May-June 1969 GOVERNOR ERNEST VANDIVER THE ADJUTANT GENERAL'S MESSAGE MAJOR GENERAL GEORGE J. HE ARN Fellow Guardsmen: After many months of planning and study, reorganization and redesignation of Georgia's Army National Guard units bas been accomplished. Final approval of the plan bas been received by the National Guard Bureau. Georgia bas been indeed fortunate. Our State will not have to lose a single enlisted man or a single officer. While shifts of branch will be prevalent due to the authorization of signal organizations, officers will be transferred without waiver provided they are not under waiver as of July 1st, the effective date of reorganization. Newly authorized are a signal depot and three signal battalions. Since the signal units are made up principally of technicians who must be familiar with electronics, each community bad to be examined as a potential source of such personnel. This examination clearly showed that only cities of comparatively high population density could furnish this manpower. Therefore, the communications units were placed in the Atlanta, Savannah, Brunswick and Fort Gordon areas. Georgia retains two-thirds of the 48th Armored Division in which very few TO&E changes are made. The State does, however, come under the Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS) which divides the State into five historically significant sections. Details of the reorganization may be found on pages six and seven of this edition. Thus Georgia enters a new era of military preparedness, geared to the new Pentomic concept of warfare. I am confident that, as we undergo this changeover, our traditionally high esprit de corps will prevail and our accomplishments will justify the confidence that the National Guard Bureau bas placed in the Georgia Army National Guard. .---------------------------------------------------------------------THE GEORGIA GUARDSMAN * * * * * *- * * * * * * * * * * * * THE GEORGIA GUARDSMAN Vol. 9 May, June 1959 No. 3 A publication of the Department of Defen se, Military Division, State of Georgia . Publi shed in the interest of the Georgia National Guard and distributed free to members of the National Guard of Georgia. The Guardsman receives AFPS ma terial. Ci ~ -> -> ..) 'I l........ . , Honorable Ernest Vandiver Governor of Georgia Major General George J. Hearn The Adjutant General MAJOR DOUGLAS EMBRY Editor Publication and Editorial Office 959 E . Confederate Ave., S. E., Atlanta 16, Georgia Th e oputtons expressed in the Georgia Guardsman are th ose of the Staff Writ ers of the Publication and members of the Georgia National Guard and do not necessarily reflect any official views of the Office of th e Adjutant General of Georgia. * * ***************** Our Cover ... The evolution of the Georgia National Guard from colonial militia to its present status as a modern combat-ready force, capable of manning the most advanced weapons, is symbolically illustrated on our cover th is month . On the eve of conversion and reorganization, Georgia Guardsmen of the 48th Armored Division soon will be armed with the Honest John Rocket as the Georgia-Florida division is phased into the "pentomic concept" of modern warefare. Conductor: "This train goes to Philadelphia and points west." Elderly woman: "Well, I want a train that goes to Altoona and I don't care which way it points." Governor Vandiver is shown signing a proclamation designating Saturday, May 16, as Armed Forces Day in Georgia. Looking on are members of the State Armed Forces Day Project Group, consisting of (left to right) Colonel George E. Baya, deputy commander of XII U. S. Army Corps (Res.} and State Armed Forces Day Project Officer; Chief Jack A. Harrison, Coast Guard Recruiting Officer, Atlanta; Commander Paul Lumpee, Operations Officer at the Atlanta Naval Air Station; Major Paul L. Robinson, commander of the Marine Corps Reserve Training Center, Atlanta; Lt. Colonel Ted R. Lehman, commander of the Atlanta Air Reserve Center, and Major Douglas Embry, of the Georgia National Guard, Atlanta. (U S ARMY PHOTO) Aerial 'Minute Men' Complete Jet Tour Colorado's "Minute Men" ;ill wind up a three year tour as the official Air National Guard jet demonstration team with a performance in Anchorage, Alaska, on Memorial Day. This will be the final show presented by the colorful F- 86F team which has performed for more than six million people throughout the United States and its possessions. On their return, team members will devote full attention to their assignments in the 140th Air Defense Wing of the Colorado Air National Guard. In visiting Alaska the team will have covered virtually every state, including