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Feb
20th

In the news today

Published on The Birmingham News‘ Breaking News blog, a story about a troop of would-be officers for the Army National Guard participating in an accelerated Officer Candidate School who capped one of their training exercises by ending a seven-mile, full pack and gear march in 2 and half hours — concluding with a lap around the Talladega Superspeedway.

View the blog post and pictures here.


Courtesy of WTVY News 4, news of another library benefiting from Governor Riley’s connecting families program. The Houston-Love Memorial Library in Dothan has two computers dedicated to providing folks live access to see and talk with members of the military stationed stateside or overseas.

To read the whole article, go here. For more information on the web cam program, call the Houston Love Memorial Library at (334) 793-9767.


Last but not least, this isn’t Alabama-related but I can’t resist sharing: a great story from Right Pundits about Detective Ken Leonard of the High Point, North Carolina Police Department. He served his country in Iraq training local Iraqis to become policemen. He lost his feet by IED. After a long road of therapy and prosthetics, he has made it back onto the police force and has recently joined the blogging world. His blog is called “No Feet Required!” and he is up for John Walsh’s AMW All Star First Responders Award.

If you have time, drop by No Feet Required! — I’m sure Ken would love to hear from everyone!

Jan
28th

Bama Guard to send another team to Afghanistan

Posted today over at The Birmingham News:

An Alabama Army National Guard training team now in Afghanistan is in the home stretch of its tour, and another team will be deploying in June.

Staff Sgt. Katrina Timmons, a state Army Guard spokesperson, said the team to deploy later this year will have 16 members. It will be the sixth team the Alabama Army Guard has sent to Afghanistan to help train soldiers and police officers.

Timmons said the team members will have a send-off ceremony in late March, go to Fort Riley, Kan., for pre-deployment training and deploy to Afghanistan in June. The team’s time in Afghanistan should be about nine months, Timmons said.

An Army Guard team now in place in Afghanistan should be back in about two months, Timmons said.

Jan
10th

Tuscaloosa native to command brigade

Featured this weekend in the Tuscaloosa News:

Col. Charles H. Gailes Jr. will take command of the 31st Chemical Brigade from Northport during a ceremony Sunday at Fort McClellan Army National Guard Training Center.

Gailes, a Tuscaloosa native living in Huntsville, will receive the unit colors from Brig. Gen. Wendell B. McLain of Auburn. The Alabama National Guard brigade includes chemical and military police units across the state.

Read the entire article here.

Congratulations, Colonel Gailes!

Jan
4th

In the news this weekend

The Montgomery Advertiser had several announcements this weekend:

Army National Guard Pvt. James L. Lambert III has graduated from Basic Com­bat training at Fort Sill, Lawton, Okla. Lambert is the son of B.J. Lambert of Montgomery.

The private is a 1996 grad­uate of Robert E. Lee High School.

Congratulations, James!

Air Force Airman 1st Class Daniel C. Betz has graduated from the Air Traf­fic Control Operations Ap­prentice Course at Keesler Air Force Base, Biloxi, Miss. Betz will be assigned to the 325th Operations Sup­port Squadron, Tyndall Air Force Base, Panama City, Fla.

He is the son of Steve T. Betz of Hope Hull.

Congratulations, Daniel!

Air Force Airman Jere­my C. Dauzat has gradu­ated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio. Dauzat earned distinction as an honor graduate. He is the son of Craig and Annette Dauzat of Montgom­ery.

The airman is a 2007 grad­uate of Robert E. Lee High School.

Congratulations, Jeremy!

Air Force Airman David H. Patrick has gradu­ated from basic mili­tary training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio. Patrick is the son of Kim Patrick of Prattville.

In 2007, the airman gradu­ated from Prattville High School.

Congratulations, David!

Air Force Airman Mark B. Stadlberger Jr. has graduated from basic mili­tary training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Anto­nio. Stadlberger earned dis­tinction as an honor gradu­ate. He is the son of Patricia Stadlberger of Prattville.

