THE GEORGIA GUA A QUATERLY PUBLICATION GUARD NC01S TRAIN AT ACADEMY WING RECE/"VES 3rd UNIT AWARD FIELD TRAINING FOR THE 180th SIGNAL F-105 JOIN THE lA GUARD THE GEORGIA GUARDSMAN A QUARTERLY PUBLICATION JULY SEPTEMBER 1971 Volume 28 Number 3 My Fellow Guardsmen: The Georgia Army and Air National Guard have thus far had one of their most successful and productive years. Our units are combat ready and rated high by both the Department of the Army and Air Force. There is, however, one area in which we can all do more . . . retention. Our retention program has not been as successful as we would like. The question that senior NCOs anQ officers alike must ask thems.elves is why? What can we do to make the National Guard more attractive to those considering a re-enlistment? Addressing the question, I urge everyone to read MSgt. John R. Kalada's article on retention which appears in this issue. The sergeant presents some ideas that are worthy of consideration. Good qualified technicians, who play a vital role in our success, must not be lost because of lack of concern. Our achievements in the past are fine for reflection; however, we must build for the future and well-trained Guardsmen familiar with the program must be the spearhead. Retention is everyone's business, from the newest recruit to the most senior commander. Everyone has a role to play- no one must feel that they are unimportant. The Guard is only as good as its members. We have the finest in the Georgia Army and Air National Guard- it is up to us all to make sure Y!e keep it that way. We must assure every Guardsman that "WE NEED YOU!" MAJ. GEN. BILLY M. JONES The Adjutant General COL. HARRY A. HEATH (USA, Ret.) Director, Public Information B.l. DIAMOND Editor SUE PARKER Composition KEVAN M. FARRELL Graphics & Lithography Photo by K. Farrell Capt. Jim Applegate of the 116th Tactical Fighter Wing gets ready for the Wing's new mission and new airplane. (See page 8) The GEORGIA GUARDSMAN is a quarterly publication of the Georgia Department of Defense Public Information Office. It is published in the interest of the Georgia National Guard and distributed free to members of the Georgia Army and Air National Guard. All correspondence for the GUARDSMAN should be directed to Editor, the GEORGIA GUARDSMAN, Ga. Dept. of Defense, P.O. Box 17965, Atlanta, Ga. 30316. Telephone 404-656-6182. Sweeping clean... The axe falls If you're tired of sweeping autumn leaves off your lawn you might try what the 15lst Aviation Battalion out of Lawrenceville did . In one long gush from the prop wash of a hovering CH-54 Skycrane, leaves and limbs were swept from a landing area at Stone Mountain Park where the !51st was showing off its hardware. The event was the park's annual Yellow Daisy Festival, a three day event featuring arts, crafts, concerts (see page 13) and home cooked barbeque. The huge chopper arrived carrying a people pod fastened to the "crane's" fuselage. Inside the pod a truck was safely nestled . Painted on the belly of the pod was a message clearly visible to festival spectators watching the chopper land. The message read: "Get Your Guard Up." 0 165th returns The !65th Mobile Aerial Port Flight has returned to Savannah bearing the distinction of being the first National Guard Skycrane sets down at Stone Mountain. Aerial Port unit to handle cargo duties at an active Air Force installation in Europe. The Georgia unit was airlifted to Rhein Main AB, Germany during the summer, where the !65th's cargo handling specialists augmented other USAF reserve forces in around the clock operations at one of the major military cargo distribution centers in Europe. Major Erwin D . Meyer, commander of the !65th MAPF said the handling of cargo operations at active duty bases is typical of the increasing role of Air National Guard units in the total force. 0 Three distinctive requirements for women officer candidates in the National Guard have fallen under the axe of equal opportunity. The change in National Guard Regulation 351-5, Officer Candidate Training, now provides that women as well as men applicants score 110 or higher on aptitude tests to enter OCS. Before the change, female applicants were required to score 115 or better. Women applicants also no longer have to have two years of college or its equivalent to enter the school, nor do they have to be 20-years of age. Just as required for men, women must be high school graduates and be at least 18 years old. 0 AFA awards The Air Force Association has awarded its Earl T. Ricks Award to Capt . Joe L. Rhoden, of the New York Air National Guard, Syracuse. The Air Guard Unit Award was presented to the 162nd Tactical Fighter Training Group, Arizona Air National Guard, Tucson, Ariz. Free license If you've been a member in good standing of the Georgia Army or Air National Guard for at least one year, you are now eligible for the free distinctive driver's licer.!