the Nation's two newest. The Minute Men performed in Hawaii in 1957. Its Anchorage appearance also completes a span of the North American continent this year.lnJanuary the Air Guardsmen visited the Panama Canal Zone and Central American countries. Throughout most of their tour as the official Air Guard show team, the Minute Men were led by Colonel Walter E. Williams, Jr., who commands the 140th Fighter Interceptor Group in Denver. Talented Engineers Tackle Travis Tasks Laden with heavy equipment, Georgia Guardsmen of the 878th Engineer Construction Battalion will move into Travis Field, Savannah, June 21st for two weeks of realistic training. Slated to embellish the work they performed last year at Travis, the engineers will perform the follo wing missions at the ANG facility as well as their routine training chores: * Pave 7900 square yards of addi- tional parking area on Brush wood Drive. * Install parking bumpers on Oel- schig Drive. * Pave access road from ramp to 117th Tac Hospital area. Repair bridge at end of runway 5. Pave road by theater. Clear 30 acres of woods inside air field. Clear 105 acres of land at ends of runway 9- 27. * Complete inside of buildings they constructed last year. The 878th, wi th headquarters in Atlanta and units in Lawren ceville and Lavonia, is commanded by Lt. Col. Earl Bodron. MAY, JUNE 1959 THE GEORGIA GUARDSMAN - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - ******************************** Landlocked Rome Guardsmen Join Forces with Navy Land Blimp After Tug-0-War With Sub Cha ser In the dozen or so years since the first National Guard company was acti- across intervening grass areas. This vated in Rome, Guardsmen from this Northwest Georgia ciry have been called time the 20 Guardsmen stag ed a mass upon for just about every type of duty imaginable. sprint of 75 to 100 yards to stay in They have assisted civil authorities in hunting down armed desperadoes, position on the bowlines and then performed searches for missing persons, stood guard over a blast-damaged had to hold on manfully as the wind town, aided the Air Force with downed aircraft and have taken part in nu- pushed the big "sausage" around. merous charitable fund-raising projects. Actually, the landings went off On May 18 they took on a duty course, causing it to be "waved off" strange even for them - aiding the once. But, the Guardsmen raced af- without particular incident and not the slighest injury except maybe U. S. Navy in landing, of all things, ter its dangling nose lines and se- "winding" a iew of the sprinters. a blimp - the first ever to come to earth at Rome's Russell Field. Here's the way that assignment, carried out by Rome's Company A, 163rd Tank Battalion, came about: To kick off its "Share in America" savings bond campaign in Northwest Georgia, the Treasury Department cured it on the second try. + + + Barron, accompanied by press and radio representatives, boarded the airship for an hour's cruise around Rome while the Company A Guardsmen awaited their return and a second landing assist. But, the Guardsmen were cautioned by the Navy personnel beforehand that their job could be dangerous and that, if the airship began drifting toward them on the gro und to "hit the deck" to avoid propellers of its two engines. The Arm y men interpreted this, of course, as " hit asked the Navy's Lighter-Than-Air The second was even more of a the dirt" and were prepared for a ny Command at Glynco Naval Air Sta- struggle. Two "wave offs" were fol- eventuality. tion, Brunswick, to send one of its lowed by what appeared to be a per- The Guardsmen won a Navy "well submarine-chaser blimps on a flight fect approach; but, just as the blimp done" for their handling of th e ai r- to the north Georgia mountains. touched down on its single wheel, ship and chalked up a new " first" The Navy agreed and notified Bond the wind shifted and sent the airship for the Guard in Rome and possibly Campaign Chairman Frank Barron sliding sideways off the runway and even the U. S. that it would attempt a landing in Rome to pick up several passengers for a flight over the area. But, the Navy added, it would need men for a ground party to accomplish the land- ing. Barron quickly contacted Captain Lewis C. Vamedoe, "A" Company commander, and asked for 20 volun- teers. At the appointed time, the detail, dressed in neat, starched fa- tigues, showed up at Russell Field under the command of 1st Lt John E. Yarbrough, "A" Company exec, and 2nd Lt. Ronald Winslett. The Guardsmen were briefed on handling the blimp's ground control lines by a four man Naval advance party which had flown in ahead of the airship. When the 