aprill 2011 edition, arkansas minuteman newspaper

8/7/2019 Aprill 2011 Edition, Arkansas Minuteman Newspaper

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Top Soldiers,

NCOs and Airmennamed

page 6

Former TAG passespage 5

Soldiers run shadow marathonpage 8

Artillery unit fi res new gunspage 10

Volume 5, Number 2 April 2011


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3April 2011 A R K A N S A S M I N U T E M A N

Editorial staffCapt. Chris Heathscott

State Public Affairs Officer

Lt. Col. Keith MooreAir Guard Public Affairs Officer

Sgt. 1st Class Chris DurneyPublic Affairs Specialist

Adrienne BrietzkePublic Affairs Specialist

Donna SheltonInformation Officer

Garrick FeldmanEditor & Publisher

Christy HendricksManaging Editor

How to reach us404 Graham Road

Jacksonville, Ark.72076

Ph: 501-982-9421

Fax: 501-985-0026

[email protected]

Advertising:arkansasminutemanads@

arkansasleader.com

Story [email protected]

[email protected]

Arkansas GuardNews

Published by Leader Pub-lishing, Inc. 404 Graham Road,

Jacksonville, AR 72076, phone

number (501) 982-9421, a pri-

vate firm in no way connect-

ed with the Arkansas National

Guard, under written contract

with the Adjutant General of

the Arkansas National Guard.

This civilian enterprise Na-

tional Guard newspaper is an

authorized publication for the

members of the U.S. military

services, published under the

provisions of AR 360-1, AFI 35-

101 and the Arkansas Military

Department. Contents of theArkansas Minuteman are not

necessarily the official views of,

or endorsed by, the U.S. govern-

ment, the Department of De-

fense or the National Guard.

The appearance of advertising

in this publication, including

inserts or supplements, does

not constitute endorsement by

the National Guard or Leader

Publishing Inc. of the products

or services advertised. Every-

thing advertised in this publi-

cation shall be made available

for purchase, use or patronagewithout regard to race, color,

religion, sex, national origin,

age, marital status, physical

handicap, political affiliation

or any other non-merit factor

of the purchaser, user or pa-

tron. Editorial photos unless

otherwise noted. The Arkan-

sas Minuteman reserves the

right to edit all items. Editorial

content is edited, prepared and

provided by the Public Affairs

Office of the Arkansas Nation-

al Guard. All photos are Arkan-

sas National Guard unless oth-

erwise noted.

ARKANSASMINUTEMAN

READY T OATTACK. Warriorsin the 2011 Arkansas

Army National Guard

Soldier a nd N CO ofthe Year competition

square of f during a n

Army combativ es

tournament Ma rch

11. S pc. A lec B ald-

win ( on t he l eft), o f

the 87th Troop Com-

mand, e merged a s

the Soldier of the Year

following four days of

tough competition. Staff Sgt. Brandon Shaw, of the Nation-

al Guard Marksmanship Training Center, bested a fi eld of

four to take the NCO of the Year honors. The two Soldiers

will compete at the regional level in Kansas in May.

ONTHE COVER

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FROMTHE TOP

Sexual assaulthurts one, affects all

Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Chris A. Durney.

Arkansas National

Guard

Mission Vision andValuesMISSION

To provide trained,

ready professionals

and units responsive to

the needs of the nation,

state, and community.

VISION

Arkansas National

Guard military and civil-

ian professionals, work-

ing as a team, building

thefinest reserve military

organization serving the

nation, state, and com-

munity.

VALUES

INTEGRITY

(Honesty, Candor, Ethics,

Morals, Accountability)

COMMITMENT(Loyalty, Caring, Trust,

Teamwork)

PROFESSIONALISM

(Selfless Service, Empow-

erment, Stewardship, Ex-

cellence in all we do)

WARRIOR SPIRIT

(I will always place the

missionfirst. I will never

accept defeat. I will nev-er quit. I will never leave

a fallen comrade.)

As nature and theworld around us awakento new life and warmerweather, the Department

of Defense, the Nation-

al Guard Bureau and theArkansas National Guardare asking everyone to beawake to a problem thathurts one, but affects all.

April is Sexual AssaultAwareness Month, with a

mission of addressing thedamage sexual assaultcauses not only to anindividual, but also to ouroverall readiness and unit

cohesion.According to the Na-

tional Violence AgainstWomen Survey, as pub-

lished by the U.S. De-partment of Justices Of-fice on Violence AgainstWomen, one in six Ameri-can women has been thevictim of rape or attempt-ed rape.

Sexual assault takes

many forms such as ver-bal harassment, intimi-dation, unwanted sexualcontact, rape, attempt-ed rape and child sexualabuse. It affects people ofany gender, age, ethnic-ity, sexual orientation orability. And perpetratorscan be friends, acquain-

tances, family membersor strangers.

It is clear that all of ushave an important role inpreventing sexual assault,in protecting victims, inchanging attitudes and inreporting incidents.

