THAAD FAMILIES GET GLIMPSE OF ARMY'S NEWEST EQUIPMENT
Article by Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jason Fisher and
photograph by First Lieutenant Jason Welch
(Posted 30 Aug 2011)

Soldiers often find it difficult to communicate to their families what they do on a daily basis. Their jobs are filled with acronyms and terms that most people outside of the military have never heard of, and tasks that involve equipment others have never seen. In a time when frequent deployments are a reality, Soldiers need to be able to explain their jobs to their loved ones now more than ever.

To read the complete article on how the Soldiers of A Battery, 2nd Air Defense Artillery (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) hosted a Family Equipment Tour Day, click on the title or photo to the left.

AIR DEFENDERS ENGAGE TARGET:
32d AAMDC Hosts Joint Live-Fire Exercise
With German Air Defenders
By Staff Sergeant Brandon Little, 32d AAMDC Public Affairs
(Posted 26 Aug 2011)

Air defenders use high-tech, state-of-the-art missile systems with long-range target and tracking capabilities to engage airborne objects that have been identified as threats to friendly forces or assets. Simply put, they make bad things flying through the sky go boom, using missiles that cost about a million dollars each.
Three Patriot batteries from the 32nd AAMDC fired their missile systems and witnessed missiles launched by the German Air Force Air Defense Center during …

(To read the rest of the article, click on the title or photo above.)


A missile is launched by Soldiers from a Patriot battery belonging to the 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command (AAMDC) at an airborne target during a joint live-fire exercise held on 30 July 2011 at McGregor Range, New Mexico. All eight missiles launched successfully engaged their target. (Photo by Specialist Rick Nielson, U.S. Army.)

CHECKPOINT WASHINGTON
By Greg Jaffe
(Washington Post, Pg. 2/16 August 2011)

The White House has officially selected three living veterans of the Afghanistan war to receive the Medal of Honor. The number of living American troops who have been awarded the Medal of Honor for service in Iraq: zero. It’s a curious twist in the history of America’s recent conflicts.
(To read Mr. Jaffe’s article on a possible answer, click HERE or on the title above.)

THAAD SOLDIERS GIVE BACK TO COMMUNITY

(Fort Bliss Monitor/12 August 2011)
Article and photograph by Second Lieutenant Ernest Bernal
Specialist Rory Garcia, radar operator/maintainer assigned to A Battery, 2nd Battalion Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (A/2 THAAD), 11th Air Defense Artillery (ADA) Brigade, Fort Bliss, Texas, loads bags of donated clothes onto his truck to be transported to a drop-off point for the El Paso Center Against Family Violence on 25 July 2011. This delivery is a culmination of the battery’s three-and-a-half-month clothing drive aimed at providing aid to the center, which gives much-need assistance to victims of domestic violence in the community.

(To read the article by 2LT Bernal, click on the title or photo above.)

THE NEW GREATEST GENERATION
By Joe Klein
(Time/29 August 2011)

 The story of purple heart homes is extraordinary but not unique. It may not even be unusual, even though most of the news we seem to hear about the veterans coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan is pretty bad. It is all about suicides, domestic violence and post-traumatic stress disorder. It is about veterans who are jobless and homeless. All of which is true, but there is another side of their story that has not been told: the veterans like John Gallina and Dale Beatty, who have come back and decided to continue to serve their country.

The returning veterans are bringing skills that seem to be on the wane in American society, qualities we really need now: crisp decision making, rigor, optimism, entrepreneurial creativity, a larger sense of purpose and real patriotism (as opposed to self-righteous flag waving).

(To read the entire article, click on the hyperlinked title above.)

By Tom Vanden Brook
(USA Today/15 August 2011)

Newly designed Stryker combat vehicles used by Army brigades in Afghanistan resist bomb blasts that had routinely shredded other vehicles and the soldiers in them, according to military and civilian officials and documents.



(To read the entire article, click on the
 hyperlinked title or photograph above.)

"HATCHET BATTERY" CELEBRATES ORGANIZATIONAL DAY WITH FAMILY, FRIENDS, FUN
(Fort Bliss Monitor/12 August 2011)
Article and photographs by Specialist Jacoby Davis
(Posted 30 Aug 2011)

Specialist (SPC) Ryan Privott, a member of the 32d Army Air And Missile Defense Command's (AAMDC) communications section, goes up for a jump-shot during the two-on-two basketball tournament held during 32d's Organizational Day at Biggs Park on 1 August 2011. The basketball tournament is a battery tradition and involves several members and their families every year.

 Soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Battery (HHB), 32d Army Air and Missile Defense Command (AAMDC), took time away from their busy schedules to participate in a little friendly competition and family fun during the battery’s Organizational Day on 1 August 2011 at Biggs Park, East Fort Bliss, Texas. Highlights included a Call of Duty: Black Ops competition on the X-Box 360 gaming console, a two-on-two basketball tournament, a dunk tank and gift give-a-ways. For a change of pace, this year’s event also featured a magic show.

Colonel Donald G. Fryc, Deputy Commander of the 32d AAMDC, thanked everyone for coming out and spoke about the importance of family. He also said he was glad to see Soldiers bring their families out to Biggs Park and enjoy everything that was available while keeping in mind that 32d holds safety as its highest priority during these events.
(Left) First Sergeant (1SG) Jerry Jacobitz, Senior-Enlisted Adviser for HHB, 32d AAMDC, takes a plunge into a 4-foot tank of water during the Organizational Day events at Biggs Park. A popular fund raiser - the dunk tank collected a dollar a ball, for the opportunity to hit a target that would drop the intended victim (various Soldiers) into the water.  (Right) Specialist (SPC) Christopher Dickson, a member of 32nd AAMDC’s special staff, performs slight-of-hand and various other magic tricks in front of a crowd during the Organizational Day festivities.


(To read the complete article, click on the title above.)

SOLDIER'S BID FAREWELL TO 'WARRIOR' LEADER
(Fort Bliss Monitor/12 August 2011)
Article and photograph by Captain Ginette Bocanegra,
2nd Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 11th ADA Brigade.


LTC Alan A. Wiernicki (center), poses one last time as the Commander of 2-43 ADA,
with his battery commanders, first sergeants, field-grade officers and sergeants major
during the battalion’s change-of-command.

SOUTHWEST ASIA – Distinguished guests of the Army, Air Force and Navy joined the “Strength in Honor” Battalion downrange at a change-of-command ceremony held Thursday (4 August 2011) between outgoing Commander Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Alan A. Wiernicki and incoming Commander LTC Mike Solis for the 2nd Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery (ADA) “Warriors.”

Solis took over 2-43 ADA in a unique transition. LTC Wiernicki will head back to garrison (Fort Bliss) and fill LTC Solis’ former position as Deputy Commanding Officer for the 11th ADA Brigade.

(To read CPT Bocanegra's, click on the title or photo below.)



    Colonel Christopher Spillman, Commander of the 108th Air Defense Artillery (ADA) Brigade, forward deployed, passes the 2nd Battalion, 43rd ADA (2-43 ADA) colors, symbolizing transfer of authority to Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Mike Solis, incoming Battalion Commander, on 4 August 2011, in Southwest Asia.
    

PREPARING THE PIECES OF UPCOMING DEFENSE COMMUNICATION
(SIGNAL Online/SIGNAL Magazine, August 2011)

New ways to pass information will alter the U.S. land force if promises stand up to evaluation. In an experiment with the Army’s course for Patriot Missile system maintainers, the first students who tried the app designed for that class earned an approximately 14 percent higher grade point average and graduated from the self-paced training two weeks earlier. Responding to doubts suggesting the case was an anomaly; the experiment was repeated with another class and achieved the same results.

Mike McCarthy, Director of Operations at the Future Force Integration Directorate, explains that students were using the app outside of class to compete with each other for fun. He also says that young troops expect technology with a high level of detail and accuracy. Students, not instructors, were the first to notice a mistake in the app when a piece of equipment was in the wrong position. Another use for apps includes loading manuals onto smartphones so students can take them home and schools can save on printing costs.

(To read the complete article, click on the hyperlinked title above.)

McHUGH VISITS AIR DEFENSE SOLDIERS IN KAISERSLAUTERN
(U.S. Army - Press Release/3 August 2011)

Secretary of the Army, John McHugh, visited with air defenders from the 357^th Army Air and Missile Defense Detachment (AAMD-D) and received an up close and personal view of the Patriot missile batteries during his 2 August 2011, visit to Kaiserslautern, Germany. As Secretary McHugh spoke with unit leaders, Soldiers from A Battery, 5th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery (A/5-7 ADA) Regiment drove in their heavy equipment and set up missile launchers, a radar unit, an electric power plant, antenna masts and a command post. Within 15 minutes the battery was operational. The Soldiers from A/5-7 ADA had just returned from training in Poland in July.


