Massachusetts Minuteman - Fall 2010 - STATES - The National Guard

Massachusetts Guardsman Remembered
Five Years After His Death, Sgt. Michael Kelley Honored in Memorial
Maj. Gen. Joseph C. Carter, the Adjutant General of the Massachusetts National Guard, and Joseph Kelley,
father of slain Sgt. Michael J. Kelley, take a moment to address troops during a memorial service held on
Tactical Training Base Kelley on Sunday, June 6, 2010 (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Alfred Tripolone III, 65th Press
Camp Headquarters).
28 Minuteman Fall 2010
By Army Spc. Alfred Tripolone III
65th Press Camp Headquarters
CAMP EDWARDS, Mass. – A chapel service
was held at the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station,
Cape Cod, on Sunday, June 6, to remember a
Massachusetts National Guard Soldier who was
killed in action June 8, 2005, while serving in
Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring
Freedom.
The chapel service was followed by a ceremony
and laying of flowers at the Sgt. Michael J.
Kelley Memorial on Tactical Training Base Kelley.
The TTB was named in honor of Kelley, a
member of the 1st Battalion, 101st Field
Artillery, based out of Rehoboth. The base is
designed to rapidly train Soldiers through full
emersion in a setting much like the one they will
experience in combat.
After leaving flowers at the memorial site,
Kelley’s father, Joseph, spoke with Soldiers on
the TTB before taking a tour of the compound.
He said that it has been a hard five years since
his son’s death, but Michael would be very
proud of the National Guard Soldiers training
at TTB Kelley.
Currently, the Massachusetts National Guard is
hosting one of the largest pre-mobilization
training exercises at Camp Edwards on the
Massachusetts Military Reservation since World
War II. The exercise, based out of TTB Kelley, is
known as XCTC (eXportable Combat Training
Capability) and consists of Soldiers training on
a series of field exercises designed with the
overseas environment in mind.
The goal of this training is to provide high
quality, realistic battlefield experience for
approximately 2,000 Soldiers as they prepare
for mobilization in support of Operation
Enduring Freedom/Iraqi Freedom. The rigorous
exercises provide tough, realistic training and
the means for mobilizing Soldiers to achieve
required certification and proficiency for
deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan.
The XCTC experience greatly enhances premobilization
training for the deploying Soldiers,
ensures combat readiness and survivability,
and provides an economic boost to the base
and the local area. ✯