Arkansas Minuteman April 2011 Edition

Top Soldiers, NCOs and Airmen

namedpage 6

Former TAG passespage 5

Soldiers run shadow marathonpage 8

Artillery unit fi res new gunspage 10

Volume 5, Number 2 April 2011

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

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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 Offi cer

Lt. Col. Keith MooreAir Guard Public Affairs Offi cer

Sgt. 1st Class Chris DurneyPublic Affairs Specialist

Adrienne BrietzkePublic Affairs Specialist

Donna SheltonInformation Offi cer

Garrick Feldman Editor & Publisher

Christy HendricksManaging Editor

How to reach us404 Graham RoadJacksonville, Ark.

72076Ph: 501-982-9421

Fax: 501-985-0026

[email protected]

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arkansasleader.com

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Arkansas Guard News

Published by Leader Pub-lishing, Inc. 404 Graham Road, Jacksonville, AR 72076, phone number (501) 982-9421, a pri-vate fi rm 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 the Arkansas Minuteman are not necessarily the offi cial 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 patronage without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, physical handicap, political affi liation 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 Offi ce of the Arkansas Nation-al Guard. All photos are Arkan-sas National Guard unless oth-erwise noted.

ARKANSASMINUTEMAN

READY T O ATTACK. Warriors in the 2011 Arkansas Army National Guard Soldier a nd N CO of the 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.

ON THE COVER

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FROM THE TOP

Sexual assault ‘hurts one, affects all’

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

Arkansas National Guard

Mission Vision and Values

MISSIONTo 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

the fi nest reserve military organization serving the nation, state, and com-

munity.

VALUESINTEGRITY

(Honesty, Candor, Ethics, Morals, Accountability)

COMMITMENT (Loyalty, Caring, Trust,

Teamwork)

PROFESSIONALISM (Selfl ess Service, Empow-erment, Stewardship, Ex-

cellence in all we do)

WARRIOR SPIRIT (I will always place the

mission fi rst. I will never accept defeat. I will nev-er quit. I will never leave

a fallen comrade.)

As nature and the world around us awaken to new life and warmer weather, the Department of Defense, the Nation-al Guard Bureau and the Arkansas National Guard are asking everyone to be “awake” to a problem that hurts one, but affects all.

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, with a mission of addressing the damage sexual assault causes – not only to an individual, but also to our overall readiness and unit cohesion.

According to the Na-tional Violence Against Women Survey, as pub-lished by the U.S. De-partment of Justice’s Of-fi ce on Violence Against Women, one in six Ameri-can women has been the victim of rape or attempt-ed rape.

Sexual assault takes

many forms such as ver-bal harassment, intimi-dation, unwanted sexual contact, rape, attempt-ed rape and child sexual abuse. It affects people of any gender, age, ethnic-ity, sexual orientation or ability. And perpetrators can be friends, acquain-tances, family members or strangers.

It is clear that all of us have an important role in preventing sexual assault, in protecting victims, in changing attitudes and in reporting incidents.

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

sault affects not only the individual, but the entire National Guard Family by destroying our sense of trust in our Soldiers and Airmen. Leadership at all levels must remain dili-gent when it comes to this crime.”

This is especially true for the Arkansas National Guard. We are successful and work well in our as-signed missions because we function as a Family, and we count on each other to be strong, focused and responsive. When sexu-al assault occurs, it harms one of our own and dimin-ishes our ability to function profi ciently as a team.

Clifford Stanley, Un-der Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readi-ness may have said it best. “Commanders and senior enlisted leadership must set 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, it’s up to all of us not to let even one person down, because that lets everyone down. So, let’s take to heart this year’s message for Sexual Assault Awareness Month and “Don’t let your Guard down.”

April is Sexual Assault Awareness

Month


ROBINSON MANUEVER TRAINING CENTER, Ark. – New-ly promoted Col. Robert Smothers assumed command of one of the National Guard’s premier training sites here on Sunday, March 5, 2011.

Smothers, who was pinned as a full colonel just moments before formally accepting command, re-places Col. Walter Jones as the new post commander for the Robinson Maneuver Training Center – bet-ter known as Camp Joseph T. Rob-inson. Jones, who originally took command of the post in October 2007, is retired from the Arkan-sas National Guard lMarch 25 after over 35 years of service.

Smother assumes this tradi-tional command assignment, while continuing to work for the Arkan-sas National Guard in his full time capacity as the deputy chief of staff for information management. With this command, Smothers’ gains responsibility of the instal-lation’s year round operations and maintenance.

