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Military Blogging Goes Mainstream
 (New York Times/05-02-2011)

A long, long time ago — when Facebook was a gleam in Mark Zuckerberg’s eye and twittering was still for birds, blogging was the now thing. For troops heading to war, it was a revelation .... But in the years since, the military blogging world has changed considerably. There are fewer blogs about combat today and many more about life back home. And the Pentagon, which once tried to control or even shut down bloggers, has now joined the social media craze. Generals blog, the armed services all have Twitter accounts, and scores of company and battalion commanders maintain Facebook pages.

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Why This BRAC Surprised Defense Planners
(Federal Times/05-02-2011)

As the Defense Department enters the last phase of its Base Closure and Realignment Commission process, officials have noticed a surprising trend. Because of the weak economy and job market, twice as many civilian employees in some places are relocating to keep their jobs than expected.

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Fires Test Directorate (FTD) Woman’s
Exceptional Performance
(Operational Test Command: Testers Family Tidbits, Issue 95/04-2011)



Article by Staff Sergeant Steve R. Wolaver and photo by Mr. Dennis McElveen

Ms. Lindsay Morgan was recognized during Women’s History Month for her exceptional performance with the U.S. Army Operational Test Command (USAOTC), Fires Test Directorate (FTD).  Ms. Morgan began working at the Air Defense Artillery Test Directorate in 2006 as an electronics technician contractor. From the beginning of her career with USAOTC, she has shown a take charge, never-quit attitude. She has proven herself time and time again in spite of having two major hurdles to overcome. First, she works in a field dominated by men. Second, she had no Air Defense Artillery background when hired.

She taught herself the skills needed to be a contributing asset to USAOTC. While assigned to the quality control cell early in her contractor career, Ms. Morgan was quickly recognized as an outstanding leader for her attention to detail and her demand for delivery of accurate data. In 2009, Ms. Morgan was selected as a Department of the Army civilian electronics technician. In 2010, she was selected as a military test plans analyst (MTPA) at FTD located at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

 Ms. Morgan’s most recent achievement was as the test MTPA for the Surface-Launched Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (SLAMRAAM) Limited User Test (LUT) at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), New Mexico. Despite no previous experience with the SLAMRAAM system or test operations, she quickly became familiar with both while supporting the developmental testing conducted by the Product Manager, SLAMRAAM. Ms. Morgan was required to coordinate with numerous agencies at WSMR that included frequency managers from Fort Bliss, Texas, and WSMR; the U.S. Army Evaluation Center; and the SLAMRAAM Product Office. She was also responsible for coordinating and directing the actions of the FTD instrumentation branch, data collectors, security/site monitors, and test player unit, while managing numerous VIP visits. Despite the complexity of the test and overcoming many obstacles daily, Ms. Morgan was a key player in the ultimate success of the test.

McKeon Opposes
White House
Defense Policy
(DefenseNews.com/05-05-2011)

The battle lines over the U.S. defense budget debate became clearer this week, with Democratic and Republican leaders in the House outlining opposing views for how the United States can remain a strong world power.

For example, Representative Buck McKeon (R-Calif.), chair of the House Armed Services Committee,  said the Pentagon should not fund the troubled Medium Extended Air Defense System over the next two years and instead direct the money ...

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The Truth About MEADS
(The Hill-Blog/05-11-2011)

Our Congressional leaders are faced with two options to satisfy US air and missile defense requirements – MEADS or Patriot. An independent life cycle cost analysis will verify what the Germans already know – that MEADS will cost significantly less than ...

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The SKYSTRIKERS Case Their Colors
for CENTCOM Deployment
Article and photographs by Corporal Jamie A. Carpenter

Lieutenant Colonel Richard A. Harrison (Battalion Commander) and Command Sergeant Major Paris Williams case the colors of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery (3-4 ADA) Regiment, at Green Ramp, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

The 3^rd Battalion (Airborne), 4^th Air Defense Artillery Regiment (3-4 ADA), better known as the SKYSTRIKERS, cased their battalion colors at Pope Army Airfield, Fort Bragg, North Carolina,  a few hours prior to their deployment departure. The “SKYSTRIKER” Battalion is one the oldest and most decorated Air Defense Artillery formations in the Army. The organization’s rich history began during the War of 1812, continuing on to defeat Pickett’s charge during the Battle of Gettysburg and continue to support the global war on terrorism.

In 2006 the battalion was reorganized from a divisional airborne short-range air defense (SHORAD) unit to a Patriot/Avenger composite battalion (with both air and missile defense [AMD] capabilities) and was assigned to the 108^th Air Defense Artillery Brigade.  The unit still maintains a highly capable and lethal airborne force which stands ready to deploy anywhere in the world if called upon, but for the first time, this proud Battalion is deploying Patriot fire units to the Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility.

Colonel Christopher L. Spillman, the 108^th ADA Brigade Commander said, “This Battalion has endured a high operations TEMPO that has been going 120 miles per hour for the last four months.  You are a highly trained and disciplined unit and I am very proud of you.”

Lieutenant Colonel Richard (Rich) A. Harrison, Commander of 3-4 ADA followed with, “SKYSTRIKERS we are going to the Super Bowl, and it’s time to get the ball in the end zone.”

Today as you read this article the SKYSTRIKERS of 3-4 ADA are forward deployed.

The battalion command team of the 3-4 ADA case their colors in preparation for deployment to an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia.

About the author/photograph: Corporal Jamie A. Carpenter is an MOS qualified 14E, Patriot Fire Control Enhanced Operator, assigned to the 3^rd Battalion, 4^th Air Defense Artillery Regiment from Fort Bragg, North Carolina.