Warriors - Spring 2009 - Alaska - Department of Military and ...

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Alaska Army National Guard Aviators Deploy By Kalei Brooks, DMVA Public Affairs CAMP DENALI, Alaska ... Thirty-two aviators from the Alaska Army National Guard deployed to Iraq for approximately nine months to provide logistics support as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. A departure ceremony in April at the Alaska National Guard Armory on Fort Richardson included friends and family who all bid the deploying Guard members farewell. The Guard members, from F Company, 1/207th Aviation, will be transporting cargo, equipment and personnel across Iraq and Kuwait using the C-23 Sherpa fixedwing aircraft, which the company flies here in Alaska. The Sherpa aircraft are able to take small loads and go to some locations where the larger aircraft of Air Force transports don’t go. “This is a proven company of Alaska Army National Guard aviators,” said Lieutenant General (Alaska) Craig E. Campbell, adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard. “The company most recently deployed for six months in 2007 and performed to the highest standards resulting in a successful deployment. We wish them another safe and successful overseas tour.” During their deployment, they will utilize aircraft already in theater. They did not take any Sherpa aircraft from Alaska. The deploying Soldiers hail from Anchorage, Eagle River, the Mat-Su Valley, Juneau and Fairbanks. ■ 6 Partners in Public Safety. Lieutenant B. Byambatulga, of the Armed Forces of Mongolia Military Police, left, and Staff Sergeant Lawrence Erickson, of the Alaska Air National Guard’s 176th Logistics Readiness Squadron and Alaska State Troopers, gather at the Law Enforcement and Peacekeeping Operations Subject Matter Expert Exchange in February. Members of the Alaska law enforcement community traveled to Mongolia to share operational ideas and practices with their Mongolian counterparts. Photo: Gary Whitaker, U.S. Army Pacific Gobi Wolf Exercises Disaster Management in Mongolia By Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia … Gobi Wolf, a bilateral disaster response exercise, was held jointly by the U.S. Department of Defense and the Mongolian government in March and April. The exercise, which included a train derailment scenario on a major railway artery in Mongolia, required Ash Fall Activity. Alaska’s Mount Redoubt volcano blows ash and steam emissions that stream off to the northeast on this March day. Terrain in the foreground is covered with ash from eruptions that started on March 22 and have continued since. The Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Management prepared for a possible Mount Redoubt eruption by providing the public with various informational resources through public service announcements and outreach education. Ash fall and emergency preparedness brochures are available on the state’s Web site at www.ready.alaska.gov. Photo: Courtesy the Alaska Volcano Observatory, U.S. Geological Survey and Game McGimsey Heading to Iraq. The Alaska Army National Guard’s Major Robert Seymour, commander of F Company, 1/207th Aviation, leads his unit in a salute during the company’s deployment ceremony in April at the Alaska National Guard Armory. The company deployed 32 Soldiers from Alaska to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Photo: Sergeant Karima Turner, DMVA Public Affairs multiple levels of response and was aimed at supporting Mongolia’s disaster management planning. The Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance, a direct reporting unit to U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii, executed the exercise along with Mongolia’s National Emergency Management Agency. The execution came at the request of the U.S. Ambassador to Mongolia, the Honorable Mark C. Minton. Partners included Alaska’s Department of Military & Veterans Affairs Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Management, the Alaska National Guard Securing the State, Defending the Nation WARRIORS Spring 2009