While there are less than 140 Soldiers assigned to his new com-mand, the unit supports over 30,000 active and reserve compo-

nent troops who pass through the 32,000 acre post annually for train-ing.

“But it goes much deeper and much broader than that,” said Brig. Gen. Richard Swan, chief of staff for the Arkansas National Guard’s Joint Force Headquarters which is located at Camp Robinson. “In to-day’s new operational force of the Guard, Robinson Maneuver Train-ing Center [Installation Support Unit] has done more, and does more today, than just taking care of an installation.

“They’ve been full partners and participants whenever we’ve pro-vided military support to civil au-thorities for disasters and emer-gencies. And Robinson Maneuver Training Center has certainly not been untouched by mobilizations since the global war on terror be-gan.”

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

“It’s the highest privilege to serve the needs of deploying troops and

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

tions,” said Smothers. “To the unit, I’m deeply honored to serve as your commander and look forward to

working with you to ensure we are ready, 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 of the Arkansas Air National Guard in a ceremony here today. Balch replaces Brig. Gen. Riley Porter, who com-manded the state’s 2,000 Airmen over the past fi ve years.

“This is a great day for the Arkansas Guard,” said Maj. Gen. William D. Wofford, the adjutant general of the Arkansas National Guard and senior commander over both the state’s Army and Air National Guard forces.

“It’s a sad day for Gener-al Porter,” Wofford added as he addressed over 300 in at-tendance at the ceremony. “Anytime an offi cer gives up a command you certain-

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

General Wofford went on to talk about many of the challenges faced by the Ar-kansas Air National Guard during Porter’s tenure. Dur-ing Porter’s time in com-mand, the men and women of the Arkansas Air Guard participated in multiple de-ployments in support of Op-erations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom. They supported the communities of Arkan-sas with state emergency response in the face of win-ter weather, tornados and fl ooding. They also mobi-lized intelligence personnel in response to hurricanes in the Gulf, the earthquake in Haiti, and the oil spill in the Gulf among other things.

“The Arkansas Air Na-tional Guard has stepped

forward quickly and profes-sionally every time they’ve

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

munities, their state and their nation. And they do it well.”

Among many other chal-lenges faced during Porter’s tenure, the Base Realign-ment and Closure initia-tive of 2005 left the 188th Fighter Wing with the loss of the state’s F-16 mission. The wing maintains a fl ying mission today however, af-ter winning the fi ght to gain its new mission aircraft, the A-10 Thunderbolt II.

While Porter moves on to take on his new role as com-mander of the state’s Air Co-ordination Group, Wofford expressed his confi dence in Balch as the incoming com-mander of the Arkansas Air National Guard.

“You bring to the com-mand an outstanding record of accomplishments and I’m confi dent that you will lead the Arkansas Air National Guard to even greater suc-cesses,” said Wofford. “I’m

Arkansas ANG welcomes new commanderVilonia resident accepts command over state’s 2,000 Air National Guardsmen

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

ACCEPTING COMMAND. Brig. Gen. Travis D. “Dwight” Balch (center), accepted the Colors 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 state’s Army and Air forces.

Camp Robinson welcomes Smothers as new post commander

NEW COMMANDER. Freshly-pinned Col. Robert Smothers stands ready to accept command of the Ar-kansas National Guard’s 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


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confi dent that the Arkan-sas Air National Guard will respond to your leadership. I’m confi dent that you will continue to provide those outstanding leadership ex-amples and the drive that is needed, as we continue to face the challenges of the 21st century.”

As commander of the

Arkansas Air Guard, Gen-eral Balch assumes respon-sibility of its subordinate units to include the 188th Fighter Wing at Fort Smith; The Marksmanship Train-ing Unit – Air at the Rob-inson Maneuver Training Center; and the 189th Air-lift Wing, 123rd Intelli-gence Squadron, and 154th Weather Flight at the Little Rock Air Force Base.

“If you look back in our history, you’ll see that there

are not that many com-manders of the Arkansas Air National Guard,” said Balch, who formerly served as the commander of the 189th Airlift Wing from August 2003 to Novem-ber 2007, and most recent-ly served as the Air Guard’s chief of staff to General Por-ter. “To be included in that group is a phenomenal thing for me.

“All of these men were uniquely qualifi ed to com-

mand and were respect-ed leaders who laid a sol-id foundation for us today,” said General Balch. “My pledge to you is that I will continue to build on that foundation. I’m going to lead with integrity. I’m go-ing to take care of the Air-men who serve.

“I’m blessed, I’m hon-ored, and I’m humbled to have 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, Eloise Sears 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 Wilson’s 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 Area before 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 fi rst lieutenant in the Ordinance Corp. This is very unusual, as most of-fi cers begin their career as a second lieutenant and are later promoted to fi rst lieutenant.