In 2007, the airman gradu­ated from Prattville High School.

Congratulations, Mark!

Staff Sgt. Rodney Hall of Montgomery, a member of the 4-108th Chemical Battal­ion at Huntsville, graduated from the Army Basic In­structor Course at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.

Congratulations, Rodney!

Army Pvt. Lawson W. McGlamery has graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C. McGlamery is a 2004 graduate of the Elmore County Adult Learning Center in Wetumpka.

Congratulations, Lawson!

Nov
21st

Stress booklet available for AL vets

Courtesy of Channel 19 in Huntsville:

Alabama troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan will now get a booklet to help them deal with post-war stress and readjusting to family life. Gov. Bob Riley unveiled the 63-age Reintegration Action Plan on Thursday. The booklet will be given to all returning troops from Alabama. It includes information to help service members make a successful transition.

A Pentagon task force last year reported that nearly half of all Army National Guard soldiers who served in Iraq or Afghanistan reported psychological problems when they came home. Riley said the new booklet will help troops better understand the readjustment process, and it recommends places to get help.

Link: www.alabamareturningveterans.org

Aug
17th

In the News this weekend

Courtesy of the Tuscaloosa News:

Army National Guard Pfc. Teri L. Willis has graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C. Willis is the daughter of Linda Bender of Northport. She graduated in 1997 from Hillcrest High School and received an associate degree in 1999 from Faulkner State Community College in Bay Minette.

Congratulations, Teri!


The Birmingham News featured a piece this morning about an Alabama Guard unit that left yesterday to go back to Afghanistan:

The training team is the fifth that the state Army Guard has sent to Afghanistan since 9/11. It recently completed two months of pre-deployment training at Fort Riley.

Lt. Col. Jeff Thrower of Alabaster, a member of the team, said recently that the mission had not been fully defined.

“Right now, I know that one of our biggest pushes over there has been to get the Afghanistan police up to where they can do their jobs,” he said. “The Afghan army is in a lot better situation than they were three or four years ago, but the police have still got some issues out there. So we’re doing our best to help out across the board in both areas.”

Read the full article here.

Aug
9th

In the news this weekend

The Madison County Record writes that the Redstone Arsenal is honoring military retirees with Military Retiree Appreciation Day going on September 5th and 6th. Huntsville Mayor Loretta Spencer and Madison Mayor Arthur “Sandy” Kirkindall will proclaim September 6th as Military Retiree Appreciation Day in their respective cities.

Me personally, I would greatly love to see that happen elsewhere in Alabama!

Event information:

September 5th: the event will be at the Redstone Officers and Civilians Club (ROCC) from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Throughout the day special MWR activities will be held at various locations across Redstone Arsenal with bus tours leaving from the ROCC.

September 6th: the event begins with a pay-as-you-go breakfast buffet at 7 a.m. in the ROCC. The event finishes out with dinner at The Soldatenstube ending at 10 p.m.

For more information, call: (256) 876-2022


The Anniston Star had a flurry of happenings printed this morning:

Warrant Officer candidate Bill Braxton of Jacksonville, above, participated in a 10K road march on July 13. Braxton had to successfully complete the road march within two hours while carrying a weapon and a 35- to 40-pound rucksack. The road march is a requirement for the Warrant Officer Candidate School at the National Guard Training Center at Fort McClellan. Braxton currently works in the ROTC department at Jacksonville State University.

* * *

Warrant Officer candidate Matthew Otwell of Anniston, above, participated in a 10K road march on July 13. Otwell had to successfully complete the road march within two hours while carrying a weapon and a 35- to 40-pound rucksack. The road march is a requirement for the Warrant Officer Candidate School at the National Guard Training Center at Fort McClellan. Otwell is following in his father’s footsteps. Retired Chief Warrant Officer Randy Otwell, Matthew’s father, retired from the Alabama Army National Guard with more than 40 years of service.

