting and increases in the incentives will help us accomplish that."
While recruiting figures have slowed, the number of Soldiers and Airmen electing to stay in the Guard remains high.
"Retention looks good," said Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, National Guard Bureau chief. "Soldiers and Airmen, who already know the pride and benefits of serving, because they've experienced it, continue to come back."
As of the end of April, 18,796 Army National Guard Soldiers had decided to re-enlist. That's 565 more than expected for the period, or 103.1 percent of the Guard's goal. So far this fiscal year, the Air National Guard has separated only 6,230 Airmen, 948 fewer than expected.
The Army National Guard goal of 5,034 was off by just 47 Soldiers, while the Air National Guard exceeded its goal by retaining more than 1,068 members.
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A Georgia National Guard member takes aim during training at Dobbins Air Reserve Base.
Civil Support Team Gets Realistic with its Training
Members of Georgia's 4th Civil Support Team recently participated in training made realistic through the use of live explosives. In a far corner of Marietta's Dobbins Air Reserve Base, yet still within earshot of the traffic on Cobb Parkway, explosions rocked the otherwise dormant firearms range hidden behind the base's active runway. There, explosives technicians rigged surgically placed explosives that did little more than blast a makeshift door off of its hinges. Just steps away, behind a 6-foot high knoll, several ounces of C-4 plastic explosive was used to blow a crater more than 3-foot deep in the ground. It was all part of an annual familiarizations and evaluation exercise conducted by CST. The exercise also the team a look at the latest in non-lethal firearms ammunition, advanced tools and entry equipment and techniques, and an assortment of high tech equipment and gadgetry that have applications in the military and civilian law enforcement communities. During the three-day exercise CST members trained along side those of the Calhoun SWAT team, Gordon County Fire Department, Dalton Police, Chatsworth Fire Department, the U.S. Air Marshals Service and explosive ordnance disposal technicians from the Air Force's 94th EOD. "This is an unusual opportunity for our people and local law enforcement to become familiar with, and experience, some of the most advanced tools available to our trades", said Maj. Jeff Allen, 4th CST commander. "Although the use of live explosives is rare as it relates to the CST mission, team members need to be familiar with the kinds of explosives available to our 'adversaries' and their specific uses." Much of the hands-on training was conducted by members of National Security Associates of Warner Robins. National Security has contracts to train military and civilian law enforcement agencies throughout the region. Included in the demonstration was non-lethal ammunition that looked like a miniature beanbag. This innovative ammo is designed to stop or immobilize a subject at close range. Also, a 10,000-pound cargo trailer was easily lifted with an inflatable bag no larger than a regular size balloon, and two 1,200-pounf concrete obstacles were separated by an inflatable plate no larger that a sandwich, Allen said. One of the tools that team members used was a torch that sliced effortlessly through a one-inch steel bar at a temperature of more than 3,000 degrees. "While not all of this equipment is available to us," Allen said, "we need to know what's out there and how to use those resources."
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Family Readiness Conference Set for August
The Georgia National Guard conducts its third annual Family Readiness Workshop and Leadership Conference Aug. 12 to 14 at Atlanta's Sheraton Midtown Hotel Colony Square.
Events are noon Friday through noon Sunday, according to a release by Ed Chamberlain, director workforce management.
A reception is scheduled for the first night of the conference, attire is casual. Classes held during the Family Readiness Workshop classes is casual (no shorts, jeans or T-shirts) for civilians, Class B uniform for military personnel (Friday and Saturday) and casual dress for Sunday. Dress for the awards banquet set for Saturday evening is coat and tie or dress blue uniform.
Units are encouraged to send two volunteers to the workshop and conference.
Hotel reservations for this event can be made by calling Sheraton Hotels at 1-866-912-1171 or go on line at www.starwoodmeeting.com/StarGroupsWeb
Reservations must be received no later than Tuesday, July 15, and reservations will be accepted at the government per diem rate after the cut-off date, based on availability. When making reservations, make sure the customer service person knows it is for the Family Readiness/Leadership Conference.
Those planning to attend this event should e-mail that information to Altamese Finch with the Directorate of Workforce Develoment, at altamese.finch@ga.ngb.army.mil This will allow her to forward information about the workshop and conference.
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Citizen-Soldiers with the 48th BCT prepare for a convoy. (Courtesy of Rome News Tribune)
48th BCT Sets Up Shop in Iraq, Begins its Missions
By Sgt. David Bill, 48th Brigade Combat Team PAO Georgia's 48th Brigade Combat Team, now in Iraq and split between several forward operating bases, began the next phase of its deployment to support Operation Iraqi Freedom. The first involved the five months of intense training the BCT conducted at Fort Stewart near Savannah and at the Army's National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif. Phase two saw the 48th receive an overwhelming farewell at Fort Stewart from families, friends and officials in mid-May, and then board chartered aircraft bound for Kuwait that left Savannah's Hunter Army Air Field not long after the formal goodbye. Much of the brigade's more than 4,000 Citizen-Soldiers are at Camp Stryker near Baghdad International Airport. Stryker, which is about 40-square kilometers, is part of the airport's Camp Liberty Complex. Others have taken up residence at camps Liberty, Taji and St. Michael, all of which are not far from the Iraqi capital city. The 48th's primary mission, now that it's here, is to train an Iraqi army unit. Three training teams from with the brigade's ranks will live with, train and out that unit. Additional missions include combat patrols, convoy and support operations. The latter could involve improvements to local infrastructure and other construction projects that fall within the brigade's area of operations. Brigade Commander, Brig. Gen. Stewart Rodeheaver, said all these are difficult missions, but, "We've had heart-to-heart talks with our Soldiers about they'll being doing for the next year," he said. "We are focused and we are ready to carry out those missions and whatever else we may be tasked with." When the brigade first arrived in Kuwait, its members spent their first 10 days at Camp Buehring near the Kuwait-Iraqi border. There they made final preparations for making the several hundred-mile trek to Baghdad. The 48th worked feverishly from early morning and on into the 105-degree or higher heat of the day loading vehicles, giving Soldiers one more chance to test their shooting kills on the local firing ranges and finalizing plans for the move North. Despite the urgency to get things done before crossing the border, brigade members had time to contact families and friends, take in a movie, work out in the camp gym and take advantage of the camp's other comforts and conveniences. In spite of Iraq's harsh environment the Soldiers of Georgia's 48th remain in good spirits. Throughout the camps one can hear the sounds of laughter, movies and the talk of post-deployment plans coming from the tents that the Guardsmen now call home. It isn't often that discussions of upcoming missions are heard.
Those, it seems, are reserved for mission briefs, held in private conversations and kept in individual thoughts.
While the months ahead hold many unknowns for the 48th Brigade, there doesn't seem to be any doubt in anyone' mind that they will do their jobs and accomplish their missions with pride. After all, this is what they've trained so hard for during those five months after being mobilized. And it's apparent that the training, the dedication and the loyalty that these Soldiers have for each other, for their brigade, their state and for their country will see them through and bring them safely home again.
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The 48th goes to war
AJC staffers Moni Basu and Curtis Compton recently returned from Iraq. What's on this page? The latest 10 entries, with the newest at the top, and snippets from the latest comments. Related:
AJC.com > Iraq coverage > Blog
Noor's odyssey full of promise and peril
By MONI BASU and MARK BIXLER | Saturday, July 1, 2006, 07:37 PM The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Only the women were home when Charlie Company soldiers began to search the house in Abu Ghraib, a town just west of Baghdad where gunfire and bombs are commonplace. The family matriarch, Soad, answered their questions.
Do you know anyone involved in insurgent activity? Are you aware of any criminals in the area? Have you ever been coerced by anyone?
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The infantrymen were on routine
Host mom Nancy and Noor partake in their patrol that December day, the kind
daily ritual of "girl talk" in front of a mirror. they had conducted since arriving in
Photos
Iraq seven months earlier. Yet the
random nature of Iraq's war meant
even the routine could go badly awry.
The soldiers of the Georgia Army National Guard's 48th Brigade Combat Team listened as an interpreter translated Soad's answers. In Abu Ghraib, home to the notorious prison, years of Saddam Hussein's ironfisted rule and months of the insurgency had taken its toll.
Suspicion filled the room.
This was not Soad's first encounter with Americans. She'd seen a neighbor struck by a bullet meant for suspected insurgents. She'd watched an American tank run over a kiosk that soldiers had built for her and neighbors to use as a market.
And her eldest son, Bashar, had twice been detained by U.S. soldiers -- first for a day or so on suspicion of firing a rocket-propelled grenade, and then again, just days before Charlie Company knocked on her door. She asked the Georgians to help her find him.
As the Gainesville-based soldiers turned to go, Soad made a bold request.
In the dimly lit family room, she showed Sgt. Nicholas Jelks her grandchild, Noor al-Zahra, a baby with big brown eyes who was not yet 3 months old. Soad turned the baby over to reveal a tumor-like growth covering her back.
Why don't you do something about her instead of bothering the innocent? Soad asked.
Jelks turned to Pfc. Justin Donnelly, a teenage medic known as "Doc" who carried a digital camera on every patrol.
With a few clicks of the camera, counterinsurgency gave way to compassion. An ordinary mission three weeks before Christmas set off a chain of events that would capture hearts around the world.