After joining the Army he and two other offi cers 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 fi ll-ins from other states. The unit was deployed to Oki-nawa where the 264th maintained weapons and equipment to support the fi ghting 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 739th Ordinance Battalion as a lieutenant colonel for 17 years. He had other as-signments and retired from the Arkansas Na-tional Guard as a colonel in 1966.

Upon the election

of Governor Winthrop Rockefeller in November, 1966, Colonel Wilson was selected as his Adjutant General for the Arkansas National Guard. After be-ing notifi ed 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 of storage. 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-fi cers Association and the Non-Commissioned Offi cers Association for a list of fi ve offi cers to be considered as Adju-tant General. Col. Wil-son’s 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-feller’s 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


Photos and story by Sgt. 1st Class Chris A. Durney

ROBINSON MANEUVER TRAINING CEN-TER, Ark. – Nine Arkansas Army National Guard Warriors were put to the test over four days here in March during the 2011 Soldier and Noncommis-sioned Offi cer of the Year competition.

Spc. Alec Baldwin of the 87th Troop Com-mand proved that Army journalists can be fi erce warriors in beating out three others for the Sol-dier of the Year title. Staff Sgt. Brandon Shaw of the National Guard Marksmanship Training Center 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 39th Infantry 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 to compete due to deployment.

On the NCO side, Shaw was challenged by Sgt. 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 Bureau level, with the NGB Soldier and NCO of the Year competing for the active Army crown in October.

This year’s Arkansas Army National Guard Soldier and NCO of the Year competition be-gan with an Army Physical Fitness Test early on the morning of March 8, and wrapped up with an appearance before a board of command ser-geants major the morning of March 12. Along the way, the warriors endured weapons quali-fi cation, essay writing, warrior task training, a mystery event, day and night land navigation, a tough 12-mile road march and a spirited Army combatives tournament.

“I’m convinced that the Arkansas Nation-al Guard has some of the best Soldier and Air-men in the country, and these young men and women prove just that,” said Maj. Gen. William Wofford, the adjutant general of Arkansas dur-ing the awards ceremony and luncheon March 12 at RMTC.

Each competitor was awarded an Army Achievement Medal along with gift certifi cates from the Arkansas National Guard Morale Welfare and Recreation fund. Baldwin and Shaw were each awarded the Arkansas Dis-tinguished Service Medal, and an additional MWR certifi cate.

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

DYNAMIC DUO. Spc. Alec Baldwin (l eft), 1 19th Mobile Public Af fairs Detachment, 87th Troop Command was named the 2011 Arkansas Army National Guard Soldier of theYear. Staff Sgt. Brandon Shaw, National Guard Marksmanship Training Center, was namedthe 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 taYear competition.


ROBINSON MANEUVER TRAINING CENTER – The 2011 Arkansas Air National Guard Airmen of the 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. Master Sgt. Bradley Orr was named the Senior NCO of the Year. Master 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

op 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 D istinguished S ervice Medal from Maj. Gen. Wil-liam Wofford, the adjutant general of Arkansas.

SHAW HONORED. NCO of the Year Staff Sgt. Bran-don S haw o f t he National Guard Marksmanshi p Train-ing Center receives the Ar-kansas D istinguished S er-vice M edal fr om Maj. G en. William Wofford.

arget 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 in the backwoods of Robinson Maneuver Training Center.


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CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo – Since 2003 the city of Little Rock, Ark., has hosted the annual Little Rock Marathon, a run that takes competi-tors through scenic down-town Little Rock, passing such landmarks as the Ar-kansas State Capitol, the Little Rock River Market District, the Clinton Pres-idential Center and the Governor’s Mansion.

This year, several Ar-kansans, stationed in Kosovo with Multina-tional Battle Group East as part of the NATO-led peacekeeping mission here, ran the race thou-sands of miles and several time zones away, amidst a mountainous Balkan backdrop, as the Camp Bondsteel Morale, Wel-fare and Recreation held the Little Rock Marathon Shadow Run, March 6.

Approximately 60 Sol-diers with two units of the Arkansas Army Nation-

al Guard’s 77th Theater Aviation Brigade served as the command element for Task Force Griffi n in Kosovo.

According to Renee Fa-vors, MWR program spe-cialist at Camp Bondsteel, a shadow run typically starts at the same time as the offi cial marathon, even though it’s in a dif-ferent location. The Little Rock Marathon shadow run was started fi ve hours ahead of the offi cial start to allow the Kosovo run-ners enough time to fi nish the race during daylight hours.