As Gen. Craig McKin-ley, the chief of The Na-tional Guard Bureauwrites, One sexual as-

sault affects not only theindividual, but the entireNational Guard Family bydestroying our sense oftrust in our Soldiers andAirmen. Leadership at alllevels must remain dili-gent when it comes to thiscrime.

This is especially true

for the Arkansas NationalGuard. We are successfuland work well in our as-signed missions becausewe function as a Family,and we count on each otherto be strong, focused andresponsive. When sexu-al assault occurs, it harmsone of our own and dimin-ishes our ability to functionproficiently as a team.

Clifford Stanley, Un-der Secretary of Defensefor Personnel and Readi-ness may have said it best.

Commanders and senior

enlisted leadership mustset the tone in their units

to prevent this crime and

not damage the trust that

our military members

have in their leaders and

their peers.

Taking this one step

further, every Arkansas

National Guard service

member, federal employ-

ee, state employee and Ac-

tive Guard and Reserve

personnel has the respon-

sibility to learn the signs

of a potential sexual as-

sault and to learn how to

safely intervene and pre-

vent it.

Remember, its up to

all of us not to let even

one person down, because

that lets everyone down.

So, lets take to heart thisyears message for Sexual

Assault Awareness Month

and Dont let your Guard

down.

April is

Sexual Assault Awareness

Month


4/12

4 April 2011A R K A N S A S M I N U T E M A N

ROBINSON MANUEVERTRAINING CENTER, Ark. New-ly promoted Col. Robert Smothersassumed command of one of theNational Guards premier trainingsites here on Sunday, March 5, 2011.

Smothers, who was pinned asa full colonel just moments beforeformally accepting command, re-places Col. Walter Jones as the newpost commander for the RobinsonManeuver Training Center bet-ter known as Camp Joseph T. Rob-inson. Jones, who originally tookcommand of the post in October2007, is retired from the Arkan-sas National Guard lMarch 25 afterover 35 years of service.

Smother assumes this tradi-tional command assignment, whilecontinuing to work for the Arkan-sas National Guard in his full timecapacity as the deputy chief ofstaff for information management.With this command, Smothersgains responsibility of the instal-lations year round operations andmaintenance.

While there are less than 140Soldiers assigned to his new com-mand, the unit supports over

30,000 active and reserve compo-

nent troops who pass through the32,000 acre post annually for train-ing.

But it goes much deeper andmuch broader than that, said Brig.Gen. Richard Swan, chief of stafffor the Arkansas National GuardsJoint Force Headquarters which islocated at Camp Robinson. In to-days new operational force of theGuard, Robinson Maneuver Train-ing Center [Installation SupportUnit] has done more, and doesmore today, than just taking care ofan installation.

Theyve been full partners andparticipants whenever weve pro-vided military support to civil au-

thorities for disasters and emer-gencies. And Robinson ManeuverTraining Center has certainly notbeen untouched by mobilizationssince the global war on terror be-gan.

Swan went on to thank Col.Jones for a job well done in both hiscommand and his career, and fol-lowed by expressing his confidencein Col. Smothers as the new instal-lation commander.

Its the highest privilege to serve

the needs of deploying troops and

units as well as the citizens of thegreat state of Arkansas during di-sasters and other domestic opera-

tions, said Smothers. To the unit,Im deeply honored to serve as yourcommander and look forward to

working with you to ensure we areready, trained and resourced to ex-ecute our mission.

ROBINSON MANUEV-ER TRAINING CENTER,Ark. Brig. Gen. Travis D.Dwight Balch, of Vilonia,Ark., assumed command ofthe Arkansas Air NationalGuard in a ceremony heretoday. Balch replaces Brig.Gen. Riley Porter, who com-

manded the states 2,000Airmen over the past fiveyears.

This is a great day for theArkansas Guard, said Maj.Gen. William D. Wofford,the adjutant general of theArkansas National Guardand senior commander overboth the states Army andAir National Guard forces.

Its a sad day for Gener-al Porter, Wofford added as

he addressed over 300 in at-tendance at the ceremony.Anytime an officer givesup a command you certain-

ly face that with mixed emo-tions. But he has had a suc-cessful command, one thathe should be proud of.

General Wofford wenton to talk about many of thechallenges faced by the Ar-kansas Air National Guardduring Porters tenure. Dur-

ing Porters time in com-mand, the men and womenof the Arkansas Air Guardparticipated in multiple de-ployments in support of Op-erations Iraqi and EnduringFreedom. They supportedthe communities of Arkan-sas with state emergencyresponse in the face of win-ter weather, tornados andflooding. They also mobi-lized intelligence personnel

in response to hurricanes inthe Gulf, the earthquake inHaiti, and the oil spill in theGulf among other things.

The Arkansas Air Na-tional Guard has stepped

forward quickly and profes-sionally every time theyve

been called on, said Wof-ford. They serve their com-

munities, their state andtheir nation. And they do it

well.Among many other chal-

lenges faced during Porterstenure, the Base Realign-ment and Closure initia-tive of 2005 left the 188thFighter Wing with the lossof the states F-16 mission.The wing maintains a flyingmission today however, af-ter winning the fight to gainits new mission aircraft, theA-10 Thunderbolt II.