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The soldiers learned the Iraqi infant had spina bifida, a birth defect that would kill her if left untreated. Their effort to save Baby Noor, as she would come to be known, was a heartwarming tale of American generosity. It seemed like an unequivocal victory plucked from the chaos of combat.
Yet, doubt lurked -- on both sides. In a country of bloodshed and pervasive fear, even the noblest of deeds don't always meet with happy endings.
The soldiers' chance encounter set an ordinary Iraqi family on a tumultuous journey to Atlanta that made news around the world, from CNN to Iraqi TV. No one could know what would happen after the media spotlight faded.
The soldiers saved a baby's life. Yet their humanitarian mission also unleashed forces that would endanger her family -- and lead to yet another bombing near Baghdad.
Compelled to help
In Iraq, trust is a word fading from the average vocabulary.
"One day they could be your friend; the next day they wanted to kill you," said Sgt. 1st Class Michael Sonen, who led many of Charlie Company's civil affairs missions, about the residents in Abu Ghraib.
Still, soldiers listened as Soad told them that Iraqi doctors called Noor "lame" and a "reject," a baby who probably would live only 40 more days. This was a traditional society in the developing world that often views children with handicaps, especially girls, as liabilities.
Charlie Company soldiers returned to Baghdad's Camp Liberty with photographs of the baby. First Lt. Jeff Morgan persuaded Army doctor Maj. Susan Robinson to visit the house and examine Noor.
"My reaction was, `This kid's going to die unless we do something,' " Morgan said. "I've got five kids. No way I can imagine having medical care out there for my kids and not be able to access it."
As a soldier and a "Christian in the combat zone," Morgan said he felt compelled to do what he thought was right by helping Noor. Now, six months later, given repercussions Noor's family has faced, it seems less clear-cut.
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"There was never really any discussion about what would happen after Noor got treatment," Morgan said. "Maybe it was right. Maybe it was wrong."
Tensions mount in Iraq
Noor's mother, Iman, was only 19, and the family thought Soad would be more capable of handling a trip to America. Soad said she could not travel unaccompanied by a male relative and decided her son, Noor's father, Haider, also should go.
In late December, Charlie Company commander Capt. Anthony Fournier sent soldiers to fetch Noor and her guardians and bring them back to the base near Baghdad's airport.
Fournier said that saving Baby Noor gave a tangible sense of success to soldiers who sometimes felt they were fighting without purpose. Even so, suspicion lingered.
A soldier guarding Noor's trailer leapt from his chair when Haider emerged with a cellphone one day. Insurgents often use mobile phones to detonate makeshift bombs, the top killer of U.S. troops in Iraq.
Back in Abu Ghraib, the family worried, too. Neighbors warned that insurgents might target the family if it accepted help from the Americans. Soad's husband and other relatives tried to dissuade her from taking Noor to Atlanta. The family also worried about lacking the means to provide for the lifetime of medical care Noor would need. Army doctors predicted that even with surgery, Noor would not gain the use of her legs. Noor's home sits on a corner of two unpaved roads strewn with trash and stained with sewage the color of anti-freeze -- not the best place for a child in a wheelchair.
Sending Noor to America, though, meant choosing life over death.
"I had hope there was a future for her," Soad said.
A few days before leaving, she had second thoughts. She told a soldier that she worried about Haider's safety in the United States. Maybe she and Haider would run into an American whose relative had been killed in Iraq. Maybe that American would seek revenge by killing her son.
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You're going to be pleasantly surprised, the soldier said.
Arrival in Atlanta
The media followed Noor in Baghdad and awaited her at the Atlanta airport.
Reporters scribbled notes. Camera flashes fired. Spectators clapped for Soad and Haider, their faces obscured by scarves and dark glasses.
Dr. Roger Hudgins, chief of neurosurgery at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, pledged to donate his services by operating on Noor.
"Obviously good works happen every day in Iraq, and good works happen with the soldiers," he said. "We hear all of the negative. It's about time, I think, that we have the opportunity to hear some of the good."
The celebrity baby's story emphasized U.S. contributions in Iraq at a time of sagging popularity for the war at home.
Sponsored by Childspring International, a Christian nonprofit group that brings sick children to Atlanta for medical care they cannot get in their native countries, Noor was examined at Children's Healthcare, a state-of-the-art hospital that treats cancer, blood disorders and orthopedic problems.
The hospital contrasted sharply with clinics in Abu Ghraib. One near Noor's house had filthy terrazzo floors, shattered windows and just three shelves of medicine from the black market or U.S. military.
Now Noor was receiving care in one of the world's most medically advanced countries. Kevin McClelland, spokesman for Children's Healthcare, estimated that Noor received $85,000 in hospital services during her stay in Atlanta. He said that does not include doctors' fees or support services such as social workers or interpreters.
On Jan. 9, an hour after doctors performed the first of several operations, Hudgins entered Room 137 to tell Noor's grandmother and father that all went well.
"From her first days," Soad said. "Noor has been very strong."
"She is very strong because her family is very strong," Hudgins said.
Soad asked Hudgins if Noor would ever walk. The surgeon paused. He previously had told Noor's family that the baby would grow up in a wheelchair, as a paraplegic for life, but they yearned for a miracle.
"I'm not here to take away hope," Hudgins said, "but time will tell."
Modern-day marvels
Doctors wanted Noor to remain in Atlanta until she was medically fit to go home.
Soad, Haider and Noor settled into a routine with two host families that Childspring arranged. The families opened suburban homes, took their visitors to the Varsity restaurant and Georgia Aquarium and accompanied Noor and her relatives to medical appointments.
At a Kroger in Alpharetta, Soad and Haider marveled at small jets spraying a light mist onto bok choy and savoy cabbage. It was much different from the family's consignment shop in Abu Ghraib's market, where flies descend on open bowls of olives and freshly slaughtered chickens and sheep.
Haider stretched his arms to show that their store was smaller than a stainless steel compartment Kroger stocked with soy milk and organic yogurt.
Between doctor appointments, Noor and her family spent long hours in the home of Nancy and Edward Turner, who assumed host-family duties in the second month of their stay. Soad and Haider doted on Noor and listened to Arabic music while the Turners were at work. Haider marveled at a central vacuum system, sipped strong chai tea and played dominoes with Edward. Some evenings, Soad cooked lamb and rice. Nancy showed her how to use a treadmill. She dyed Soad's hair with burgundy Revlon coloring that Soad had chosen.
Trips to the hospital brought good news. Doctors were pleased with Noor's progress.
Yet Soad was anxious on the phone to Iraq. Sometimes, the tears flowed.
She missed her husband and the shop. She missed the birth of another grandchild. She had been in charge of her family of six girls and three boys. Without her, decisions were often difficult. She said she was willing to stay until doctors told her Noor was well enough to go home.
Then the phone rang one night in March. There was trouble in Abu Ghraib.
Danger on the homefront
Soad gave this account of what her son Bashar told her in that call:
Someone had blown up the family's store. The bombers left a note criticizing the family for helping Americans. The note asserted that Soad and Haider did not really go to the United States to seek medical care for Noor. It also said Bashar had not been detained by U.S. soldiers but had been working secretly with them.
The attackers threatened to blow up the family home unless Soad and Haider came back.
The U.S. Army says it's difficult to confirm Soad's account because it handed over control of that area of Abu Ghraib to the Iraqi army in January. But Soad said the call prompted her to make a wrenching decision.
She and Haider would go home and leave Noor with Nancy and Edward, at least until doctors said it was safe for the baby to travel.
In late March, Soad and Haider boarded a plane with help from Childspring, an agency with four employees that had never handled a high-profile case involving threats of retaliation.
"I couldn't take Noor back without finishing her care," Soad said later from Iraq. "I couldn't lose my family either."
Soad and Haider avoided their house in Abu Ghraib, staying at first with relatives in a safer neighborhood. Worried that insurgents would strike, Haider went into hiding. Soad struggled to find money.
Childspring sent her home with $10,000. Without an income, Soad said she has been using that money to pay for living expenses and repay people to
whom she owed money for items on consignment at her store. She said she needs at least $30,000 more to get her family's life back in order: $10,000 to rebuild the store and $20,000 to restock the inventory and repay her debts.
"This definitely has something to do with our association with the Americans," she said about her perils in a phone interview last month. "Everyone here knows who we are."
When Soad and Bashar returned to Abu Ghraib one day to collect belongings, men in Iraqi army uniforms showed up and accused Bashar of cooperating with insurgents.
Soad knew insurgents and sectarian militias often kidnap people by posing as soldiers. Many people whisked off that way turn up dead, signs of torture on their bodies. Yet people like Bashar have few good choices. It is hard to say no to men with guns.
The men in military uniforms put Bashar and a brother-in-law into a truck. They drove off.
A family divided
Soad lost track of her eldest son but eventually heard about an Iraqi army unit with a record of him in detention. Haider remains in hiding.
"It's difficult for me to be optimistic," Soad said.
Lt. Col. Kevin Brown, commander of a 10th Mountain Division unit to which Charlie Company had been attached, said in an e-mail last week that he could not confirm Noor's family had been targeted, but that they had been "clearly threatened ... for the medical assistance provided for their child."
He said the family has never expressed views that are hostile to or in favor of U.S. forces.
"The only association they have had is in doing what any parent would do and that is seek out the best medical assistance possible for their child," Brown said.