>e authorized by the General Assembly during 1978. Members first need to apply for certification from their unit commander, then take the certificate to the local driver's license examiner for processing. If you leave the Guard, a notice of cancellation of the license will be forwarded to the Department of Publ ic Safety. 0 Federal benefits for Guardsmen In case you've forgotten, several federal benefits are available to National Guard members. Monthly drill benefits includ.e full-time Servicemen 's Group Life Insurance coverage; maximum of 60 retirement points per year; military pay, exchange privileges (one day for each drill day); access to military clothing sales stores, open mess facilities, post theaters and transient billets (if avai Iable); medical aid; space available air travel, (in the continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico); and authorized survivor benefits. While on annual training Guard members are authorized use of most available military facilities, including full com- 2 missary and exchange privileges . Guard members also receive one retirement point per day. During FTTD-ADT, Guard members receive basic allowance for qua rters, and those authorized sepa rate rations recei ve a subsistence allowance. Guard members are also authorized medica l and limited dental care and are eligible for authorized disa bility-su rvivor benefits. One retirement point per day is also authorized. 0 in a ceremony at the Georgia Depa rt ment of Defense . Maj . Gen. Billy M . Jones, the Adjutant General, made the presentation. The award cited Kendall for his exceptional service to the Georgia Army National Guard from September 1975 to September 1978 . As a direct res ult of the general's assistance, the overall readiness of the A rm y National Guard during the three year period improved signifi- cantly. Kendall retired from active service at the end of October. 0 Awards anyone? Maj. Gen. Maurice W. Kendall Gen. Kendall receives award The Georgia Distinctive Service Medal, the state's highest award for meritorious service, has been awa : ded to Mai. Gen. Maurice W. Kendall, Commande1 of Army Readiness Region IV at Fort .Gillem, Ga. Kendall received the award You may have hea rd this already, but in case you haven't the Georgia Department of Defense has a number of awards for which members of the Army and Air National Gua rd are eligible. The awards program is designed to recognize "acts of valor, exceptional service or organizational and individual achievement." Some of the state awards that Guardsmen are eligible to receive include the Georgia Distinctive Service Medal (highest), the Georgia Medal for Valor and the Georgia Meritorious Service Medal. How do you earn an award? Simple, each award has its own eligibility requirements. All Guardsmen need do is get a copy of Georgia National Guard Regulation 672-1, State of Georgia Awards and Decorations, and check the "eligibility criteria" and submission requirements for each award. Happy 342nd National Guard! Three hundred and forty-two years ago, the First M ilitia Regiment of the Massachusetts Bay Colony was organ ized to enable the colonists to defen d t hemselves and the ir settlement . That step towa rd ci t izen self-defense was the beg inn ing of our Nati onal Guard, the oldest m i litary organ ization in the United States. Over those three centur ies, names have changed - militia, state troops, state volunteers, and, finally, the National Guard - but the spirit of the citizen-soldier has been constant. It is exempl ified by those who stand prepared to leave their civilian occupations, don the uniform of their country, and se rve the ir states and their nation when the need arises. In time of war, the Guard is always ready to serve. At King's Mountain, the Meuse-Argonne, Bataan, Omaha Beach, and the Iron Triangle, during the Berlin Airlift and Vietnam, the Guard has served in every major conflict in which this country has engaged . When disaster strikes in time of peace, the Guard is equally ready to serve - as it has, in recent years, at Johnstown, Texas City and in th e wake of Hu rricane Agnes . In recogn ition of the debt of gratitude owed by the people of the Un ited States to those who serve as members of the National Guard, the Congress has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation designating October 7, 1978, as National Guard Day and to honor the Army and Air National Guard of the United States fo r service to their communities, to their states and to their nat ion . In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twentieth day of September in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred seventy-eight, and of the independence of the United States of America the two hundred and third. Signed J imm y Carter BY THE GOVERNOR : NATIONAL GUARD BIRTHDAY WHEREAS : WHEREAS : WHEREAS: THEREFORE: The National Guard of the United States was organized in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1636; and The Georgia National Guard wa s orga ni ze d in 17 42 for protection of t he l ives a nd property of the ear ly sett l ers of t hi s State; and The Pres i dent of the United States a nd the Co ngress have enacted Pu blic Law 95 - 34 1 declaring October 7, 1978 , a s t he 342nd birthday of the Natio na l Gua rd of the United States; now I , Ge orge Bus bee , Go vernor of t he St a te of Ge orgia, do he re by pr ocl ai m t he day of Sa t ur day, Oct ob e r 7 , 1978 , a s " NA TION AL GU ARD BIRTH DAY " in Geo rgi a , and call upon al l our citi zens to j oi n in sa lut i ng tho se s el f less men a nd wo me n who continue t o dedi cat e so much of the i r live s to the na tion , their stat e and t he i r com mun i t i es for our common defe nse . ~11 WttnPllll W~rrrof. .J I.e.., t ,,.unlo , / '"II ~ u..J auJ ""'"J tt , S ,a/ o/ 1~ , Gnculiv :J),I'u rlmrn llo l , aff;._ J ::J~ ;, 18t h Ju11 o/. - -~ t embe r 19"-'7'-"8' - - - - IA.:.~~o~ 3 Up by their ootstraps You could probably entitle this "Up From the Dead," the story of how a Georgia Army National Guard unit grabbed itself by the bootstraps and pulled itself up. The unit is the 180th Signal Company in Covington, Ga., which in 1976, had the distinction of being called "the bleacher leechers." The term, explains Capt. John I. Bruno, commander of the unit, was Continued on page 16 Setting up equipment at the 180th: SSgt. Leckie (opposite) checks a "fly-swatter" antenna, while Sgt Rice (below left) works at a mobile switchboard. Sgt. Miner (below right) gets a Mark 73 ready to go to work. 4 Command of 48th passes to Bullard Colonel Dan Bullard Ill, of Macon is the new commander of the Georgia Army National Guard 's 48th Infantry Brigade (Mechanized) . Col. Bullard replaces Brig. Gen. Raymond E. Grant of Cataula who retired with more than 35 years military service. The change is among six command shifts announcetl recently by Maj . Gen . Billy M. Jones, the Adjutant General of Georgin higher payments, or lump amounts of $50 or $100 to minimize bo:>kkeeping. Keep an accurate record of payments, and attach an explanation each time you make a payment. Your Reserve pay has now "Worked for You." Besides, in the example used, you still have remaining money from your Reserve check to invest in Savings Bonds or elsewhere. 15 Continued from page 4 hung on the 180th because members sat in the Armory most of the time instead of working at their craft. Their lack of expertise was evident. During annual training in 1976, the unit received a C-4 rating, a mark says Bruno that is "lower than well water." In February of the next year, however, life in the 180th began to change. Bruno was appointed commander and says he got the unit "out of the Armory and into the woods." "Our NCOs are the greatest," the captain enthused, "all they needed was the guidance. Through the leadership of the NCOs we built a tight unit. "The NCOs did it. I used my experience in communications and delegated responsibility." Under Bruno and his staff of NCOs the unit drilled every weekend, but, not i.n the Armory . "We started with the basics," said the captain. The work paid off in 1977, as the unit earned a C-1 rating for its performance, though it was later downgraded- to a C-3 because of the unit's manpower shortage. During those annual training weeks the unit was 0ut in the field for 14 straight days . It was the f i rst to get its equipment