While Porter moves on totake on his new role as com-mander of the states Air Co-ordination Group, Woffordexpressed his confidence inBalch as the incoming com-mander of the Arkansas AirNational Guard.

You bring to the com-mand an outstanding recordof accomplishments and Imconfident that you will leadthe Arkansas Air National

Guard to even greater suc-cesses, said Wofford. Im

Arkansas ANG welcomes new commanderVilonia resident acceptscommand over states 2,000Air National Guardsmen

Photo by Staff Sgt. Julian Johnson, 189th Airlift Wing public affairs

ACCEPTING COMMAND. Brig. Gen. Travis D. Dwight Balch (center), accepted theColors of the Arkansas Air National Guard from Maj. Gen. William D. Wofford, the adjutant

general of the Arkansas National Guard and senior commander of both the states Army

and Air forces.

Camp Robinson welcomes Smothers as new post commander

NEW COMMANDER. Freshly-pinnedCol. Robert Smothers stands ready to accept command of the Ar-kansas National Guards Robinson Maneuver Training Center from Col. Walter Jones. Jones, who retired after

35 years of service, passed the installation colors to Brig. Gen. Richard Swan, the chief of staff for Joint Force

Headquarters, who then passed the colors to Smothers.

See NEW, page 5


5/12


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confident that the Arkan-sas Air National Guard willrespond to your leadership.Im confident that you willcontinue to provide thoseoutstanding leadership ex-amples and the drive thatis needed, as we continueto face the challenges of the21st century.

As commander of the

Arkansas Air Guard, Gen-eral Balch assumes respon-sibility of its subordinateunits to include the 188thFighter Wing at Fort Smith;The Marksmanship Train-ing Unit Air at the Rob-inson Maneuver TrainingCenter; and the 189th Air-lift Wing, 123rd Intelli-gence Squadron, and 154thWeather Flight at the LittleRock Air Force Base.

If you look back in our

history, youll see that there

are not that many com-manders of the ArkansasAir National Guard, saidBalch, who formerly servedas the commander of the189th Airlift Wing fromAugust 2003 to Novem-ber 2007, and most recent-ly served as the Air Guardschief of staff to General Por-ter. To be included in thatgroup is a phenomenalthing for me.

All of these men were

uniquely qualified to com-

mand and were respect-ed leaders who laid a sol-id foundation for us today,said General Balch. Mypledge to you is that I willcontinue to build on thatfoundation. Im going tolead with integrity. Im go-ing to take care of the Air-men who serve.

Im blessed, Im hon-ored, and Im humbled tohave been chosen the com-mander of the Arkansas Air

National Guard.

NewContinued from Page 4

ROBINSON MANEU-

VER TRAINING CEN-

TER, Ark. The Ar-

kansas National Guard

mourned the passing of a

former adjutant general,

Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Charles

H. Wilson. General Wil-

son died the evening of

March 7, 2011 at the age

of 99.General Wilson, who

served as adjutant gen-

eral from 1967 to 1970,

passed away due to natu-

ral causes at his home in

Arkadelphia, Ark. He was

the son of Charles H. Wil-

son and Eva Perry Wil-

son. He was preceded in

death by his parents; his

wife of 59 years, EloiseSears Wilson; two sisters,

Arlene Aldridge and Dor-

othy Mc Donald; and two

brothers, Seth Bill Wil-

son and Burley Wilson.

General Wilson was

born November 7, 1911, in

Turner, Kansas. His fam-

ily moved to North Little

Rock, Arkansas in 1915.

He graduated from North

Little Rock High School

in 1930 and married his

high school classmate El-

oise Sears, the daughter

of Tim Albert and Rosa

Lee Sears, in their home

on January 1, 1937. They

soon built a home in the

country south of Jackson-

ville and settled into rais-

ing a family.

General Wilsons voca-

tion was automobile me-

chanics. He started work

as an automobile mechan-

ic and worked his way to

service manager at sever-

al automobile dealerships

in the Little Rock Areabefore retiring from Rus-

sell Chevrolet in 1976 as

their service manager.

General Wilson joined

the Arkansas Nation-

al Guard in 1937 as an

enlisted member of the

154th Observation Squad-

ron. He remained in the

154th until 1940 when he

was discharged as a pri-vate.

He joined the U.S.

Army two weeks after

Dec. 7, 1941.. As a re-

sult of his prior service,

he was commissioned as

a first lieutenant in the

Ordinance Corp. This is

very unusual, as most of-

ficers begin their career

as a second lieutenant and

are later promoted to first

lieutenant.

After joining the Army

he and two other officers

toured automobile dealer-

ships throughout Arkan-

sas. They recruited me-

chanics and formed the

264th Medium Mainte-

nance Company, which

was primarily made up

of mechanics from Ar-

kansas, with fill-ins from

other states. The unit

was deployed to Oki-

nawa where the 264thmaintained weapons and

equipment to support the

fighting forces until the

end of the war in August

1945, and returned home

in early 1946. General

Wilson commanded the

264th from its formation

until the unit was dis-

banded after the War. He

was discharged after the

war as a major.