Brown said the Iraqi army and fledgling police can provide "adequate/effective
security to the family."
Meanwhile, Noor has grown into a smiling 9-month-old baby who loves baths and sleeps through the night.
Several days ago, after doctors gave her a clean bill of health, Childspring sent Noor home with the help of lawmakers in Washington and the U.S. military. This time, because of security concerns, no cameras greeted her at airports.
Donnelly, the medic who first photographed Noor, was among the soldiers who took the baby back to her home Wednesday.
An uncertain future
Childspring has discussed Noor's condition with a team of doctors in Baghdad -- a neurologist, a urologist, a pediatrician and an orthopedist. The group sent Noor home with catheters and shunts like the one placed in her brain to drain fluids. As she grows, she probably will require surgery again.
Soad knows her granddaughter, saddled with a lifetime of visits to doctors, probably never will have access to the kind of medical care she received in Atlanta. Robinson, the Army doctor who examined Noor in December, said she believed Soad "would go the extra mile" for Noor's follow-up care.
"A lot of her quality of life will depend on how motivated her family is," Robinson said in a recent e-mail from Baghdad. "They described taking her to several places to get a diagnosis and were willing to take her to the United States.
"A normal life in Iraq is certainly different from a normal life in the U.S.," she said. "We have witnessed many people in Iraq with disabilities, and they seem to carry on with what they consider to be normal."
For their efforts to save Noor, Charlie Company soldiers recently received two humanitarian awards -- from the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust and the Anne Frank Center in New York. A few days ago, the Spina Bifida Association paid them tribute.
As the soldiers accept accolades, Noor's family braces for an uncertain future.
Soad said she believes she did the right thing by taking her granddaughter to America. She dreams about visiting again the nation that saved Iraq from Saddam Hussein, the country of medical miracles, where anything is possible, but she can't bear to leave her beloved homeland behind forever.
Soad worries about Noor and about her family's fate.
She worries about Iraq. She wonders how it will all turn out.
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Latest comments
Subject: Two forces Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you, Jesus Christ and the American G. I. One died for your soul, the other for your freedom. Thank them both. ... read the full comment by Good E-mail Message | Comment on Noor's odyssey full of promise and peril
Good job,48th. Y'all rock - we are so proud of you! Yikes ... read the full comment by Momma Kat Orr | Comment on Noor's odyssey full of promise and peril
I am proud of the 48th and the job they did, especially helping baby Noor, and the other good deeds you did. GOD's spirit dewells in you all. ... read the full comment by bubba9 | Comment on Noor's odyssey full of promise and peril
It is not this childs fault.. Yes, we should look at where we live too, but these guys/ gals were not here at the time. They were in Iraq, doing a job. They didn't see an evil child or a family that was shooting at them.. They sow a child in dieing ... read the full comment by Jeannie | Comment on Noor's odyssey full of promise and peril
Baby Noor returns home to Iraq
By Moni Basu | Wednesday, June 28, 2006, 03:55 PM The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Iraqi baby who was rescued by Georgia soldiers and then melted hearts around the world returned home from Atlanta on Wednesday.
Baby Noor, discovered by soldiers of the Georgia Army National Guard's 48th Brigade Combat Team and brought here for life-saving medical care, was delivered to her home in Abu Ghraib by the U.S. Army.
Ben Gray/AJC
Baby Noor, brought to Atlanta for lifesaving medical care, was delivered to her home in Abu Ghraib by the U.S. Army this
Noor spent six months in Atlanta with two host families while undergoing surgery and follow-up medical treatment.
week.
U.S. military officials took Noor's
grandmother, Soad, to meet the
baby in Kuwait and flew them both back to the Baghdad airport.
From there, Noor was escorted in pre-dawn darkness by soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division's 2-22 Infantry Battalion in humvees back to eastern Abu Ghraib, the unit's public affairs officer, 1st Lt. Kristofer Deniger said in a telephone interview from Baghdad.
Deniger said the family was happy to have the baby, now eight months old, back at home.
"It was pretty much a flawless trip," he said.
Baby Noor was shuttled out of Iraq after soldiers of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment went into the family home on a routine search last December.
Soad asked the Gainesville-based Charlie Company infantrymen to help her
grandchild, who was born with a severe form of spina bifida, a birth defect in which the spinal cord does not fully form. Noor had an enormous tumor-like growth on her tiny back.
The U.S. Army arranged for Noor, Soad and Noor's father, Haider, to travel to Atlanta, where her stay was sponsored by Childspring International, a Christian non-profit that brings sick kids from other nations to Atlanta for treatment.
"This particular humanitarian effort started with a young medic who noticed a child in need and ended with the most powerful nation on the planet, and its citizens, showing compassion and concern and a desire to do the right thing for her," Lt. Col Kevin Brown, commander of 2-22 Infantry, said in an e-mail Wednesday.
"I'm honored to have served with our brothers from the Georgia Army National Guard, who really got this thing moving," Brown said. "Saving Baby Noor was as important to us as it was for us to kill and capture terrorists."
Brown said he would like one day to return to Iraq -- when the insurgency has subsided -- to check on the progress of Noor.
He said the U.S. Army has conducted over 20 medical assistance missions in Abu Ghraib over the past year and provided pre-natal vitamins to over 1,000 expectant mothers.
"This effort probably helped prevent another few dozen Baby Noors with various birth defects," he said in his e-mail.
Even as Noor was settling back at home, the Spina Bifida Association paid tribute to Charlie Company soldiers at a conference in downtown Atlanta. Sgt. Nicholas Jelks, a mechanic from Decatur who was the first to see Noor, accepted the Chair's Excellence Award.
Jelks, who got a standing ovation from the crowd, said he felt honored to receive the award and was happy to learn that Baby Noor was reunited with her family.
"It's good to know I made a big difference in someone's life," he said.
Chairman Douglas Sorocco said the soldiers were honored by the Spina Bifida Association for "reaching out to a child in need in war-torn Iraq" whose case
help publicize the birth defect in which the spinal cord does not fully form.
Charlie Company has already received two other humanitarian awards for their efforts to help Noor.
Soad and Haider returned to Iraq in late March to attend to the family they left behind in Abu Ghraib. Noor was not determined well enough to travel then and stayed back with hosts Nancy and Edward Turner.
Nancy Turner boarded a commercial jet for Kuwait on Monday evening with Noor.
Doctors have predicted that Noor will have a chance at a fairly normal life though she may never gain the use of her legs and spend a lifetime in a wheelchair.
Childspring, working through an Iraqi businessman in Atlanta, has lined up a team of doctors in Baghdad who have agreed to see Noor annually. The organization also sent Noor home with a supply of shunts and catheters that might not be easily available in Iraq.
Doctors have said Noor will likely need to see a neurologist, urologist, pediatrician and an orthopedist on a regular basis. A shunt placed in her brain to help drain fluid buildups will likely have to be adjusted as she grows. "We tried to duplicate the medical team she had here," said Christina Porter, USA director for Childspring. "I am overjoyed that Childspring has been able to what we could do to return Noor to her family."
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Special day for Baby Noor hero
By MONI BASU | Monday, June 19, 2006, 06:37 AM The Atlanta Journal-Constitution It was a very special Father's Day for 1st Lt. Jeff Morgan of Douglasville.
The Georgia Army National Guard soldier, back from Iraq just last month, spent the day with his children attending church and opening gifts of clothing -- his children said their father had lost too much weight in Iraq and none of his shorts or shirts fit him anymore.
Later in the day, Morgan, 40, was able to see another child who is very dear to his heart: Noor al-Zahra, the Iraqi baby who he helped shuttle out of the slums of Abu Ghraib for critically needed medical care in Atlanta.
"She's beautiful," said Morgan of Noor, now almost 9 months old and teething. "It was awesome to see her. I feel very blessed. This is a great Father's Day gift."
Last December, Morgan was alerted to the plight of Noor, born with a severe form of spina bifida, a birth defect in which the spine does not fully form. Iraqi doctors had told Noor's family that she would not survive long.
Morgan, a single father of five, took it upon himself to get Noor the medical treatment she needed. She arrived in Atlanta on New Year's Day and underwent surgery at Children's Healthcare to remove a tumor-like growth on her back.
On Sunday, Noor smiled and gurgled as Morgan held her in his arms. He was the first of the soldiers of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment to see the child after she left Iraq. The Gainesville-based infantry unit has received worldwide acclaim and two humanitarian awards for their efforts to save Noor's life.
Morgan said he thinks Noor will have a great future now that she has received the medical care she needed.
The baby currently is staying with a host family arranged by Childspring International, a Christian nonprofit that brings sick children to Atlanta for medical care. Childspring arranged the meeting between Noor and Morgan on Sunday.
Noor's father and grandmother, who accompanied her to Atlanta, returned to Iraq in late March.
Morgan's children said they were enormously happy to have their father back among them and honored to call him their dad.
"I've never seen anyone from Iraq before," said son Andrew, 13. "We're very proud of him," said daughter Abigail, 16.
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Father's Day has special meaning for Canton man back from Iraq
By CHRISTIAN BOONE | Wednesday, June 14, 2006, 01:34 PM The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Two days after his second child, Lilian, was born, National Guardsman Jeremy Mays landed not far from Fallujah with the rest of the 48th Brigade Combat Team.