285-foot long lighter-than-air craft hovered over the field they took up station at the field's runway intersection. As luck would have it, it was a tricky day for manual landing of blimps even for the Navymen, much LINE OF ROME GUARDSMEN REEL IN BOWLINES OF NAVY BLIMP FOR less Army Guard tankers. Variable TREASURY DEPARTMENT'S "SHARE IN AMERICA" SAVINGS BOND DRIVE gusts of wind shifted the airship off 2 MAY, JUNE 1959 ----------------------------------------------------------------------THE GEORGIA GUARDSMAN MAJOR PAUL R. SMITH MAJOR SHEFTALL B. COLEMAN 158th Fighter Sq. Commander Is Command Pilot, WW II Ace Major Sheftall B. Coleman, commander of Savannah's 158th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, was a warded the wings of a command pilot J anuary 9th, after completing 3,000 hours of flying and 15 years of rated service. The veteran Savannah Air Guardsman is an ace, having gunned down seven enemy aircraft during 120 combat missions in the ETO during WW II and is credited with another half of a kill by assisting in the destruction of an eighth "bandit." His victories were over Me 109's, FW 190's, He 111's and Ju 88's. Taking over the Travis Field jet squadron on July 12, 1958, Major Coleman has guided his pilots through the difficult transition from the F-84F Thunderstreak to the F-86 Saber Jet while working full time at Travis as Operations Supervisor. The squadron commander is a native Savannahian, having attended Savannah grade schools, Armstrong Junior College and the University of Georgia. MAY, JUNE 1959 Entering service April 2, 1942, as an aviation cadet, he began his flying career. Completing his flying training at Luke Field, Arizona, he was commissioned a second lieutenant and awarded the rating of pilot. Major Coleman was a fighter pilot, flying the P-51 "Mustang," when he won the Distinguished Flying Cross. Decorated for a combat mission over enemy territory August 25, 1944, Lt. Coleman was cited for demonstrating "outstanding courage and flying skill in vigorously pressing home an attack upon superior numbers of enemy aircraft. In the face of overwhelming odds, he exhibited remarkable calm and aggressive tactical technique and was successful in the destruction of one of the hostile planes, while assisting in the dispersal of the remainder." Major Coleman has been a member of the squadron he commands for the past eight and a half years. During the Korean conflict, he had a "classified" assignment. Command Pilot wings have been awarded the Air National Guard officers on this page for accomplishing the following flying requirements: Having been a rated (flying) officer for 15 years Having compiled 3,000 hours flying time Having accomplished 50 hours of total first pilot weather instrument flying time Having logged 10 hours of weather time in the last year Having logged 15 hours of instrument time in last six months Having passed written and flying examinations for qualification as a Green Instrument Card Pilot (Green card pilots have authority to sign their own flight clearances.) MAJOR JAMES H. HULSEY 3 THE GEORGIA GUARDSMAN------------------------------~~ 19 GEORGIA NAT'L GUARD NON-COMS TO GET TOP PAY GRADES E-8 & E-9 Top pay grades (E-8 and E-9), with new titles and insignia for non-commissioned officers and specialists, are being introduced into the Army Reserve and National Guard. The new pay grades went into effect for the active forces a year ago with the passage of the Military Pay Bill by the 85th Congress. Pay grades E-8 and E-9 will be used to accommodate key leadership positions in the Reserve Components similar to that of the Active Army, such as First Sergeants, Sergeants Major and positions occupied by technically qualified non-commissioned officers in critical areas and selected critical specialist personnel. Georgia is authorized 19 of the 871 slots for Guardsmen in the new pay grade. Implementation of the new rank titles will be delayed pending reorganization and redesignation. Names of non-coms getting the higher grade will be published in a subsequent edition of The Georgia Guardsman. Promotions into the newly authorized grades will be phased over three years, with initial promotions being limited to pay grade E-8 for personnel selected to occupy First Sergeant and Sergeant Major positions. The phasing of subsequent promotions into other key leadership and critical specialist positions will be initiated during Fiscal Year 1961. The titles for non-commissioned officers of these two grades are the same for both the Active and Reserve Components of the Army. An E-8 will be known as a Master Sergeant or First Sergeant, and an E-9 will be known