Major Wilson then

joined the Arkansas Army

National Guard and later

commanded the 739thOrdinance Battalion as a

lieutenant colonel for 17

years. He had other as-

signments and ret ired

from the Arkansas Na-

tional Guard as a colonel

in 1966.

Upon the election

of Governor Winthrop

Rockefeller in November,

1966, Colonel Wilson wasselected as his Adjutant

General for the Arkansas

National Guard. After be-

ing notified of his selec-

tion he rushed home to

dress for a press confer-

ence announcing his ap-

pointment. His wife had

previously packed all his

military clothing and had

to get his clothing out ofstorage. She only had

time to press the collar

and cuffs of his shirt be-

fore he had to appear at

the State Capitol.

Governor-elect Rock-

efeller had asked the Of-

ficers Association and

the Non-Commissioned

Officers Association for

a list offive officers to

be considered as Adju-

tant General. Col. Wil-

sons name was on both

lists. After all were inter-

viewed, they were asked

if they were not selected,

who they would recom-

mend. All replied that

Col. Wilson would be

their choice. The commit-

tee was chaired by the late

Lieutenant Governor and

Medal of Honor recipient

Footsie Britt.General Wilson as-

sumed duties as Adjutant

General of the State of Ar-

kansas National Guard in

January 1967 and served

during Governor Rocke-

fellers two terms. He re-

tired from the military as

a Major General and was

awarded the Legion of

Merit along with numer-ous awards and decora-

tions for his 43 years of

military service.

Survivors include his

son Col. (Ret.) Charles

Hank Wilson and wife

Lela of Arkadelphia,

and his daughter Rosa-

lyn Huddleston and hus-

band Billy of Arkadelphia.

Other survivors include

four grandchildren: Steve

Huddleston and wife Jen-

nifer of Arkadelphia, Car-

rie Huddleston of Dallas,

Texas, Charley Wilson of

Austin, Texas, and Christy

Teague and husband Bri-

an of Fayetteville, Ark.; a

sister-in-law Mrs. Burley

Wilson, and numerous

nieces and nephews.

Guard mourns the passing of former adjutant generalMaj. Gen. (R) Charles H. Wilson

served under Gov. Rockefeller

Maj. Gen. (R) Charles H. Wilson


6/12


Photos and story by

Sgt. 1st Class Chris A. Durney

ROBINSON MANEUVER TRAINING CEN-TER, Ark. Nine Arkansas Army National GuardWarriors were put to the test over four days here inMarch during the 2011 Soldier and Noncommis-sioned Officer of the Year competition.

Spc. Alec Baldwin of the 87th Troop Com-mand proved that Army journalists can befiercewarriors in beating out three others for the Sol-

dier of the Year title. Staff Sgt. Brandon Shawof the National Guard Marksmanship TrainingCenter set his sights on the NCO of the Year title,besting four other competitors.

Joining Baldwin in the Soldier of the Year cat-egory were Spc. Christopher Brunner of the 39thInfantry Brigade Combat Team, Sgt. Travis Fun-derburg of the 77th Theater Aviation Brigade,and Spc. Michael Hobbs of the 142nd Fires Bri-gade. Private 1st Class Vincel Jones of the Rob-inson Maneuver Training Center was unable tocompete due to deployment.

On the NCO side, Shaw was challenged bySgt. Joshua Dickerson of the 87th TC, Staff Sgt.

Melissa Geving of the 77th TAB, Sgt. Ralph Tan-ner of the 39th IBCT, and Staff Sgt. Timothy Ten-nel, Jr., of the 142nd FB.

The two Arkansas warriors move on to the re-

gional competition in Kansas in May. The region-al winners compete at the National Guard Bureaulevel, with the NGB Soldier and NCO of the Yearcompeting for the active Army crown in October.

This years Arkansas Army National GuardSoldier and NCO of the Year competition be-gan with an Army Physical Fitness Test early onthe morning of March 8, and wrapped up withan appearance before a board of command ser-geants major the morning of March 12. Alongthe way, the warriors endured weapons quali-fi

cation, essay writing, warrior task training, amystery event, day and night land navigation, atough 12-mile road march and a spirited Armycombatives tournament.

Im convinced that the Arkansas Nation-al Guard has some of the best Soldier and Air-men in the country, and these young men andwomen prove just that, said Maj. Gen. WilliamWofford, the adjutant general of Arkansas dur-ing the awards ceremony and luncheon March12 at RMTC.

Each competitor was awarded an ArmyAchievement Medal along with gift certificatesfrom the Arkansas National Guard Morale

Welfare and Recreation fund. Baldwin andShaw were each awarded the Arkansas Dis-tinguished Service Medal, and an additionalMWR certificate.

Arkansas Army National Guard names tSpc. Baldwin, Staff Sgt. Shaw move on to regional competition

DYNAMIC DUO. Spc. Alec Baldwin (left), 119th Mobile Public Affairs D etachment,87th Troop Command was named the 2011 Arkansas Army National Guard Soldier of the

Year. Staff Sgt. Brandon Shaw, National Guard Marksmanship Training Center, was named

the 2011 Arkansas Army National Guard NCO of the Year.