Frank Niemeir/AJC
Jeremy Mays holds daughter Lilian, 1, at his home in Canton on Friday, while his wife, April, holds daughter, Kathleen, 2.
well.
As he entered the so-called Triangle of Death in central Iraq, his wife, April, emerged from a different sort of peril, surviving a high-risk pregnancy marred by gestational diabetes, gestational asthma and toxemia. As she was giving birth -- five weeks ahead of schedule -- her heart stopped on the delivery table.
She is fully recovered now. Their 14month-old daughter is healthy as
"It was very frustrating, not being able to be there for my wife," said Mays, a 25year-old Canton man.
His repeated requests for leave were denied when he was in Iraq, but he made it home in time to spend Father's Day with his family this Sunday.
He never knew the full extent of his wife's maladies during her pregnancy. As the daughter of a career Air Force officer, she was well-versed in the standard operating procedure of a military wife.
"I learned from my mother to say, `Everything's fine, honey,' " said April Mays, 23.
She works for the Bartow County Department of Family and Children's Services as she pursues a psychology degree from Kennesaw State University.
"We'd talk about every day. It was unbearable. But I had to be at my happy place. There was no crying on the phone," she said.
Nor on the battlefield. Knowing his mind was elsewhere, his commanding officers restricted Mays to the base, where he was assigned guard duty.
Mays found solace from fellow soldiers and an unlikely friend, a local Shiite named Mohammed who worked at the base cafeteria.
"I'd give him things, like pants and shoes," Mays said. "He had been through so much. His first wife had been killed by Saddam, but he had the strength to go on.
"It was helpful for me to remember that there's always someone worse off than yourself.
"I had to hunker down and be the rock for my wife," said Mays, currently in training to become a law enforcement officer in DeKalb County. "Whenever we'd talk, I'd say the same thing: `Everything's fine, don't worry.' "
It was an awkward dance for the couple, forced into conversations peppered with necessary white lies on both ends. Even now -- two months since his return -- they're adjusting to having each other back in their lives.
Both agree that their five-year marriage is stronger than ever.
"He's a totally different person now, a lot more serious," April Mays said. "He thinks about things before he says it."
As a father, however, nothing has changed.
"Jeremy was always a great dad," she said as Kathleen, their 2 1/2-year-old, sat in her father's lap. "And Lilian and Kathleen are total daddy's girls."
Father's Day holds special significance for Mays, who remembers little about what he was doing this time last year.
"Probably walking out of the tent, going to guard duty," he said. "Holidays mean a lot more now than they ever did."
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Families bid farewell to soldiers off to Iraq
By MONI BASU | Monday, June 5, 2006, 08:34 PM The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tears flowed and the apprehension was evident on the faces of family members and friends who gathered Monday at Fort Gillem for a send-off ceremony for Georgia Army National Guard soldiers.
On the heels of the 48th Brigade Combat Team's return from a yearlong deployment in Iraq, more of Georgia's citizen soldiers are heading to the combat zone.
Company H of the 121st Infantry Regiment's 1st Battalion leaves for Fort Hood, Texas, today for two months of training, after which the 175 soldiers will head to Iraq, many for a second tour.
Kimberly Smith/AJC
Amanda Hickman (top) of Rome, Ga., gives her husband, Specialist Jeremy Hickman a tearful hug. Sgt. Ian Carter of
"I'm excited to go," said Pfc. Jason Tomassini, 20, who works at a sporting goods store near Douglasville. "I've always wanted to
Decatur bids farewell to Caddock, his 6- be a soldier since I was little."
month-old son.
Company H, an airborne long-range
surveillance unit, deployed to the Middle East in February 2003, spending
seven months in Iraq after the U.S. invasion in March. This time they will spend
12 months there.
Although the 48th, with about 4,400 soldiers, was the largest Georgia Guard unit to serve in Iraq, Brig. Gen. Lawrence Ross, commander of the 78th Troop Command, said at least 475 Guard troops from the state are serving there. Several more units are preparing to go later this year, and eventually will raise the total number of Georgia Guard members in Iraq to about 700, Ross said.
An additional 215 soldiers of the Georgia Air National Guard are also in Iraq, according to the state Guard office.
One of those soldiers already in Iraq, Maj. Michael Fordham, plans officer for the 122nd Rear Operations Center, is in charge of base defense operations at Baghdad's vast Camp Victory complex near the airport. He described his job running the watch towers, checkpoints and badging facilities as "sort of like running a small city."
Fordham, a 27-year veteran of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation with expertise in undercover sting operations, said that like many of the 48th's soldiers, his civilian occupation helps him in his military role in Iraq.
Gary Rothwell, a special agent in Perry, said Fordham was good in his job in Iraq because he is "creative in working out solutions.?"
"If you're playing a role and something changes, you have to figure out how to maintain your cover and use what's given to you," Rothwell said.
He said GBI agents often would be working on several cases simultaneously and that meant taking on several personas at once. Fordham credited those organizational skills learned at the GBI for his successes in Iraq.
He reiterated what Guard leaders say frequently: National Guard soldiers bring an important set of civilian skills to their duties in Iraq. That's especially true of men and women who deal with Iraqi citizens and local governments and institutions regularly.
That kind of close interaction worried Sgt. Jason Strohmetz, 32, a lineman for Georgia Power who served with Company H in Iraq in 2003. He said he knew the nature of the Iraq war had changed vastly since he was last there -- roadside bombs and insurgent attacks were not nearly as prevalent then -- and he feared having to perform civilian-like policing duties in the midst of chaos and uncertainty.
"I'm more concerned about having to act like a police officer rather than a soldier," he said. "Combat seems simpler."
Ross said the long-range surveillance soldiers such as Strohmetz are badly needed in the fight against Iraq's insurgency.
"They go forward in small teams and gather intelligence," Ross said. "They look for infiltrators, look for bombs, bad guys. Their role is to not be seen, to be stealthy. It's a tremendous role for our unit."
But of all the anxieties of being called to war, Strohmetz said he most dreaded having to say goodbye again to his wife and four daughters. His youngest, Abby, 4, didn't recognize him when he returned last time.
"I'm going to miss my family but I don't mind at all," said Strohmetz, who lives in Warner Robins. "I'm old-fashioned about the military. I feel like I'm supposed to be doing this when our country is at war."
-- Staff writer Rhonda Cook contributed to this article.
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Georgia Army National Guard Spc. Michael Pope helps Army Junior ROTC Cadet-2nd Lt. Deaniellia Woodson fix her rappelling harness. Pope is a full-time recruiter with the Guard's Recruiting and Retention Division at Joint Forces Headquarters in Ellenwood. Woodson, 16, is a student at Dooly County High School in Vienna. (Georgia National Guard photo by Sgt. Roy Henry)
Guardsmen Help with JROTC Program
Members of the Georgia Army National Guard recently spent four days getting more "face time" with the next generation of Soldiers at an annual South Georgia Army Junior ROTC summer camp program near Albany. At least 24 Army Guard recruiters from the Recruiting and Retention Division at Joint Forces Headquarters in Ellenwood and Soldiers from units such as 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry, 148th Forward Support Battalion and Georgia Medical Command, assisted with Camp Freedom III. This year's JROTC leadership camp at Camp Osborn Boy Scout Camp. An estimated 129 JROTC cadets from Macon's Central High School and Fitzgerald High in Fitzgerald, as well as Crisp, Dooly, Turner, Wilcox and Worth high schools participated. "It's a great opportunity for us as recruiters and Soldiers because it allows the cadets to see us on a daily basis, even if it is only for five days," said Master Sgt. Dale Shanklin. "That contact makes us more personable them. Shanklin is the NCOIC for the Recruiting and Retention Division's Region 9. That region covers much Southwest Georgia. "In turn they remember us when we visit them at school," he added. The one thing that should be remember, though, is that the important thing about working at the weeklong summer camp is he and his fellow Soldiers are helping those future leaders build their self esteem and confidence in their abilities to tackle life challenges now and in the future, Shanklin said. Lieutenant Col. Dennis Harrison, the camp commander and the senior Army instructor at Cordele's Crisp County High, agreed. When the cadets start their first day of training, many of them can be heard saying, "I can't do this...I just can't," Harrison said. By the time they're through the week, they've changed their tune and can be heard
telling their friends and the JROTC cadre, "I can't believe I did this...this is great, I want to do it again," Harrison said.
"When push comes to shove, when the pressure is put on them to not back down, but to meet the challenge head on, they come out on top every time," he continued. "That success, that change, in attitude can be contributed to the Soldiers and to our cadre who never, ever let the cadets just give up and walk away."
While much of the training takes place at Camp Osborn, portions of it are conducted at the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany, Shanklin said. The Marines, he said, are great to work with, and they have long been a supporter of the Guard and its training efforts, to include the Guard's Recruiting Sustainment Training. That training gets new Soldiers ready for the challenges they will meet at Basic Combat Training.
This is the third year the Army JROTC has held its weeklong summer camp at Camp Osborn. In the past, the training was two-weeks long and was held at Fort Stewart and the National Guard Training Center. Then, the JROTC cadre and the Guardsmen who volunteered to assist them worked with more than 500 JROTC cadets from across the state. Now, the training is only one week and takes place at designated sites among the Army Guard's nine recruiting regions, Shanklin said.