At left, Captain Alissa Clark, Commander, A/5-7 ADA, explains her unit's mission to Secretary McHugh, during his 2 August 2011, visit to Kaiserslautern, Germany. At right, Staff Sergeant Rusty Bailey,  A Battery, 5th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery (A/5-7 ADA) Regiment, briefs Secretary of the Army, John McHugh, on Patriot battery emplacement. (Photographs by Rick Scavetta, U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern.)

(To read more about Secretary McHugh’s visit, click on the linked
photographs or title above.)

THE ONES THAT GOT AWAY BUT STILL WORTH READING

GUARDING THE D.C. SKIES:
Ohio Army National Guard Members Prepare for Second Tour in National Capital Region

McConnelsville, Ohio—Soldiers train hard for the opportunity to employ their skills on real-world missions.  For members of the 2nd Battalion, 174th Air Defense Artillery Brigade (2-174 ADA), Ohio Army National Guard (OHARNG), the opportunity comes in the form of a unique mission, both because of its important contribution to national security and because it remains the sole ongoing air defense mission for the unit’s Avenger missile system.

Although the unit's Soldiers drill far from the limelight of Washington, D.C., in the small Midwestern town of McConnelsville, Ohio, they will soon be propelled onto the national stage when they mobilize in support of Operation Clear Skies later this year. Soldiers of the 2-174 ADA are veterans of this homeland defense mission, having mobilized in 2006 for the same mission.
(Left) Private First Class (PFC) Andrew Kim (left), a gunner, and Specialist (SPC) David Stevens, a team leader with B Battery, 2-174 ADA (B/2-174), demonstrate spotting an incoming target aircraft when converted to the MANPAD System on 13 May 2011, at McConnelsville, Ohio. Soldiers with the 2-174th ADA conducted Avenger missile crew drills in preparation for a scheduled mobilization to the National Capital Region (NCR) later this year, in support of Operation Clear Skies. (Right) PFC Michael Forrest (left), a gunner with B/2-174 ADA Regiment, crouches atop a Humvee and receives a Stinger missile launch tube from his team leader, SGT David Cook, while performing Avenger missile reload procedures on 13 May 2011.
(Left) PFC Michael Forrest (left), a gunner with Battery B/2-174^th ADA Regiment, crouches atop a Humvee and receives a Stinger missile launch tube from his team leader SGT David Cook while performing Avenger missile reload procedures on 13 May 2011, at the unit’s McConnelsville, Ohio, Readiness Center. (Right) PFC Forrest places the aft end of a Stinger missile tube into the Avenger missile pod and aligns it while performing missile reload procedures.

The troops will drill extensively between now and their mobilization to ensure they are primed for defending the nation’s capital from air threats, a mission that was put into place after the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks.

“Not everyone gets this kind of opportunity to translate their training into a real-world mission with this type of importance,” said Sergeant First Class (SFC) Jeffery Wise, an operations sergeant with the battalion’s Headquarters Battery (HHB) and veteran of the National Capital Region (NCR) mission.

When on mission, the air defenders focus on protecting the skies over the District of Columbia by monitoring the Avenger missile system and remaining on alert for potential threats. In preparation, they carefully rehearse each step of their alert system again and again through a variety of classroom scenarios, hands-on training activities and table-top simulators.

“The talking piece is the most important,” Wise said, referencing the table top simulator training. The troops use the simulators to rehearse their roles within the Avenger system as gunners, team leaders and noncommissioned officers-in-charge. “The communication has to be precise. God forbid, but if the time comes, all the training up to that point comes into play and muscle memory kicks in.”

(Below left) PFC Michael Forrest replaces and latches an Avenger missile pod’s access doors while performing missile reload procedures. (Right) PFC Forrest, climbs into an Avenger turret while performing Avenger missile reload procedures.

“The training is excellent,” said Private First Class (PFC) Andrew Kim, a gunner with B Battery (B/2-174 ADA) and student at Otterbein College in Westerville. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience to help defend the nation’s capital.”

Kim studies political science and international studies at Otterbein and was scheduled to graduate soon. “The nice thing is I don’t have to worry about getting a job when I graduate,” Kim said, adding he hopes to make the best of his time in the district.

The Soldiers are thrilled to be back on the system, Wise said.

“It’s a very versatile system,” said Sergeant (SGT) Andrew Woldbold, a team leader with B/2-174 ADA. “The Avenger can fire in place or on the move.”

Woldbold enlisted with the battalion in 2007 when it was mobilized to the NCR for the first time. As a member of the rear detachment he heard a lot about the mission and thought it would be a great opportunity.  Now the battalion has come full circle.

“I’m looking forward to going on the mission this time,” Woldbold said, adding he will enjoy the opportunity to see many of the national monuments and landmarks he will be guarding.