(ABOVE) A RUNNING START. Soldier and NCO of the Year competitors begin a two-mile run.

(LEFT) FRAG OUT. Sgt. Joshua Dickerson of the 87th Troop Command aims a grenade at a tYear competition.


7/12


ROBINSON MANEUVER TRAINING CENTER The 2011 Arkansas Air National Guard Airmen ofthe Year were announced during a Soldier and Airmen of the Year luncheon and awards ceremony here

March 12. Senior Airman Twila Ocapio was named Airman of the Year. Tech. Sgt. Jeremiah Brewer was

named the NCO of the Year. M aster Sgt. Bradley Orr was named the Senior NCO of the Year. M aster

Sgt. Greg Qualls was named the 1st Sergeant of the Year. Master Sgt. Jillian Churchill was named the

Air Guard Honor Guardsman of the Year.

Arkansas National Guard

Airmen of the Year Honored

p Soldier, NCO

BALDWIN HONORE D.Soldier of the Y ear Sp c.Alec Baldwin, an Arkansas

Army National Guard pho-

tojournalist with the 119th

MPAD, receives an Arkan-

sas Distinguished Service

Medal from Maj. Gen. Wil-

liam Wofford, the adjutant

general of Arkansas.

SHAW HONORED. NCOof the Year Staff Sgt. Bran-

don S haw o f t he National

Guard Marksmanship T rain-

ing Center receives the Ar-

kansas D istinguished S er-

vice Medal from Maj. G en.

William Wofford.

rget during the warrior task training section of the Soldier and NCO of the

PLOTTING A COURSE. Each Soldier and NCO underwent a day and night land navigation challenge inthe backwoods of Robinson Maneuver Training Center.


8/12


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CAMP BONDSTEEL,Kosovo Since 2003 thecity of Little Rock, Ark.,has hosted the annualLittle Rock Marathon, arun that takes competi-tors through scenic down-town Little Rock, passingsuch landmarks as the Ar-kansas State Capitol, theLittle Rock River MarketDistrict, the Clinton Pres-idential Center and theGovernors Mansion.

This year, several Ar-kansans, stationed inKosovo with Multina-tional Battle Group Eastas part of the NATO-ledpeacekeeping missionhere, ran the race thou-sands of miles and severaltime zones away, amidsta mountainous Balkanbackdrop, as the CampBondsteel Morale, Wel-

fare and Recreation heldthe Little Rock MarathonShadow Run, March 6.

Approximately 60 Sol-diers with two units of theArkansas Army Nation-

al Guards 77th TheaterAviation Brigade servedas the command elementfor Task Force Griffin inKosovo.

According to Renee Fa-vors, MWR program spe-cialist at Camp Bondsteel,a shadow run typicallystarts at the same timeas the official marathon,even though its in a dif-ferent location. The LittleRock Marathon shadowrun was started five hoursahead of the official startto allow the Kosovo run-ners enough time to finishthe race during daylighthours.

Of the 37 runners thatcompeted in the LittleRock Marathon shadowrun at Camp Bondsteel,seven were officially reg-istered as contestants

in the actual Little RockMarathon in Arkansas.

The seven who offi-cially registered with therace organization in Lit-tle Rock qualified for the

same rewards as thosewho ran in Arkansas, in-cluding the official 2011Little Rock Marathonmedal and a certificate of

completion.We really wanted to

do the race officially so wecould get the medal, saidCapt. Pat May of Ward,Ark., and a member of the

Arkansas Army Nation-al Guard. Some peopledon't run the marathonbecause the medal is sobig, they're afraid they'll

get back problems, he

joked.May played a large role

in having the Camp Bond-steel MWR host the run.

I knew about the run

from seeing signs and bill-

boards around Arkansas,May said. There wasnt a

marathon scheduled [onCamp Bondsteel] whilewe were here and I want-ed to do the half-mara-thon portion of the racein Arkansas when we gothome from this deploy-ment. When I realizedthat we wouldnt be homein time, I started thinkingitd be a good idea to do ashadow run here.

May said that he and

1st Lt. William Northernof Birmingham, Ala., de-cided to bring the ideato Favors, who workedon the marathon logis-tics such as planning theroute, providing waterpoints and a timer, etc.They also contacted Ge-neva Hampton, the LittleRock Marathon ExecutiveDirector, about having

Soldiers run Little Rock Marathon in KosovoStory and photos by Sgt. Jerry Boffen

130th Public Affairs Detachment

U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jerry Boffen, 130th Public Affairs Detachment

(FROM LEFT) 1ST Lt. William Northern, Sgt. Dan Akers, Spc. John Vorrath, Capt. PatMay of t he Arkansas Army N ational Guard, Staff Sgt. J oktan Noble, and Capt. Charles

Wesley, who are all deployed to Kosovo as part of a NATO-led peacekeeping mission, pose

together before competing in the Little Rock Marathon Shadow Run at Camp Bondsteel,

Kosovo, March 6.