Mentor on the Trail. A student from the Top of the Kuskokwim School in Nikolai looks on as Staff Sergeant Russell Throckmorton, Drug Demand Reduction noncommissioned officer, in orange, and Cathy Walters, right, the 2009 Teacher on the Trail, assist another student with one of the many team building activities offered as a part of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race Education program. For more information on the Mentor on the Trail program, see page 23. Photo: Courtesy Alaska National Guard Mission Take Off. An Alaska Air National Guard KC-135 Stratotanker from the 168th Air Refueling Wing takes off from a runway at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar. Sixty-three members of the 168th Air Refueling Wing deployed there for approximately three months in support of the Global War on Terrorism. Photo: Courtesy U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Army War College. Other partners included the Asia Foundation, Institute for Strategic Studies, Mongolia Railroad and the Mongolia Department of Transportation. “This exercise promulgates U.S. commitment to a bilateral relationship with Mongolia, including the support of NEMA, which was formed five years ago,” said Greg Flick, head of COE’s Disaster Management unit. Alaska and Mongolia have a partnership under the National Guard’s State Partnership Program that was formalized in 2005. The exercise was broken down into Weapons Qualification. First Lieutenant Brett Haker, foreground, D Company, 1/207th Aviation commander, and other 1/207th Aviation Soldiers prepare to fire their M-9 pistols on the range at Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo, during weapons qualifi cation in April. The unit is currently deployed as part of a multi-state peacekeeping task force to Kosovo. For more on the deployment, see page 18. Photo: Lieutenant Colonel Jeff Roach, 1/207th Aviation three main phases over a month. The first phase in early March focused on Incident Command Training for both senior and mid-level planners, and the second phase was a table top exercise. A third and final field exercise on the railroad scenario was executed in early April. Fifty participants, ranging from first responders to ministeriallevel leaders, as well as private and industry mining sector participants were involved. “This exercise is a great opportunity for the U.S. and Mongolia to learn from each other, such as different response techniques and inter-agency coordination within their respective systems,” Flick said. ■ Air Guardsmen Pivotal in Qatar By Lieutenant Colonel Robert Mackelprang, 168th Air Refueling Wing AL UDEID AIR BASE, Qatar ... Sixty-three members from the Alaska Air National Guard’s 168th Air Refueling Wing arrived here in late December to perform air refueling missions in support of the Global War on Terrorism. Alaska Guardsmen have inte - grated themselves into every corner of the air operations at Al Udeid. Five aircrews and at least 10 staff members participated in the daily planning and execution of KC-135 missions, and launch times were around the clock. “Launch the GAR!” was the usual response to the ringing phone on the corner desk at Al Udeid. The GAR, passionately known as the Ground Alert Response aircraft, is married with the alert B-1B aircraft. Both respond to a tasking that flows from Central Command Combined Air Operations Center and the alert controllers in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa. Al Udeid is the central linch pin for both Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. It is home to more than 60 heavy combat aircraft: KC-135, Rivet Joint, RC-135 and B-1B bombers. These aircraft share the ramp with more than 40 Air Mobility Command and NATO aircraft. It’s become the hub of activity for support operations and mobility to and from the commands’ areas of responsibility. In 2008, the 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron out of Al Udeid was a direct contributor to the Global War on Terrorism by offloading more than 155 million pounds of fuel to coalition aircraft. This directly contributed to more than 520 intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, plus 290 aero-medical evacuations and 65 combat missions in support of coalition troops on the ground. The end result is that launching the GAR directly supports our troops, and Alaska Air National Guardsmen were at the forefront of this mission. ■ Spring 2009 WARRIORS Securing the State, Defending the Nation 7
Page 3 and 4: Governor Sarah Palin Commander in C
Page 5: My Turn Lieutenant General (Alaska)
Page 10 and 11: 8 Guam Training. Commando Warrior h
Page 13 and 14: Joint Forces Ready to Serve By Majo
Page 15: health care, health care education
Page 18 and 19: By Specialist Paizley Ramsey, 134th
Page 20 and 21: Safety Training. Sergeant Peregrina
Page 22 and 23: 20 Missile Defense Military Police
Page 24 and 25: Education The Leadership ChalleNGe
Page 26 and 27: Veterans By Mercedes Angerman Alask
Page 28 and 29: JUNEAU, Alaska ... Representatives
Page 30 and 31: Awards • Decorations • Promotio
Page 32 and 33: Brigadier General Charles E. Foster
Page 34: 207th Aviation Bridget Lasater Juan

Warriors - Spring 2009 - Alaska - Department of Military and ...

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