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Construction Causes Change in Traffic at Confederate
Guardsmen, civilian employees, and visitors to the Confederate Avenue complex will find themselves entering and exiting the through another gate beginning Saturday. From June 5 until further notice, traffic that normally uses the Lester Avenue gate will be closed. The city of Atlanta is constructing storm sewer and other utility lines beneath Lester Avenue and the surrounding neighborhood. The project is part of a larger infrastructure plan to support systems that are not working or are in disrepair. To minimize traffic congestion at the Lester Avenue gate, Gate 1 between the Georgia Public Safety Building and the Georgia Department of Defense offices (Bldg No. 1) is being reopened. The gate was closed for security reasons after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001. Gate 1, said Lt. Col. Bruce Berger plans and programs director for the state DoD's Construction and Facilities Management Office, is the primary entrance for employees and other visitors to the complex. Berger is the Point of contact for the city of Atlanta. Questions about gate closings and opening should be directed to Donnie Apted at 678-569-6513 or Lt. Col. Tom Blackstock at 678-569-6526. Berger added that Gate 2, located behind the Georgia DoD offices also will be opened, and used mostly for truck and large vehicle traffic, as well as overflow traffic from Gate 1 and as an exit from the complex. For emergency purposes, Lester Avenue and the eastern gate that is usually locked in the side area of the Department of Public Safety remain available, upon special coordination, Berger said. Everyone, he said, is reminded that all gates are subject to be used for emergencies as well as closed for security reasons. As for parking, Berger explained, "Though we will lose some personally owned vehicle parking on the west side street of Buildings No. 1 and No. 2, parking on the reservation remains adequate to support our population."
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STATE OF GEORGIA
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
FULL SPECTRUM INTEGRATED VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT TEAM 1388 1ST STREET BUILDING 840
DOBBINS AIR RESERVE BASE, GEORGIA 30069
JFHQ- J3-CD-FSIVA
3 June 2005
MEMORANDUM THRU
COL Tim Britt, JFHQ-J3, Joint Operations Directorate, 1st Street, Bldg #826, Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia 30069
COL Owen Ulmer (USANG Ret), Director of Joint Operations, 1388 1st Street, Bldg #826, Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia 30069
FOR GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION
SUBJECT: Recruitment for the Full Spectrum Integrated Vulnerability Assessment Team
1. The Full Spectrum Integrated Vulnerability Assessment (FSIVA) Team has been tasked by the National Guard Bureau (NGB) and the Adjutant General of the Georgia National Guard to conduct vulnerability assessments of critical infrastructures (CIs), key resources (KR), and defense Industrial base (DIBs) installations within the state and FEMA Region IV.
2. The FSIVA Team is looking for highly motivated self starters to join two separate teams: the Title 32 ADSW Team and the M-Day Team. Reference Annex-A for job descriptions, responsibilities, and training of team members.
a. The full time ADSW Team has the below listed vacancies available for immediate fill:
(1) Structural Specialist, Rank: E7.
(2) Emergency Management Specialist, Rank: E7.
b. The M-Day FSIVA Team will be placed in a ADSW status for a 4 month training period. The team members then attend the Homeland Defense Enhanced Comprehensive Assessment Model (HLD-ECAM) Basic Certification Course. Upon completion of the HLD-ECAM training course, the M-Day team members will conduct 2 training vulnerability assessments on critical infrastructure (CI) sites. M-Day members will revert to M-Day status after the 4 month period and be utilized as the terrorist threat dictates or when required for vulnerability assessments. M-Day members will attend advanced certification courses to further specialize into their area of expertise. Reference Annex A.
3. FSIVA Teams are one of the newest NGB additions to the homeland defense mission. The training program and professional development soldiers will be afforded cannot be matched. Motivated soldiers and airmen are encouraged to apply.
JFHQ-J3-CD-FSIVA SUBJECT: Recruitment for Full Spectrum Integrated Vulnerability Assessment Team.
4. Point of contact is CPT R.J. Faunt at Cell: 404-915-0136, Work Cell: 404-449-6851, COMM: 678655-3476, DSN: 579-3476 or NIPR e-mail: raymond.faunt@ga.ngb.army.mil, AKO: raymond.john.faunt@us.army.mil.
FOR THE JFHQ-J3-DIRECTOR
2Encls 1. Functional Area Annex-A 2. FSIVA Training Outline Annex-B
CF: JFHQ-J3 Director JFHQ-J3 JFHQ-J3-Deputy J3 JFHQ-J3-CDC
//ORIGINAL SIGNED// RAYMOND J. FAUNT JR. Captain, IN, GaARNG FSIVA Team Leader
2
JFHQ-J3-CD-FSIVA SUBJECT: Recruitment for Full Spectrum Integrated Vulnerability Assessment Team.
Annex-A
(1-1) FUNCTIONAL AREAS
THE OVERRIDING CONCEPT OF ANTITERRORISM VULNERABILITY REDUCTION IS THE FOCUS OF
THREE BROAD AREAS, NAMELY: (1) PREVENTING A TERRORIST INCIDENT FROM OCCURRING, AND FAILING THAT; (2) SUBSTANTIALLY MITIGATING THE EFFECTS OF A TERRORIST ACT, AND (3) PROVIDING ASSISTANCE, TRAINING AND PRODUCT TO SITES OR INSTALLATIONS ON METHODS TO REDUCE VULNERABILITIES. IN COMBINATION, THE PROACTIVE AND REACTIVE CAPABILITIES
WITHIN THESE THREE BROAD AREAS FORM THE NUCLEUS OF WHAT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS
ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS FOR DETERRING AND COMBATING TERRORISM. TO FULLY ASSESS THESE AREAS, ASSESSMENT TEAMS ARE DIVIDED INTO THE SIX FUNCTIONAL AREAS LISTED BELOW.
(1) Team Leader. Key responsibilities include overall management and leadership, training, and the on-scene performance of the assessment team members. Other duties include:
Coordinates all contact with installation before, during, and after the assessment is complete
Interacting with and supporting the team member specialists to ensure a coherent, applicable antiterrorism assessment
Ensuring the quality and technical completeness of the out-brief to the installation
Ensuring that the team is properly prepared and equipped Overseeing the pre-deployment collection and analysis of prepared information
to support the movement to area of operations Serving as the team's primary point of contact with the installation manager or
significant representative Serving as the mediator between facilities and FSIVA team members if
differences arise.
(2) Terrorist Operations Specialist. Key responsibilities include examining the site, facility, or installation's assessment of the current and projected terrorist threat, the threat assessment process, and selecting illustrative targets based on their vulnerabilities. Other duties include:
Assessing the installation's estimate of terrorist operational capability, intentions, activity, and the operating environment influencing terrorist groups
Assessing the installation's threat assessment process and procedures for collecting, analyzing, processing, producing, and disseminating terrorist threat information
Assessing exploitable open source information and vulnerabilities which, when viewed by a terrorist, assist in the targeting process
Identifying and evaluating the vulnerability of illustrative targets Identifying illustrative targets and the method of attack for each target, based on
exploitable vulnerabilities Formulating and suggesting corrective measures.
3
JFHQ-J3-CD-FSIVA SUBJECT: Recruitment for Full Spectrum Integrated Vulnerability Assessment Team.
(3) Security Operations Specialist. Key responsibilities include: installation, facility, and personal security and safety. Duties include:
Assessing the overall efficacy and executability of the installation antiterrorism and other associated plans
Assessing overall physical security and security operations Assessing the security forces, security force augmentation program and the
adequacy of equipment and resources available for use by both regular and augmented security personnel Assessing access control and perimeter barriers to the installation and highpopulation centers Assessing relationship with and support from local law enforcement and other security agencies Assessing the antiterrorism education and training status of personnel assigned to the installation Assessing personal and executive protection and training for high-risk personnel/billets Assessing the vulnerability of transportation and mail Formulating and suggesting corrective measures
(4) Infrastructure Specialist. Key responsibilities include infrastructure security, damage control and continuity of operations for fire-safety, mechanical, water, electrical, telephone and fuel systems. Duties include:
Assessing fire-protection systems, fire suppression, and fire alarms to determine their ability to facilitate evacuation, initiate a response, and extinguish fires resulting from a terrorist incident
Assessing the electric supply and distribution systems to determine if power will continue to be supplied to critical facilities during a terrorist incident and contingency planning for power restoration and recovery operations
Assessing fuel storage and delivery to determine if they can be exploited by a terrorist to divert first responders and/ or be a casualty multiplier
Assessing telecommunication facilities and distribution systems to determine vulnerabilities of critical nodes, which if lost could hinder an emergency response to a terrorist incident
Assessing the water supply and distribution systems to determine their vulnerability to waterborne contamination and contingency planning to provide potable water during restoration and recovery operations
Assessing heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems to determine facility vulnerability to airborne contamination
Assessing the availability and operational adequacy of permanent collectiveprotective shelters
Formulating and suggesting corrective measures
4
JFHQ-J3-CD-FSIVA SUBJECT: Recruitment for Full Spectrum Integrated Vulnerability Assessment Team.