See MARATHON, page 10


9/12


DALESVILLE, Ala. Members of the 77thTheater Aviation Bri-gade, from Camp Robin-son, Ark. came togetherto make self-assessmentsduring an Aviation Train-ing Exercise, at Fort Ruck-er, Ala., Mar. 9, 2011.

All members of thebrigade, including foursupport battalions, par-ticipated in simulated avi-ation missions in prepa-ration for a deployment toIraq. Among the supportbattalions were the 1stBattalion, 151st Attack Re-connaissance Regiment,Company B of the 1st Bat-talion, 111th General Sup-port Aviation Regiment,1204th Aviation SupportBattalion, and 1st Battal-ion, 108th Assault Heli-copter Regiment.

According to Fort Ruck-

er evaluators, the train-ing validated the brigade

staff, ensuring they canprovide proper commandand control of aviation op-

erations in a deployed en-vironment. It also broughttogether two of the battal-ions that will fall under77th TAB command whilein theater, so as to developsynchronized operationsthroughout all staff sec-tions.

The Aviation Train-ing Exercise Facility hereat Fort Rucker is the besttraining facility in the

world, for an aviation bat-tle staff, explained Lt.Col. Rob Lashbrook, 77thTAB operations officer incharge.

Lashbrook stated thatthe type of technology,network connectivity, avi-ation cockpit training, aswell as the support fromsubordinate units and sub-ject matter experts, couldonly come together here at

the Battle Simulation Cen-ter at Fort Rucker.Identifying your key

leaders and having a tac-tical standard operationalprocedure that everyone

knows and understandsis the best starting pointin preparation for thistraining, Lashbrook said.Having all of your staffworking together with oneaccord is one of the most

important things a unitcan do.

The 77th TAB is par-

tially trained right now,Col. Lawrence Madkins,commander of the 166thAviation Brigade from FortHood, Texas, explainedduring the after action re-view, but that is where we

expected them to be at thispoint.

The mission given to the

77th Theater Aviation Bri-gade is a mission for a com-bat aviation brigade thisstaff had never faced manyof the tasks needed for thismission before the trainingbegan, Madkins said.

We will definitely get

them where they need to

be before they leave to go

into country, Madkinsconfidently stated.

The 77th TAB is slated

to travel to Fort Hood to

continue training through-

out April.

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ministration section pre -

pare re ports needed f or asimulated e xercise during

their Aviation Training Exer-

cise March 9.

(RIGHT) 1 ST ARMYBRIEF. C olonel L awrence

Madkins, f rom t he 1 66th

Aviation Brigade Fort Hood,

Texas, g ives co nstructive

criticism to the members of

the 7 7th Theat er A viation

Brigade during a unit wide

after action re view on the

March 9.


10/12


CHAFFEE MANUEVER TRAINING CENTER, Ark. Soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 206th Field Artillery exercisedtheir ability to put steel on target here March 18, 2011, as theyfired their first rounds from the units new towed howitzers.

The unit, part of the Arkansas National Guards 39th Infan-try Brigade Combat Team, turned in their Vietnam-era M102howitzers last year and fielded the new M119A2. While bothweapons systems launch 105 millimeter artillery rounds, thenew system can connect with targets at much greater distanceson the battlefield.

The capability of the M119 provides us with a greater range,said battalion commander Lt. Col. Mike Spraggins, comparingthe M119 to the older systems range of 11.5 kilometers. Withour rocket assisted projectile, RAP round as we refer to it, it willnow get up to 19 and a half kilometers. So that provides a lotmore lethal fires deeper into the fight to support the 39th In-fantry Brigade.

The battalion, which is currently preparing for deployment

with the 39th in support of Operation Enduring Freedom,fielded 15 of the new howitzers and have been working on newequipment training and certifications ever since.

The unit fired the final rounds from their M102s on June 19,2010, as Spraggins took command of the 1st Battalion from out-going commander, Lt. Col. Damon Cluck.

I cant brag enough, said Spraggins. Everywhere, downto the lowest ranking Soldier that I have in the battalion, wevegot a great attitude. Weve got a great team. And I expect thattheres going to be lots of good things coming out of the 1st and206th.

The 206th is headquartered in Russellville, with subordi-nate units in Morrilton, Perryville, Dardanelle, Paris and North

Little Rock.

Photo by Spc. Prentis Grayson, 39th IBCT.

STEEL ON TARGET. Soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 206thField Artillery got the chance to fi re their new M119A2 towed

howitzers as a unit for the fi rst time March 18. The 39th In-

fantry Brigade Combat Team battalion retired their Vietnam-

era M102 towed howitzers in June 2010.

Battalion fi resnew 105 mmweapons system

contestants register with the actualmarathon in Arkansas.

Geneva was able to get the regis-tration fee for us reduced, and gaveus a code to use when we registeredthat identified us as participants ina shadow run, but still allowed ourtimes to be included in the officialresults, May said.