Of the 37 runners that competed in the Little Rock Marathon shadow run at Camp Bondsteel, seven were offi cially reg-istered as contestants in the actual Little Rock Marathon in Arkansas.

The seven who offi -cially registered with the race organization in Lit-tle Rock qualifi ed for the

same rewards as those who ran in Arkansas, in-cluding the offi cial 2011 Little Rock Marathon medal and a certifi cate of completion.

“We really wanted to do the race offi cially so we could get the medal,” said Capt. Pat May of Ward, Ark., and a member of the

Arkansas Army Nation-al Guard. “Some people don't run the marathon because the medal is so big, 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 wasn’t a marathon scheduled [on Camp Bondsteel] while we were here and I want-ed to do the half-mara-thon portion of the race in Arkansas when we got home from this deploy-ment. When I realized that we wouldn’t be home in time, I started thinking it’d be a good idea to do a shadow run here.”

May said that he and 1st Lt. William Northern of Birmingham, Ala., de-cided to bring the idea to Favors, who worked on the marathon logis-tics such as planning the route, providing water points and a timer, etc. They also contacted Ge-neva Hampton, the Little Rock Marathon Executive Director, about having

Soldiers run Little Rock Marathon in Kosovo Story 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. Pat May o f t he A rkansas A rmy National Guard, S taff 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


DALESVILLE, Ala. – Members of the 77th Theater Aviation Bri-gade, from Camp Robin-son, Ark. came together to make self-assessments during an Aviation Train-ing Exercise, at Fort Ruck-er, Ala., Mar. 9, 2011.

All members of the brigade, including four support battalions, par-ticipated in simulated avi-ation missions in prepa-ration for a deployment to Iraq. Among the support battalions were the 1st Battalion, 151st Attack Re-connaissance Regiment, Company B of the 1st Bat-talion, 111th General Sup-port Aviation Regiment, 1204th Aviation Support Battalion, and 1st Battal-ion, 108th Assault Heli-copter Regiment.

According to Fort Ruck-er evaluators, the train-ing validated the brigade

staff, ensuring they can provide proper command and control of aviation op-erations in a deployed en-vironment. It also brought together two of the battal-ions that will fall under 77th TAB command while in theater, so as to develop synchronized operations throughout all staff sec-tions.

“The Aviation Train-ing Exercise Facility here at Fort Rucker is the best training facility in the world, for an aviation bat-tle staff,” explained Lt. Col. Rob Lashbrook, 77th TAB operations offi cer in charge.

Lashbrook stated that the type of technology, network connectivity, avi-ation cockpit training, as well as the support from subordinate units and sub-ject matter experts, could only come together here at the Battle Simulation Cen-ter at Fort Rucker.

“Identifying your key

leaders and having a tac-tical standard operational procedure that everyone knows and understands is the best starting point in preparation for this training,” Lashbrook said. “Having all of your staff working together with one accord is one of the most

important things a unit can do.”

“The 77th TAB is par-tially trained right now,” Col. Lawrence Madkins, commander of the 166th Aviation Brigade from Fort Hood, Texas, explained during the after action re-view, “but that is where we

expected them to be at this point.”

“The mission given to the 77th Theater Aviation Bri-gade is a mission for a com-bat aviation brigade … this staff had never faced many of the tasks needed for this mission before the training began, Madkins said.

“We will defi nitely get them where they need to be before they leave to go into country,” Madkins confi dently stated.

The 77th TAB is slated to travel to Fort Hood to continue training through-out April.

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Theater aviation brigade prepares for combat missionBy Sgt. Deanna M. Shelton777th TAB Public Affairs

Photo by Sgt. Deanna M. Shelton, 77th Theater Aviation Brigade Public Affairs

Photo by Sgt. Deanna M. Shelton, 77th Theater Aviation Brigade Public Affairs

(ABOVE) L EARNING THE ROPES. Soldiers from the 7 7th T heater A viation Brigade p ersonnel an d a d-ministration section pre -pare re ports needed f or a simulated e xercise during their Aviation Training Exer-cise March 9.

(RIGHT) 1 ST ARMY BRIEF. 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.


CHAFFEE MANUEVER TRAINING CENTER, Ark. – Soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 206th Field Artillery exercised their ability to put “steel on target” here March 18, 2011, as they fired their first rounds from the unit’s new towed howitzers.

The unit, part of the Arkansas National Guard’s 39th Infan-try Brigade Combat Team, turned in their Vietnam-era M102 howitzers last year and fielded the new M119A2. While both weapons systems launch 105 millimeter artillery rounds, the new system can connect with targets at much greater distances on the battlefield.