(5) Structural Specialist. Key responsibilities include estimates of damage based on illustrative attack scenarios; suggestions for damage prevention and/or mitigation. Duties include:
Assessing damage mechanisms including air blast, fragmentation, and debris and shock produced by potential threat weapons. Calculates and conveys to local officials hazardous radii based on threat and weapon effects
Assessing building and barrier resistance or mitigation of threat weapon effects. Determines appropriate standoff distances, potential hardening or other
mitigating measures Assisting other team members and local engineers with the engineering aspects
of antiterrorism Providing self-assessment tools to the installation commander and staff Performing weapons effects analysis of targets identified by the Terrorist Options
Specialist using the weapon/ tactic associated with the target Provide security engineering tutorial for installation engineers and Antiterrorism
Officers Formulating and suggesting mitigating measures
(6) Emergency Operations Specialist. Key responsibilities include contingency planning, emergency notification and operations, and response to a terrorist incident. Duties include:
Assessing efficacy and the ability to execute the installations terrorism consequence management plans and terrorist incident response measures
Assessing emergency operations and response including: fire and medical capabilities, planning; EOD; HAZMAT; mass notification; emergency operations; and incident response.
Assessing crisis management planning and the implementation of HSAS Threat Levels
Assessing communications and its ability to assist response Assessing the adequacy of support from off-installation (i.e., fire, medical or
other non-law enforcement crisis response agencies) Formulating and suggesting mitigating measures
(7) CYBER SECURITY SPECIALIST. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE ASSESSING THE VULNERABILITY OF NETWORK TO CYBER ATTACKS. DUTIES INCLUDE:
KNOWLEDGE OF AND HAVE THE ABILITY TO RECOMMEND BEST BUSINESS
PRACTICES INVOLVING NETWORK SECURITY MEASURES
CONDUCT CYBER SECURITY AUDIT TO DETERMINE WEAKNESS PROVIDE CYBER SECURITY ASSESSMENT TO DETERMINE WEAKNESS RECOMMEND THE CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE ASSURANCE PROGRAM CYBER
THREATS (CIAP-CT) INTERDEPENDENCY TRACKING FOR CYBER SECURITY VULNERABILITY
5
JFHQ-J3-CD-FSIVA SUBJECT: Recruitment for Full Spectrum Integrated Vulnerability Assessment Team.
Annex-B
TABLE 2-1
FSIVA TEAM LEADER MASTER TRAINING PLAN
I. BASIC CERTIFICATION COURSE
REQUIREMENTS
DURATION
POC/LOCATION
HLD-ECAM METHODOLOGY / OSIRA
2 WEEKS
MAJ RUSS CRANE WVNG
* OBSERVE ASSESSMENT UNDER
304-727-5068
INSTRUCTION / CONDUCT ASSESSMENT
JITC-E / JITC-W
UNDER INSTRUCTION*
WWW.JITC-WEST.ORG
TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT PREPARATION INCORPORATED HLD-ECAM INSTRUCTION
INTO HLD-
ECAM
CERTIFICATION
COMPLETION OF THIS CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT WILL GIVE THE FSIVA MEMBER THE BASIC
UNDERSTANDING NEEDED TO CONDUCT ASSESSMENTS
II. ADVANCED CERTIFICATION COURSES
ADVANCED READINESS ANTITERRORISM OFFICERS COURSE LEVEL II TRAINING (ATO) ANTITERRORISM PROGRAM MANAGERS COURSE
SECURITY ENGINEERING AND DESIGN COURSE
DYNAMICS OF INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM INTELLIGENCE IN COMBATING TERRORISM COURSE
DURATION 2 WEEKS WITHIN 1YR 2 WEEKS WITHIN 2 YR
1 WEEK WITHIN 1 YR
1 WEEK
2 WEEKS WITHIN 1YR
POC/LOCATION ARMY MP SCHOOL (703) 695-8626 REF DOD 2000.12-H PG 167 ARMY MP SCHOOL, FORT LEONARD WOOD, MO 65473 DSN 581-0730 COMM 573-596-0730 ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS OMAHA, NEBRASKA MS. KATHERINE BARNETT (402) 2214919 HURLBURT FIELD, EGLIN AFB 1-850-884-2931 FORT HUACHUCA, AZ RESIDENT COURSE HTTP://HUACHUCA-WWW.ARMY.MIL
RISK MANAGEMENT FOR DOD SECURITY PROGRAMS
TAITC TOTAL ARMY INSTRUCTOR COURSE SGIC SMALL GROUP INSTRUCTOR COURSE BASIC INFORMATION SECURITY INDEPENDENT STUDY IS-242 EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
5 DAYS WITHIN 1 YR
80 HRS
40 HRS
ONLINE WITHIN 6 MO
ONLINE 8 CONTACT
HOURS WITHIN 6 MO
HTTP://WWW.DSS.MIL * ADDITIONAL COURSES AND DISTANCE LEARNING OFFERED* ATTRS, US ARMY, MOST STATES RUN
ATTRS, US ARMY, MOST STATES RUN
HTTPS://WWW.DSS.MIL
HTTP://TRAINING.FEMA.GOV
6
JFHQ-J3-CD-FSIVA SUBJECT: Recruitment for Full Spectrum Integrated Vulnerability Assessment Team.
TABLE 2-2
FSIVA TERRORIST OPERATIONS MASTER TRAINING PLAN
I. BASIC CERTIFICATION COURSES
REQUIREMENTS
DURATION
POC/LOCATION
HLD-ECAM METHODOLOGY / OSIRA
2 WEEKS
MAJ RUSS CRANE WVNG
* OBSERVE ASSESSMENT UNDER
304-727-5068
INSTRUCTION / CONDUCT ASSESSMENT
JITC-E / JITC-W
UNDER INSTRUCTION*
WWW.JITC-WEST.ORG
TERRORIST TARGETING PREPARATIONS
INCORPORATED HLD-ECAM INSTRUCTION
INTO HLD-
ECAM
CERTIFICATION
COMPLETION OF THIS CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT WILL GIVE THE FSIVA MEMBER THE BASIC
UNDERSTANDING NEEDED TO CONDUCT ASSESSMENTS. TO SHOULD LINK WITH LOCAL BOMB SQUADS
FOR ADDITIONAL TRAINING ON EXPLOSIVE EFFECTS AND INDICATORS.
II. ADVANCED CERTIFICATION COURSES
ADVANCED READINESS COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYSIS COURSE (CAC) (JMITC) INT 160/TS/SCI ADVANCED COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYSIS COURSE (ACAC) (JMITC 161) TS/SCI SECURITY ENGINEERING AND DESIGN COURSE
INTELLIGENCE IN COMBATING TERRORISM COURSE
CRIMINAL INTEL ANALYSIS COURSE NW3C
DYNAMICS OF INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM ASYMETRICAL ANALYSIS COURSE/TS/SCI COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYSIS COURSE IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVE DEVISE COURSE TAITC TOTAL ARMY INSTRUCTOR COURSE SGIC SMALL GROUP INSTRUCTOR COURSE BASIC INFORMATION SECURITY INDEPENDENT STUDY IS-242 EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION ONLINE*MUST ENROLL*
DURATION 1 WEEK WITHIN 1 YR
1 WEEK WITHIN 2 YR
1 WEEK WITHIN 1 YR
2 WEEKS WITHIN 1 YR
1 WEEK WITHIN 1 YR
1 WEEK WITHIN 1 YR
1 WEEK WITHIN 2 YR
1 WEEK WITHIN 1 YR
1.5 DAYS WITHIN 1 YR
80 HRS
40 HRS
ONLINE WITHIN 6 MO 8 CONTACT
HOURS WITHIN 6 MO
POC/LOCATION DIA RESIDENT COURSE WWW.DIA.MIL (SECURITY CLEARANCE REQUIRED) PRE-REQ FOR ACAC 1 IS ONE YEAR AFTER CAC COMPLETED E-6 AND
ABOVE
ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS OMAHA, NEBRASKA MS. KATHERINE BARNETT (402) 2214919 FORT HUACHUCA, AZ RESIDENT COURSE HTTP://HUACHUCA-WWW.ARMY.MIL JIM FOLEY 1-877-628-7674 WWW.NW3C.ORG / JFOLEY@NW3C.ORG MTT HURLBURT FIELD, EGLIN AFB 1-850-884-2931 DIA RESIDENT COURSE/RED TRAIN SCHEDULE WWW.DIA.MIL DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY WWW.DIA.MIL DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY WWW.DIA.MIL ATTRS, US ARMY, MOST STATES RUN
ATTRS, US ARMY, MOST STATES RUN
HTTPS://WWW.DSS.MIL
HTTP://TRAINING.FEMA.GOV
7
JFHQ-J3-CD-FSIVA SUBJECT: Recruitment for Full Spectrum Integrated Vulnerability Assessment Team.