Theyll also get the coveted Lit-tle Rock Marathon finishers med-al, though theyll have to wait untilthey return stateside to receive it.

For both May and Northern, therun was a milestone. May ran thehalf-marathon, which was the lon-gest distance hed ever run, finishingin 1 hour, 50 minutes, 30 seconds.

Northern, a member of the ArmyReserve, completed his first evermarathon, with a time of 3 hours, 29minutes, 45 seconds. This earnedhim fourth place in the overall mar-athon portion of the shadow run,first among the seven competitorswho registered with the Little Rock

Marathon.

MarathonContinued from Page 8

U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jerry Boffen, 130th Public Affairs Detachment

SOLDIERS FROM MULTINATIONAL Battle Group East take off running to startthe Little Rock Marathon Shadow Run at Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo, March 6. The run,

which included approximately 40 competitors from Poland, Ukraine and the U.S., was

held in conjunction with the 9th Annual Little Rock Marathon, held in downtown Little

Rock.

CHAFFEE MANUEVERTRAINING CENTER, Ark. The39th Infantry Brigade Combat Teamparticipated in an exercise here 14-25 March in order to ensure the fullcollaboration of its various com-munications, central power, battlecommand, and command post sys-

tems.The Battle Command Systems ofSystems Integration Training (BC-SoSIT) event gave the 39th the op-portunity to validate their abil-ity to operate with its multipleapplications in a unified effort downthrough the battalion level.

This is the first time weve in-tegrated all the command archi-tecture, said Capt. Marcus Pierce,referring to the various software

systems throughout the brigadefrom intelligence, artillery, com-mand and control. Its the firsttime weve implemented all thosesystems though the WIN-T, Warf-ighter Information Network Tac-

tical.WIN-T is the newlyfielded com-

munications system which providessecure video, data, imagery, andvoice services for the battlefield. Itis the latest addition to the 39thsdigital inventory which began togrow when the brigade mobilized

for Iraq in 2004. At that time the39th fielded the latest collaborativesoftware system called the Com-mand Post of the Future (CPOF)which gave brigade-level commandand staff the ability to monitor thebattlefield more closely.

We had one CPOF when we werein theater in 2004, 2005 one atbrigade, said Pierce, who serves asthe chief signal officer for the 39thBrigade. Now we have, I think

there are 17 in brigade alone.The brigade commander can vi-sualize the battlefield, and each oneof the battalion commanders can vi-sualize the battlefield, and they canall share information throughout

the network, said Pierce. I thinkeverybodys really pleased withwhats happened here this week.

The exercise included the de-ployment of the brigades massiveDeployable Rapid Assembly Shel-ter (DRASH), which is a quick erectshelter system complete with its own

lighting, heating, cooling and power.With the setup and integration of allsystems, the brigade was then ableto validate their ability through var-ious simulated battlefield scenarios.The brigade walked away success-ful, but far from through with thiskind of technological training.

By the time were through with[the National Training Center],I think we will be [well-trained]across the board, said Col. Kirk

Van Pelt, commander of the 39thBrigade. After that, were goingto have to bring this stuff up everydril l. Youre going to have to. Youvegot to touch it. All these skills areperishable.

39th Brigade readies for mobilization

with systems integration trainingEnsuring a common operating picture through a system of systems


11/12


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E2142ND FAFindley, Richard A.Franklin, ChristopherS.Hisek, Greggory E.Jones, Koury G.Kahana, Andrew K.Marroquin, Denys E.Stokes, Kyle B.Wigley, Joseph A.Wilson, Tippin S.

39TH IBCTAllison, Justin A.Amos, Marquel D.Bednarski, ThomasJ., Jr.

Bower, Aaron N.Boyd, Christopher L.Boyette, Scott A.Bradley, William E.Campbell, Robert D.Cooper, Tracy S., Jr.Coppock, Dustin T.Cotroneo, Ryan M.Elmgren, Sean E.Foshee, Jeremy N.Gibson, Riley K.Graves, Casey S.Guerber, Thomas A.

Hutson, Connan H.Jackson, Brittany N.King, Nathaniel J.

Loomis, Kathryn A.Loughridge, Andrew S.Loy, Micah D.Marlow, Dwayne A.Martin, Michael R.

McAdoo, Deshona L.Pate, Alisa D.Pruitt, Anthony D.Roberts, Gavin E.Rubier, Dante U.Sandoval, Rick D.Stacker, Christopher D.Steelman, Jesse M.Stell, Christopher J.Sullivan, Dannie L.Sykes, Terrance D.Thibodeaux, Dakota L.White, Tyler O.

Wilcox, Joshua D.77TH TABHaley, Sherin M.Molden, Cameron T.Thomas, Darrell K., Jr.

87TH TCCornman, Jeremy L.Liddell, Laquation J.

CMTCDunigan, Tyler W.Huskey, Thomas W.Thomas, Garrett L.Whitmer, Wesley D.

RMTCPost, Timothy G.