set up and the only unit to keep it functioning for the entire training period. "I thought they'd hate it, but they loved it," Bruno said about the two weeks in tents. On its last annual training evaluation, the unit rated C-1 across the board and now other units have hung another term on the 180th ... "good". For the 180th, being the only communications unit in the state, and being good, means being in the field often. Recently the unit took to the field at Fort Gordon in support of the Atlanta based llOth Maintenance Battalion. "The Governor's Voice," as the company calls itself, provided FM radio, multi-channel and telephone communication to the llOth. When the 180th was finished setting up, the 110th had communication from the field to a command post, to Fort Gordon, or anywhere in the world. DOD appoints Heath as information chief Harr)' Heath 8.1. Diamond Col. Harry A. Heath (USA, retired) has been appointed Director of Public Information for the Georgia Department of Defense. Heath succeeds Col . Douglas Embry (ANG, retired), who retired after more than 32 years of state and federal service . 16 The new director was formerly information director for the United States Army Forces Command at Fort McPherson, Ga. In addition to Heath, Beryl I. Diamond has joined the Publ ic Information Office as the military information officer. He is also the new editor of the GEORG lA GUARDSMAN magazine, succeeding Rufus Barber who has left state employment. Diamond is a member of the Air National Guard, and served in the public information field while on active duty with the U.S. Air Force. A native of Atlanta, Diamond was previously the business editor of a daily newspaper in the metropolitan Atlanta area and has an extensive background in journalism and public relations in Georgia and Florida. 81'6 you gettinS recosnition? Want to see your name or unit in the newspaper or in the GEORGIA GUARDSMAN? A chance to do just that is coming your way. During October the Public Information Office of the Georgia Department of Defense will be mailing to each unit commander a "story fact sheet." All commanders or members of the unit need do is fill in the information requested, pop it into an envelope and send it back to the Georgia Department of Defense, PIO. Here's basically what we want to know: So we can make the publication more meaningful and vital to Georgia Army and Air National Guardsmen. Every letter signed and accompanied by the author's address will be answered. Names will be withheld upon request. Selected letters will be published. The staff of the GEORGIA GUARDSMAN reserves the right to edit all letters. We want to know what you think and what your unit is doing, so we can let others know that only the best men and women wear the uniform of the Georgia Air and Army National Guard. Unit ____________________________________ Date of event _________________________ Address ________________________________ Name & phone No. of contact person What happened? _______________________________________________________________ How did it happen? __________________________________________________________~ Whydidithappen? __________________________________________________________ Where did it happen? ___________________________________________________________ We shall compile the information, and get back to the unit if there are any questions. Along other lines, the GEORGIA GUARDSMAN is earnestly soliciting reader comments. Here's why. ave a I Command the power-punch of the Georgia Army National Guard. Whether you drive a howitzer, a truck, or ope rate a communications center, Georgia Guardsmen and women are looked up to in their community . Whatever your skill the Guard is ready to get you started so that you can begin enjoying the benefits of weekend soldiering . You'll receive full pay , tuition assistance, free auto tag and drivers' license, but most importantly the opportunity to train in one of more than 400 career fields. Build a career during the week and protect a nat ion on weekends . See a National Guard recruiter now and let him tell you why the Georgia Army National Guard is the best part time job FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: ELBERTON ......376-2913 Night 283-1 81 3 Day WASHINGTON .. ..678-2817 THOMSON .... ..595-1201 WAYNESBORO ...554-2224 HARTWELL . . ....376-2950 SSG WAYNE E. CRUMP* SFC PORTWOOD MR . WM JOHNSON SSG CHALKER SFC JENKINS SFC CLARK