* * *

Tabatha L. Burris recently joined the U.S. Army under the Delayed Entry Program. She also went for Advanced Individual Training at Fort Leonard Wood in Waynesville, Mo. She is the daughter of Teresa Burris of Villa Rica, Ga., and John Burris of Anniston.

* * *

Army Reserve Pvt. Sonya Y. Smith has graduated from Basic Combat Training at Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C. She is the daughter of Earline Penn of Anniston and is a 2003 graduate of Anniston High School.

* * *

Army Reserve Pvt. Haleem R. Santiago recently graduated from Basic Combat Training at Fort Sill in Lawton, Okla. He is the son of Hector R. and Belinda G. Santiago of Anniston and is a graduate of Saks High School.

* * *

Navy Seaman Landon M. Ford, son of Judy L. Davis of Jacksonville, recently completed U.S. Navy Basic Training at Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes, Ill.

* * *

Navy Ensign Nicholas F. Vilardi, whose wife, Cynthia, is the daughter of Sharon D. Downing of Salem and Jonathan C. Mattox of Ashland, recently completed the Navy Nuclear Power Training Unit course at Naval Nuclear Power Training Command at Goose Creek, S.C.

Congratulations, soldiers!!

Aug
3rd

Army Guard unit headed back to Iraq

In yesterday’s edition of The Birmingham News, there was an article about an Alabama Army Guard unit which is slated for a second tour in Iraq:

Another Alabama Army National Guard unit is slated for a second tour in the Iraq war.

The 128th Medical Company, based in Gov. Bob Riley’s hometown of Ashland, will deploy to Iraq in October following several weeks of training at Fort Lewis, Wash., state Guard spokesman Norman Arnold said Friday.

The 128th was in Iraq from December 2004 to November 2005, providing medical care to Iraqi and U.S. soldiers and civilians in and around Baghdad and beyond.

If it deploys as expected, the 128th will be the second Guard unit to have a second deployment in and around Iraq. The 226th Area Support Group from Mobile has already done two tours.

At full strength, the 128th has 75 soldiers. Maj. Cynthia Bachus, a state Guard spokeswoman, said 25 soldiers from two Mobile-based Army Guard units - the 127th Medical Company and the 161st Medical Battalion - “have been assigned to the 128th to put the unit at full strength for mobilization.”

At present, the Alabama Guard’s presence in Iraq consists of 20 members of the 1207th Quartermaster Detachment (Water Distribution) from Goodwater. The 1207th, which is commanded by Lt. Jessica Moore, is at Al-Asad, the second-largest airfield in Iraq.

Meanwhile, the 158th Maintenance Company, a unit of about 190 members with headquarters in Tallassee and a detachment in Dadeville, has been training for a fall deployment to Iraq. A 16-man team of Guard soldiers from around the state will be heading to Afghanistan later this month to help train members of that country’s army.

More Guard units are expected to deploy in 2009. Among them will be the 877th Engineer Battalion, based in Hamilton, which is scheduled for a tour in Afghanistan. The 877th did a tour in northern Iraq from summer 2003 to spring 2004.

According to recent Pentagon data, Alabamians make up the fifth highest number of Army Guard soldiers and the 12th highest number of Air Guard and Army Reserve members deployed in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Jul
23rd

Local family welcomes one of their own

There’s a great article posted on the Baldwin County Now site about a Rosinton family who welcome home one of their own: Will Stanback. He served in Iraq with the 1387th Quartermaster Unit of the Army National Guard, which is from Greenville, Mississippi, also known as the “Waterdawgs.”

You can read the whole article here.

Welcome home, Will!

Jun
11th

Army band to visit Veteran’s Museum

Courtesy of The News Courier, the 151st Army Band will appear in concert Father’s Day, Sunday, at 2 pm at the Alabama Veterans Museum and Archives. This year’s concert is the second appearance of the band of “citizen soldiers” who are based in Union Springs. The group consists of concert, marching, jazz and show bands, as well as woodwind and brass quintets. The band was officially charted in 1968 as a unit of the Alabama Army National Guard.

For more information, call the museum at 771-7578.