E3142ND FAAlley, Thomas E., Jr.Arconati, Charles J. IV

Bowen, Bobby O.Brown, Victoria L.Dobson, Philip E.Hittner, Michael B.McCallister, JonathanW.McKibben, Kendell W.Murphy, Steven D.Quinn, Jonathan L.Ramasanto, Nicho-las A.Talley, Thomas A.Toudouze, Robert M.Wells, Carl D.Wesson, Ryan J.Whorton, James K.Williams, Travis P.

39TH IBCTAnderson, Jordan D.Brothertonhauser,Randy A.Brown, Shieisha M.Combs, Cody D.Conde, Robert A.Dailey, Jerimiah J.Davis, Samantha L.Edwards, Jerry W.J.Faris, Daniel S.Faucette, Eric B., Jr.Gray, Ethan K.

Green, Montana A.Grimsley, Joshua E.Hayes, Justin T.Hundhausen, Michael J.Ingram, Jesse W.

James, Jonathon E.Jones, Christopher C.Jones, Jay J.Lankford, Michael D.MacDonald, Jacob W.McCoy, Daniel N.McDaniel, Mason E.McLaughlin, John W.IIIMercer, Calon C.Merritt, Terry D., Jr.Parks, Angelo D.Pigg, Christopher L.

Priddy, Mackenzie A.Rankin, Johnathan A.Raper, Partrick L.Rickett, Jody A.Roland, George E.Satterfield, Timothy L.Seaton, Matthew J.Smith, Paul A., Jr.Waddell, Andrew T.Walker, JustinWallen, Robert A., Jr.Wertz, William W.Wilson, Shaniqua D.

77TH TABBart, Michael R.Braswell, Christopher

Canser, Jasmine A.Green, Curtis J., Jr.Mauldin, Ezekiel D.Prewitt, Spencer K.

87TH TCCharlton, William Z.Humble, Darren C.Kerley, Jared P.Pillow, Jonathan G.T.Rodriquez, Miguel A.Schraml, Timothy M.Taggart, Jeremy C.

CMTCDrewry, Michael E.Ferguson, Derek A.Wilson, Matthew R.

E4142ND FAAustin, Joshua G.Bogle, Brett s.Dean, Michael J.Hobbs, Michael D. IIHolmes, Justin M.Howard, Tyler D.Lish, Michael L.Mayse, Bradley J.Najera, Oscar, Jr.Nash, Phillippe I.Posey, Zachary E.Reed, Tyler G.Scleiff, Eric A.Zackious, Gomez E.

39TH IBCTAkens, William R., Jr.Anderson, Cody M.Boyd, Tommy L.Brown, Eric K.

Cecil, Graig M.Childers, Nathaniel A.Cross, Steven L.Fulmer, Robert E.Hardenford, Charles A.Helms, Zachary T.Hennagan, Joshua D.Johnson, Nicholas F.Landsperger, HughE., Jr.Magers, Royce L.McCulough, Wesley L.Nesbitt, Wesley M.

Peterson, Gregory L.Pierce, Christopher R.Ready, Dakota W.Smith, Nicholas T.Smith, Tommy L.Turner, Michael H., Jr.Washington, Vergile Q.Wilkerson, Daniel W.

77TH TABClark, Bobby L.Harris, Dolores R.Horton, Paul R., Jr.Moore, Patrick M.

Musteen, ChristopherA.Oliver, Ashley D.

87TH TCCanerday, Heather N.Dreyer, Timothy J.Farley, Lauren B.Henderson, Gier A.

Hildebrand, Blake W.Hunt, Jared W.Mann, Alec W.Shea, Martin G., Jr.Shipman, Pharis M.Smothers, Joshua L.Snyder, Thomas K.

CMTCCarter, Emily M.

JFHQBurns, Jerod S.Priddy, Jonathan W.

RMTCHadley, Shameka S.Krause, Daniel R.

E5142ND FACampbell, Sean M.Pace, Eli Howell

39TH IBCTColeman, John F., Jr.Hanning, Tony M.Jones, Henry A.

Nelson, Nicholas R.Staples, Mark J.

See Promotions, page 12


12/12


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PromotionsContinued from Page 11

77TH TABSanders, David S.

87TH TCBranch, Angela D.Chaloner, Betty K.Jones, Dwight J.Veasey, Brittany R.

MEDCOMJohnson, Jovonna K.

RRCRagan, Jackie G.

E6142ND FA

Blakley, Jeremiah J.Bowen, Brandon D.

39TH IBCTErisman, Shandy K.Lakin, Joshua F.Webb, William W.

77TH TABHawkins, Erin B.

NGMTCFarrar, Justin C.Sykes, Hunter C.

RRCLawson, Leland C.

E7

189TH AWTravis, Jassen C.Hammons, Shannon A.Ware, Eric S.Wesley, Tamira D.

87TH TCBanks, Valerie S.Wilson, Daniel E.

NGMTCMarchland, Micah M.

E8142ND FAWilliams, William J.

189TH AWMcElyea, Melvin E.Siever, Victor J.

E9188TH FWFredrick, Donald E.

O339TH IBCTHogue, Jason P.

O4233RD RTITerry, Edward E.

O577TH TABZega, Steven S.

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