TABLE 2-3
FSIVA SECURITY OPERATIONS MASTER TRAINING PLAN
I. BASIC CERTIFICATION COURSES
REQUIREMENTS
DURATION
POC/LOCATION
HLD-ECAM METHODOLOGY / OSIRA
2 WEEKS
MAJ RUSS CRANE WVNG
* OBSERVE ASSESSMENT UNDER
304-727-5068
INSTRUCTION / CONDUCT ASSESSMENT
JITC-E / JITC-W
UNDER INSTRUCTION*
WWW.JITC-WEST.ORG
COMPLETION OF THIS CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT WILL GIVE THE FSIVA MEMBER THE BASIC
UNDERSTANDING NEEDED TO CONDUCT ASSESSMENTS
II. ADVANCED CERTIFICATION COURSES
ADVANCED READINESS SECURITY ENGINEERING AND DESIGN COURSE
PHYSICAL SECURITY TRAINING PROGRAM (FLETC) PHYSICAL SECURITY / CRIME PREVENTION COURSE
ANTI-TERRORISM LEVEL II
ANTI-TERRORISM PROGRAM MANAGER
DYNAMICS OF INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM
DURATION 1 WEEK
WITHIN 1 YR
2 WEEKS
2 WEEKS WITHIN 1 YR
1 WEEK WITHIN 1 YR
2 WEEKS WITHIN 2 YR
1 WEEKS WITHIN 1 YR
POC/LOCATION ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS OMAHA, NEBRASKA MS. KATHERINE BARNETT (402) 2214919
POC (912) 267-2421 GLYNCO, GA RICK.DOSTER@DHS.GOV ARMY MILITARY POLICE SCHOOL (USAMPS) FORT LEONARD WOOD, MO 65473, DSN 581-0730, COMM (573) 596-0730 ARMY MILITARY POLICE SCHOOL (USAMPS) FORT LEONARD WOOD, MO 65473, DSN 581-0730, COMM (573) 596-0730 ARMY MILITARY POLICE SCHOOL (USAMPS) FORT LEONARD WOOD, MO 65473, DSN 581-0730, COMM (573) 596-0730 HURLBURT FIELD, EGLIN AFB 1-850-884-2931
DOD SECURITY SPECIALIST
ELECTRONIC SECURITY SYSTEMS DESIGN COURSE
CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION TRAINING PROGRAM
TAITC TOTAL ARMY INSTRUCTOR COURSE SGIC SMALL GROUP INSTRUCTOR
3 WEEKS WITHIN 1 YR
5 DAYS WITHIN 1 YR
36 HOUR MULTI MEDIA
WITHIN 1 YR
80 HRS
40 HRS
HTTPS://WWW.DSS.MIL * ADDITIONAL COURSES AND DISTANCE LEARNING OFFERED* ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CENTER HUNTSVILLE, AL DIANE HOLLINGSWORTH (256) 8957449 DEFENSE NUCLEAR WEAPONS SCHOOL STUDENT SERVICES, KIRKLAND AFB, NEW MEXICO DSN 246-9168 COMM (505) 846-9168 ATTRS, US ARMY, MOST STATES RUN ATTRS, US ARMY, MOST STATES
8
JFHQ-J3-CD-FSIVA SUBJECT: Recruitment for Full Spectrum Integrated Vulnerability Assessment Team.
COURSE BASIC INFORMATION SECURITY INDEPENDENT STUDY IS-242 EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
8 CONTACT HOURS
ONLINE WITHIN 6 MO
ONLINE WITHIN 6 MO
RUN HTTPS://WWW.DSS.MIL
HTTP://TRAINING.FEMA.GOV
TABLE 2-4
FSIVA INFRASTRUCTURE ENGINEER MASTER TRAINING PLAN
I. BASIC CERTIFICATION COURSES
REQUIREMENTS
DURATION
POC/LOCATION
HLD-ECAM METHODOLOGY / OSIRA
2 WEEKS
MAJ RUSS CRANE WVNG
* OBSERVE ASSESSMENT UNDER
304-727-5068
INSTRUCTION / CONDUCT ASSESSMENT
JITC-E / JITC-W
UNDER INSTRUCTION*
WWW.JITC-WEST.ORG
VALIDATION OF BASE KNOWLEDGE
INCORPORATED MAJ RANDALL ISOM
REQUIREMENTS TO PERFORM ASSIGNED
INTO HLD- 304-727-5068
DUTIES
ECAM
JITC-E
CERTIFICATION
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS MUST HAVE A BASE UNDERSTANDING OF CONSTRUCTION, ENGINEERING
PRINCIPLES, MODELING DESIGN, AND SOFTWARE APPLICATION. COMPLETION OF THIS CERTIFICATION
REQUIREMENT WILL GIVE THE FSIVA MEMBER THE BASIC UNDERSTANDING NEEDED TO CONDUCT
ASSESSMENTS
II. ADVANCED CERTIFICATION COURSES
ADVANCED READINESS SECURITY ENGINEERING AND DESIGN COURSE
NFPA WORKSHOP ON DISASTER MITIGATION AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE
DURATION 1 WEEK WITHIN 1 YR
2 DAY WORKSHOP
POC/LOCATION ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS OMAHA, NEBRASKA MS. KATHERINE BARNETT (402) 2214919 BARBARA MILLER 124 E. WASHINGTON ST CHARLESTON WV, 25414 304-728-3329 BMILLER@JEFFERSONCOUNTYWV.ORG
DYNAMICS OF INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM CHEMISTRY OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS (0234)
TAITC TOTAL ARMY INSTRUCTOR COURSE SGIC SMALL GROUP INSTRUCTOR COURSE BASIC INFORMATION SECURITY INDEPENDENT STUDY
IS-242 EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
1 WEEK WITHIN 1 YR
14 DAYS WITHIN 1 YR
80 HRS
HURLBURT FIELD, EGLIN AFB 1-850-884-2931 FEMA/ NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY APPLICATIONS AT: WWW.USFA.FEMA.GOV/DHTML/FIRESERVICE/NFA-ABT1C.CFM ANGELA WEATHERS (301) 447-1411 ATTRS, US ARMY, MOST STATES RUN
40 HRS
ATTRS, US ARMY, MOST STATES RUN
ONLINE *MUST ENROLL*
WITHIN 6 MO ONLINE
8 CONTACT HOURS
WITHIN 6 MO
HTTPS://WWW.DSS.MIL HTTP://TRAINING.FEMA.GOV
9
JFHQ-J3-CD-FSIVA SUBJECT: Recruitment for Full Spectrum Integrated Vulnerability Assessment Team.
TABLE 2-5 FSIVA STRUCTURAL ENGINEER MASTER TRAINING PLAN
I. BASIC CERTIFICATION COURSES
REQUIREMENTS
DURATION
REMARKS
HLD-ECAM METHODOLOGY / OSIRA
2 WEEKS
MAJ RUSS CRANE WVNG
* OBSERVE ASSESSMENT UNDER
304-727-5068
INSTRUCTION / CONDUCT ASSESSMENT
JITC-E / JITC-W
UNDER INSTRUCTION*
WWW.JITC-WEST.ORG
VALIDATION OF BASE KNOWLEDGE
INCORPORATED MAJ RANDALL ISOM
REQUIREMENTS TO PERFORM ASSIGNED
INTO HLD- 304-727-5068
DUTIES
ECAM
JITC-E
CERTIFICATION
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS MUST HAVE A BASE UNDERSTANDING OF CONSTRUCTION, ENGINEERING
PRINCIPLES, MODELING DESIGN, AND SOFTWARE APPLICATION. COMPLETION OF THIS CERTIFICATION
REQUIREMENT WILL GIVE THE FSIVA MEMBER THE BASIC UNDERSTANDING NEEDED TO CONDUCT
ASSESSMENTS
II. ADVANCED CERTIFICATION COURSES
ADVANCED READINESS SECURITY ENGINEERING AND DESIGN COURSE
NFPA WORKSHOP ON DISASTER MITIGATION AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE
DYNAMICS OF INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM TAITC TOTAL ARMY INSTRUCTOR COURSE SGIC SMALL GROUP INSTRUCTOR COURSE BASIC INFORMATION SECURITY INDEPENDENT STUDY
IS-242 EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
DURATION 1 WEEK
WITHIN 1 YR
2 DAY WORKSHOP
1 WEEK WITHIN 1 YR
80 HRS
POC/LOCATION ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS OMAHA, NEBRASKA MS. KATHERINE BARNETT (402) 2214919 BARBARA MILLER 124 E. WASHINGTON ST CHARLESTON WV, 25414 304-728-3329 BMILLER@JEFFERSONCOUNTYWV.ORG HURLBURT FIELD, EGLIN AFB 1-850-884-2931 ATTRS, US ARMY, MOST STATES RUN
40 HRS
ATTRS, US ARMY, MOST STATES RUN
ONLINE *MUST ENROLL*
WITHIN 6 MO ONLINE
*MUST ENROLL* 8 CONTACT HOURS WITHIN 6 MO
HTTPS://WWW.DSS.MIL HTTP://TRAINING.FEMA.GOV
10
JFHQ-J3-CD-FSIVA SUBJECT: Recruitment for Full Spectrum Integrated Vulnerability Assessment Team.