“The capability of the M119 provides us with a greater range,” said battalion commander Lt. Col. Mike Spraggins, comparing the M119 to the older system’s range of 11.5 kilometers. “With our rocket assisted projectile, ‘RAP’ round as we refer to it, it will now get up to 19 and a half kilometers. So that provides a lot more 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 new equipment training and certifications ever since.

The unit fired the final rounds from their M102’s on June 19, 2010, as Spraggins took command of the 1st Battalion from out-going commander, Lt. Col. Damon Cluck.

“I can’t brag enough,” said Spraggins. “Everywhere, down to the lowest ranking Soldier that I have in the battalion, we’ve got a great attitude. We’ve got a great team. And I expect that there’s going to be lots of good things coming out of the 1st and 206th.

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, 206th Field 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 res new 105 mm weapons system

contestants register with the actual marathon in Arkansas.

“Geneva was able to get the regis-tration fee for us reduced, and gave us a code to use when we registered that identifi ed us as participants in a shadow run, but still allowed our times to be included in the offi cial results,” May said.

They’ll also get the coveted Lit-tle Rock Marathon fi nisher’s med-al, though they’ll have to wait until they return stateside to receive it.

For both May and Northern, the run was a milestone. May ran the half-marathon, which was the lon-gest distance he’d ever run, fi nishing in 1 hour, 50 minutes, 30 seconds.

Northern, a member of the Army Reserve, completed his fi rst ever marathon, with a time of 3 hours, 29 minutes, 45 seconds. This earned him fourth place in the overall mar-athon portion of the shadow run, fi rst among the seven competitors who registered with the Little Rock Marathon.

MarathonContinued from Page 8

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

SOLDIERS FROM MULTINATIONAL Battle Group East take off running to start the 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 MANUEVER TRAINING CENTER, Ark. – The 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team participated in an exercise here 14-25 March in order to ensure the full collaboration of its various com-munications, central power, battle command, and command post sys-tems.

The Battle Command Systems of Systems Integration Training (BC-SoSIT) event gave the 39th the op-portunity to validate their abil-ity to operate with its multiple applications in a unifi ed effort down through the battalion level.

“This is the fi rst time we’ve in-tegrated all the command archi-tecture,” said Capt. Marcus Pierce, referring to the various software systems throughout the brigade from intelligence, artillery, com-mand and control. “It’s the fi rst time we’ve implemented all those systems though the WIN-T, Warf-ighter Information Network – Tac-

tical.”WIN-T is the newly fi elded com-

munications system which provides secure video, data, imagery, and voice services for the battlefi eld. It is the latest addition to the 39th’s digital inventory which began to grow when the brigade mobilized for Iraq in 2004. At that time the 39th fi elded the latest collaborative software system called the Com-mand Post of the Future (CPOF) which gave brigade-level command and staff the ability to monitor the battlefi eld more closely.

“We had one CPOF when we were in theater in 2004, 2005 – one at brigade,” said Pierce, who serves as the chief signal offi cer for the 39th Brigade. “Now we have, I think there are 17 in brigade alone.

“The brigade commander can vi-sualize the battlefi eld, and each one of the battalion commanders can vi-sualize the battlefi eld, and they can all share information throughout

the network,” said Pierce. “I think everybody’s really pleased with what’s happened here this week.”

The exercise included the de-ployment of the brigade’s massive Deployable Rapid Assembly Shel-ter (DRASH), which is a quick erect shelter system complete with its own lighting, heating, cooling and power. With the setup and integration of all systems, the brigade was then able to validate their ability through var-ious simulated battlefi eld scenarios. The brigade walked away success-ful, but far from through with this kind of technological training.

“By the time we’re through with [the National Training Center], I think we will be [well-trained] across the board,” said Col. Kirk Van Pelt, commander of the 39th Brigade. “After that, we’re going to have to bring this stuff up every drill. You’re going to have to. You’ve got to touch it. All these skills are perishable.”

39th Brigade readies for mobilization with systems integration trainingEnsuring a common operating picture through a ‘system of systems’


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E2142ND FAFindley, Richard A.Franklin, Christopher S.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, Thomas J., 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. IVBowen, Bobby O.Brown, Victoria L.Dobson, Philip E.Hittner, Michael B.McCallister, Jonathan W.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.Satterfi eld, 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, Hugh E., 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, Christopher A.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.

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77TH TABSanders, David S.

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

MEDCOMJohnson, Jovonna K.

RRCRagan, Jackie G.

E6142ND FABlakley, 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.

E7189TH 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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Arkansas Minuteman April 2011 Edition