by Senior Airman Shane S. Karp
177th FW/PA
9/23/2015 - NAVAL AIR STATION WILDWOOD AVIATION MUSEUM, N.J. -- More
than 20 members of the 177th Fighter Wing Crash Disabled Damaged
Aircraft Recovery team participated in training, Sept. 19, involving
crane lifting an F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft at Naval Air Station
Wildwood Aviation Museum, New Jersey.
The 177 FW CDDAR team is a secondary duty for these airmen, and includes
specialists from almost every Air Force Specialty Code within the
maintenance squadron.
"The training is necessary for completing a tri-annual certification,
and the real-world use is in the event an F-16 is immobile and needs to
be lifted by a crane and moved off the runway area," said Tech. Sgt.
Robert Taylor, a CDDAR team member. "Our main goal is to remove the
aircraft as quickly and safely as possible, without causing any
secondary damage,"
"We haven't had to use this maneuver in a real-world scenario, and
hopefully never do, but this team is very capable of handling it," said
Master Sgt. Chris Foye, a 177 FW CDDAR team member.
"In the event a plane went down, we need airmen that are familiar from
each component," Taylor said. "Not everybody is specialized in
everything, but everyone is specialized in something."
by Senior Airman Erica Rodrigues
113th Wing Public Affairs
9/24/2015 - WASHINGTON -- More
than 150 Airmen from the 113th Wing, D.C. Air National Guard volunteered
as task force support for visit of Pope Francis here, Sep. 22-24.
Sworn-in and deputized by the D.C. Metropolitan Police as special
police, the Airmen served as a standing police force for the event that
attracted thousands of spectators to the D.C. area.
Domestic operations is one of the many ways the 113th Wing supports its
community. This event, Operation Roman Watch, was a culmination of both
Army and Air Force from the D.C. National Guard.
"There are over 500 Guardsmen in this task force which makes the
logistics difficult, but as Capital Guardians, we are trained and
equipped to handle this mission," said Capt. Duane Peterson, Operation
Roman Watch deputy task force commander. "We are happy to support the
local community and making this a safe event for all is our honor," said
Peterson.
Proper training prepared all members for event. As task force, members
maintained crowd and traffic control, as well as enforcing the law.
"Operation Roman Watch was my first task force," said Airman 1st Class
Darla Robertson, 113th Maintenance Squadron aircraft electrician. "My
duties included security checks for those who attended the parade. I was
excited and nervous about the event, but the briefing and training for
the task force prepared me for it."
The event proved to be another successful domestic operation from the D.C. National Guard.
by Senior Airman Orlando Corpuz
154th Wing Public Affairs
9/24/2015 - JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Air
defense experts from the Hawaii Air National Guard completed a three
day Subject Matter Expert Exchange near Halim International Airport here
Sept. 15-17, with counterparts from Indonesia,
This was the first time a SMEE involving air defense had been conducted
between the HIANG and Kohanudnas, the component of the Indonesian armed
forces responsible for air defense.
"The team's immediate goal was to lay the foundation for a productive
relationship between the Hawaii Air National Guard and the Kohanudnas."
said Maj. Michael O'Donnell, 169th Air Defense Squadron Mission Crew
commander. "Long term, we would like to have an enduring partnership
with the Kohanudnas that promotes stability in the region."
The exchanges were part of the National Guard's State Partnership
Program. The program matches a state's National Guard with a partner
country in order to build capacity and reinforce security cooperation.
Program partners engage in a wide range of security cooperation
activities such as homeland defense, disaster response, and interagency
cooperation.
"The State Partnership Program is a Department of Defense joint security
cooperation program administered by the National Guard." said Maj.
Robert Galino, Theater Command and Control Officer with the 109th Air
Operations Group. "It supports the combatant commander's security
cooperation objectives and Ambassador's intergrated country strategies."
A team of seven HIANG personnel from the 169th ADS and 109th AOG engaged
with Kohanudnas on topics ranging from air battle management, target
identification, target tracking, and data transmission.