TABLE 2-6
FSIVA EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT MASTER TRAINING PLAN
I. BASIC CERTIFICATION COURSES
REQUIREMENTS
DURATION
POC/LOCATION
HLD-ECAM METHODOLOGY / OSIRA
2 WEEKS
MAJ RUSS CRANE WVNG
* OBSERVE ASSESSMENT UNDER
304-727-5068
INSTRUCTION / CONDUCT ASSESSMENT
JITC-E / JITC-W
UNDER INSTRUCTION*
WWW.JITC-WEST.ORG
COMPLETION OF THIS CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT WILL GIVE THE FSIVA MEMBER THE BASIC
UNDERSTANDING NEEDED TO CONDUCT ASSESSMENTS
II. ADVANCED CERTFICATION COURSES
ADVANCED READINESS SECURITY ENGINEERING AND DESIGN COURSE
NFPA WORKSHOP ON DISASTER MITIGATION AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE
WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION TRAINING PROGRAM (FLETC) ANDREW ALTIZER (GEORGIA EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY AALTIZER@GEMA.STATE.GA.US
DURATION 1 WEEK WITHIN 1 YR 2 DAY WORKSHOP
1 WEEK CUT-OFF 9/05
POC/LOCATION ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, OMAHA NEBRASKA BARBARA MILLER 124 E. WASHINGTON ST CHARLESTON WV, 25414 304-728-3329 BMILLER@JEFFERSONCOUNTYW V.ORG
POC (912) 267-2421 GLYNCO, GA RICK.DOSTER@DHS.GOV
CHEMISTRY FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE (NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY) PRE COURSE MATERIAL: HTTP://WWW.USFA.FEMA.GOV/DOWNLOADS /PDF/PCM/PCM-R233.PDF
RADIOLOGICAL EMERGENCY TEAM ORIENTATION COURSE
DYNAMICS OF INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM
RADIOLOGICAL EMERGENCY TEAM OPERATIONS (RETOPS)
CRISIS MANAGEMENT TRAINING PROGRAM (CMTP)
2 WEEKS WITHIN 1 YR
5 DAYS WITHIN 1 YR
1 WEEK WITHIN 1 YR
10 DAYS WITHIN 1 YR 40 HR MULTI MEDIA WITHIN 1 YR
U.S. FIRE ADMINISTRATION, 16825 S. SETON AVE., EMMITSBURG, MD 21727 VOICE: (301) 447-1000 FAX: (301) 447-1346 ADMISSIONS FAX: (301) 447-1441 WAYNE.YODER@DHS.GOV M. SGT. H. SILL DEFENSE NUCLEAR WEAPONS SCHOOL STUDENT SERVICES (505) 8530213 HURLBURT FIELD, EGLIN AFB 1-850-884-2931 DEFENSE NUCLEAR WEAPONS SCHOOL DOD QUOTA MANAGER DSN 246-5666 SUSAN DAVIS SDAVIS@FLETC.TREAS.GOV
TAITC TOTAL ARMY INSTRUCTOR COURSE SGIC SMALL GROUP INSTRUCTOR COURSE
80 HRS 40 HRS
ATTRS, US ARMY, MOST STATES RUN ATTRS, US ARMY, MOST STATES RUN
11
JFHQ-J3-CD-FSIVA SUBJECT: Recruitment for Full Spectrum Integrated Vulnerability Assessment Team.
IS-242 EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
ONLINE 8 CONTACT HOURS
WITHIN 6 MO
HTTP://TRAINING.FEMA.GOV WWW.JITC-WEST.ORG
BASIC INFORMATION SECURITY INDEPENDENT STUDY
IS-235 EMERGENCY PLANNING
ONLINE WITHIN 6 MO
ONLINE 10 CONTACT
HOURS
WITHIN 6 MO
HTTPS://WWW.DSS.MIL WWW.FEMA.GOV
IS-301 RADIOLOGICAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE "10 CONTACT HOURS"
ONLINE WITHIN 6 MO
WWW.FEMA.GOV
TABLE 2-7
FSIVA CYBER SECURITY SPECIALIST MASTER TRAINING PLAN
I. BASIC CERTIFICATION COURSE
REQUIREMENTS
DURATION
POC/LOCATION
HLD-ECAM METHODOLOGY / OSIRA
2 WEEKS
MAJ RUSS CRANE WVNG
* OBSERVE ASSESSMENT UNDER
304-727-5068
INSTRUCTION / CONDUCT ASSESSMENT
JITC-E / JITC-W
UNDER INSTRUCTION*
WWW.JITC-WEST.ORG
CYBER THREATS
2DAY
MAJ JEFFREY T. NEWARD
WITHIN 3 MO HOMELAND SECURITY THREATS
OFFICE
US ARMY TRADOC
(913) 684-3879
COMPLETION OF THIS CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT WILL GIVE THE FSIVA MEMBER THE BASIC
UNDERSTANDING NEEDED TO CONDUCT ASSESSMENTS
II. ADVANCED CERTIFICATION COURSES
ADVANCED READINESS
COMPUTER SECURITY
INFORMATION OPERATIONS 101 COURSE
INCIDENT RESPONSE HANDLING (IRH) COURSE
COMPUTER EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM OPERATIONAL TRAINING EXERCISE (CERTOTE) COURSE INFORMATION SECURITY FOR TECHNICAL
DURATION
3 DAY WITHIN 1 YR
CD WITHIN 6 MO
ONLINE 80 HRS WITHIN 1 YR
15 DAY RESIDENT WITHIN 1 YR
5 DAY
POC/LOCATION
ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT CENTER HUNTSVILLE, AL POC MR ANDREW JACKSON (202) 761-5849 CAMP PATRICK, OPERATIONS TRAINING BN, COLCHESTER, VT ATRRS MAJ DAN MOLIND (802) 4851900 CAMP PATRICK, OPERATIONS TRAINING BN, COLCHESTER, VT ATRRS MAJ DAN MOLIND (802) 4851900 CAMP PATRICK, OPERATIONS TRAINING BN, COLCHESTER, VT ATRRS MAJ DAN MOLIND (802) 4851900 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY CERT
12
JFHQ-J3-CD-FSIVA SUBJECT: Recruitment for Full Spectrum Integrated Vulnerability Assessment Team.
STAFF
SYSTEM ADMIN/NETWORK MGR SECURITY COURSE (COURSE 921-630)
COMPUTER NETWORK DEFENSE COURSE (CNDC) COURSE 921-640
DITYVAP COURSE SANDIA LABS RED TEAM TRAINING DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY (DOE) RED TEAM TRAINING
DYNAMICS OF INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM
WITHIN 1 YR
2 WEEKS WITHIN 1 YR
2 WEEKS WITHIN 1 YR
4 DAYS WITHIN 1 YR
1 WEEK WITHIN 1 YR
COORDINATION CENTER. PA POC DR. BARBARA LASWELL (412) 2687569 ARRTC FORT MCCOY, WI MS CATHY 1-800-982-3585 CATHY.ZILMER@ARRTCEXCH.MCCOY.ARMY.MIL (FIRST COURSE IN A SERIES) ARRTC FORT MCCOY, WI MS CATHY 1-800-982-3585 CATHY.ZILMER@ARRTCEXCH.MCCOY.ARMY.MIL (THIRD/LAST COURSE IN A SERIES) ARMY CERT FORT HUACHUCA, AZ
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
HURLBURT FIELD, EGLIN AFB 1-850-884-2931
III. CAREER DEVELOPMENT (COMMERCIAL CERTIFYING COURSES)
CAREER DEVELOPMENT CISA PREP COURSE CISSP PREP COURSE SANS TRACK 1+ = GENERAL SECURITY ESSENTIALS COURSE (GSEC) SANS TRACK 2+ = FIREWALLS, PERIMETER AND VPNS (GSFW) SANS TRACK 3+ = INTRUSION DETECTION IN DEPTH (GSIA) SANS TRACK 4+ = HACKER TECHNIQUES, EXPLOITS AND INCIDENT HANDLING (GCIH) SANS TRACK 5+ = SECURING WINDOWS (GCWN) SANS TRACK 6+ = SECURING UNIX/LINUX (GCUX) SANS TRACK 7+ = AUDITING NETWORKS, PERIMETERS AND SYSTEMS (GCNA) SANS TRACK 10+ = IT SECURITY AUDITING ESSENTIALS (GCNA) SANS TRACK 11+ = 17999 SECURITY AND AUDIT FRAMEWORK (GCNA)
DURATION VARIES VARIES VARIES
REMARKS COMMERCIAL COMMERCIAL COMMERCIAL
VARIES VARIES VARIES
COMMERCIAL COMMERCIAL COMMERCIAL
VARIES VARIES VARIES
COMMERCIAL COMMERCIAL COMMERCIAL
VARIES VARIES
COMMERCIAL COMMERCIAL
13
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Deadline June 10 For Award Nominee Applications
June 10 is the deadline set for turning in the names of nominees for this year's Outstanding Family Readiness and Support Award and the Special Appreciation Award.
These awards will be presented at the Family Readiness Workshop and Leadership Conference banquet, Saturday, Aug. 13, at Atlanta's Sheraton-Colony Square Hotel.
Candidate (s) for these awards may be: * National Guard member. * National Guard family member. * National Guard Retiree. * Family Readiness and Support Group volunteer or a specific unit of the Army or Air National Guard.
Individuals or groups may be nominated for significant outstanding contributions, which improved the quality of life for families, and that provided exceptional support to family readiness in a National Guard unit or local community.
Each nomination must include a narrative statement, not to exceed 800 words. It must describe how the candidate's work or contribution benefited Army or Air Guard quality of life programs, and how that person or group has provided exceptional support to Family Readiness within a community or unit.
Applications, which can be obtained by calling Altamese Finch with the Directorate of Workforce Development at 678-569-6420, need to be completed and returned to her by the June 10 deadline.
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