as a Sergeant Major. Initial quotas for 871 Army National Guardsmen and 880 Army Reservis~s for promotion to E-8 have been authorized commencing June 1. With the institution of the two new top grades, changes in insignia and titles among some of the lower grades of non-commissioned officers of the Reserve Components have also become necessary. The present title of Master Sergeant for enlisted grade E-7.will be changed to Platoon Sergeant or Sergeant First Class, according to assignment. Enlisted Grade E-6, now carrying the title of Sergeant First Class, will be known as Staff Sergeant. In the enlisted grade E-5, Sergeant, the grade insignia will no longer include an arc below the chevrons but it will bring back the old "Buck Sergeant" insignia traditional to the Army. Ga. Strength High, U.S. Low Army National Guard strength in Georgia climbed up to 8,999 as of 31 March 59, exceeding the authorized 8,886. However, nationwide the total dipped to 388,188 almost 12,000 below the assigned 400,000 goal to be reached by 30 June 59. At the recent conferences of Adjutants General in Washington, the AG's blamed the low figure on the DA's limitation of spaces for sixmonth trainees. The AG Association said the strength could have been maintained at the 400,000 figure directed by Congress if Defense had programmed and funded the full 55, 000 trainees equitably throughout the entire fiscal year. The association adopted a resolution urging Congress to authorize 55, 000 more trainees for the Guard in FY 60. The administration budgeted for only 28,000 for next year. The AG's also passed resolutions which would- Provide perdiem for reserve officers attending service schools Permit NG civilian employees to attend service schools in military status * Urge Post Office Department to grant paid military leave to Guardsmen at camp * Establish a separate competition quota for West Point for Guardsmen 160th Troops Locate Lost Boy and Uncle After an all-night search through swampy Monroe County terrain, a seven-year-old boy and his uncle were found, scratched and exhausted by Georgia Guardsmen of the 160th Armor Group. Throughout the rainy night of May 22-23, 24 Guardsmen, led by ColoWesley D. Willingham, tracked through thickly wooded areas where James and Trick Black of Griffin were last seen. Having been notified by Brigadier General Homer Flynn that a young boy and his uncle were lost, Colonel Willingham assembled his men at the Forsyth armory at 2000 hours. At 2020 hours 22 enlisted men and 2 officers arrived at the search area where one EM was already on the scene. The search continued until approximately 1130hours, May 23, when the persons sought were located only three miles from where they were last seen. They were found by a search party of Guardsmen consisting of 1st Sgt Johnnie Richardson, Co B, 16lst Tank Bn; M/Sgt L. A. Piland, Co B, 16lst Tank Bn; and Sp3 Olin Trammell, Hq Co, 160th Armor Group. Called in to help in the search by Colonel Willingham, 1st Lt. James C. Bailey, 48th Armd Sig Co, arrived by helicopter shortly after the victims were found. A Civil Defense team, also rushed to the scene but arrived only minutes after recovery of the lost persons. Army Changes Name Of Summer Uniforms Washington (AFPS)-Summer semi-dress uniforms for officers and troops-long labeled "Tropical Worsteds"-will be known as "Army Tans" in the future. The Army said the change corrects a misnomer of the summer uniform since most warm-weather materials no lon~Ser are made of wool but are a blend of synthetic and natural fibers. Other uniforms for soldiers have been renamed to closer identify the military garb with the Army, such as Armv Green, Army Blue and Army White. 4 MAY, JUNE 1959 Spruced up for thousands of spectators and tens of thousands watch in g television screens were these two color guards of the Georgi a National Guard participating in a unified massing of colors at Lockheed's and Dobbins AFB 's Armed Forces Day ceremonies. Shown on the Lockheed ramp just prior to passing in revi ew are, left to right. M/ Sgt Young T. Galloway, SFC Newman W. Robinson, AFC Lee G. Williams and M/ Sgt John H. Edge, all of Combat Command C; Sp3 Wayne L . Hulgan, M/ Sgt Joseph A. Sills, SFC William G. Bridewell and Pfc Joseph R. Collins, all of H/ S Co, 122nd Armd lnf Bn. The massing of colors was the climax of a five-hour telecast of the Armd Forces Day Open House and Air Show. Valdosta Guardsmen of Co A, 171 st Armored Infantry Battalion, wi ll receive this handsome trophy for having made the highest score in the Third Army area in the National Guard Association Trophy competition. The riflemen also won the National Guard (State} Trophy for coming out on top of other units in the State. The Valdostans scored an impressive 95 .30% in the rifle com- petition. MAY, JUNE 1959 A team of Lockheed Aircraft Company's radiological experts studies a Georgia National Guard M-48 tank at the Atlanta National Guard Reservation on Confederate Avenue May 27th to determine the radiation shielding necessary to protect the crew from a nuclear explosion. Working under an Army contract from the Aberdeen Proving Grounds, the scientists are part of Lockheed's Nuclear Support Group recently engaged in a similar radiation study at Dawsonville, where Lockheed conducts research on nuclear aircraft. Dr. J. S. Rosen, standing beside the tank, supervises the team. Around the turret are, 1-r, Ray Cushey, William D. Ritchie and Charles Hill . 5 THE GEORGIA GUARDSMAN~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-~ Army Guard Reorganization July 1st Strength of State Force lby 287 Reorganization of the Georgia Army National Guard - ordered by the De- Headquarters of the Guard's 108th partment of Defense as part of a nationwide plan to gear Guard components Artillery Brigade remains in Winder for atomic warfare- will become effective July 1, 1959. with battalion headquarter s of sub- Maj. Gen. George J. Hearn, The Adjutant General of Georgia, announced ordinate units remaining in Augusta, the National Guard Bureau's acceptance of Georgia's reorganization plan Statesboro and Elberton. Ho wever, after consultation with National Guard officials in Washington, D. C., June they have been redesignated as fol- lOth. lows: 1st Gun Battalion, with bat- Reorganization, redesignation and Brunswick will be headquarters teries in Augusta, Thomson and conversion of the presently author- for the 110th Combat Area Signal Sparta; 2nd Gun Battalion, with bat- ized 8,886-man Georgia Army Na- Battalion with three companies in teries in Statesboro, Swainsboro, tional Guard will - Savannah. These signal companies Lyons and Reidsville; 4th Gun Bat Give the State greater Guard replace division artillery units in talion, with batteries in Elberton strength than presently authorized Savannah which are consolidated and Hartwell and Toccoa. ' Provide sufficient organizations converted. to retain troops in all of Georgia's Savannah will have the 1st How- Headquarters of the 3rd Automatic Weapons Bn will be in Milledgeville 66 National Guard communities itzer Battalion, 118th Artillery, with Authorize a signal depot, three one battery in Springfield, Headquar- with batteries located in Monro e, Forsyth, Eatonton and Thomaston. signal battalions and an additional ters of the 2nd Howitzer Battalion, antiaircraft battalion to replace ele- 118th Artillery, will be located in The three gun battalions and AW battalion are part of the 214th Artillery. ments of the 160th Armor Group which Waycross with batteries in Jesup, were eliminated Baxley and Glenville. Both Howitzer The 1st and 2nd Gun Battalions are equipped with 90mm antiaircraft Authorize a self-propelled Honest battalions are armed with the lOSmm guns, the 4th with 75mm Sky swe epers . John Rocket Battery, the first mis- self-propelled Howitzer. The newly authorized 3rd Automatic sile unit assigned to the Georgia Headquarters and Headquarters Weapons Battalion will be armed Guard Battery of the 48th Armored Division with the M42, a twin 40mm full track- TheHonestJohn rocket-a surface Artillery will remain in Savannah. ed self-propelled gun. to surface missile - will become the An additional organization to be lo- The 160th Armor Group headquar- major tactical weapon of Atlanta's cated in Savannah will be the 248th ters of Forsyth will be redesignated 1st Rocket/ Howitzer Battalion, 179th Transportation Detachment (Aircraft Headquarters, Combat Command C , Artillery. The rocket has a range of Maintenance), 48th Armored Division. 15 miles and is capable of deliver- ing atomic warheads. Other newly assigned units in the Atlanta area are the 102nd Signal Depot and Headquarters and Company A of the 248th Signal Battalion. Com- pany B of the 248th will be located in Covington. Washington (Ga.) will be headquar- ters of the lllth Signal Battalion with companies located in Augusta and Waynesboro. A heavily manned company of the 111th will be split between Sandersville and Louisville. Sandersville will have Co A, less Joint Operation Center and Carrier Platoons to be in Louisville. Wash- ington's 216th RCAT (Radio Con- trolled Aerial Target) Detachment has been redesignated the 5th Air Defense Target Detachment, 214th Artillery, GENERAL HEARN OUTLINES PLAN TO SENIOR OFFICERS APRIL 13TH 6 MAY, JUNE 19 59 ~ublin' J60