"It's very important to share experiences with air defense and to learn
and collaborate with each other as we share in the common goal of peace
and security." said Galino.
"We hope to continue our relationship with Indonesia...to not just
include the tactical level, but operational and maybe strategic."
The partnership with Indonesia was just one example of the HIANG's
execution of the SPP mission and reflects the National Guard's growing
international affairs mission. In August, the HIANG hosted air defense
officials from the Philippine Air Force for bi-lateral learning and
discussions. The HIANG teams up with the Guam National Guard to execute
the SPP mission with the Philippines.
Currently, the National Guard maintains SPP relations with 76 nations around the world.
"The purpose of the State Partnership Program is to build mutually
beneficial military relationships with foreign nations. This is
accomplished by face to face interactions that foster professional and
personal contacts." said O'Donnell.
by Senior Airman Duane Duimstra
114th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
9/25/2015 - Joe Foss Field, S.D. -- The
founder of Promoting Awareness/Victim Empowerment spoke to members of
the South Dakota Air and Army National Guard, and members of the
community here Sept 10, to talk about how our culture perceives victims
of sexual assault and ways to prevent these perceptions.
Angela Rose spoke about her experiences highlighting ways our community
could prevent sexual assaults from happening and how to help victims.
Her presentation was part of the training for Sexual Assault Response Coordinators and Victim's Advocates.
"We decided to bring Angela in because of her personal experience as a
victim and an advocate. Our focus was to make the training different and
engaging which Angela accomplished without question," said Maj. Travis
Schuring, 114th Fighter Wing executive support officer and SARC.
At the age of 17, Rose was a victim of kidnapping and was assaulted by a
repeat sex-offender. Her experience led her to create PAVE to increase
sexual assault awareness and help victims heal.
"I really admire the victim empowerment, and who better to have the
knowledge come from, than a victim." said Abbey Rotter, 114th Fighter
Wing knowledge operations manager, about the PAVE program. "I also
agree with her stance on education; education is key and her campaigning
to push the message down, all the way to middle schools, is
imperative."
A guest panel of community leaders was held to discuss the issue of
sexual assault and the organizations and programs the city of Sioux
Falls has that are combating this problem. The panel was made up of
Sandra Minter, Sanford Health Academic Affairs, Sara Krekelberg and
Melissa Muggs, from the Compass Center, Ashley McDonald, attorney for
the South Dakota Department of Corrections in the State Penitentiary,
and Maj. Travis Schuring.
"I was really intrigued by listening to Ashley McDonald and her
perspective on rehabilitating offenders and what is happening inside the
facility walls," said Rotter.
The presentation was helpful for everyone in attendance. It gave the
attendees a better understanding of ways to prevent assaults from
happening and ways to help victims.
by Col. Thomas James
111th Air Operations Group
9/25/2015 - HORSHAM AIR GUARD STATION, Pa. -- From
August 17 - 28, members of the 111th Attack Wing deployed to Osan Air
Base, South Korea, for Exercise Ulchi Freedom Guardian 2015.
Ulchi Freedom Guardian is the annual Republic of Korea and U.S. Forces
Korea defense-oriented exercise designed to enhance Combined Forces
Command's readiness, protect the region and maintain stability on the
Korean peninsula.
The second of two Korean deployments for the 111th ATKW this year alone,
UFG 2015 involved 30,000 U.S. troops alongside 50,000 South Korean
counterparts. Members from around the 111th ATKW and 193rd Force Support
Squadron, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, were integrated into the Air Force
forces staff, a medical group, a security forces unit, a simulation cell
and many other duties.
Working 12-hour rotating shifts on both the exercise and during real
world tensions, UFG 15 featured a number of scenarios and training. The
operations were meant to improve response to military strikes, potential
terrorist attacks, and the use of chemical or biological weapons in
major South Korean cities.
During the 111th ATKW's time in Korea, real world tensions were at a
20-year high; and North Korean mines seriously wounded two South Korean
border guards. North and South military forces exchanged artillery fire
along the de-militarized zone, air defense aircraft were airborne on
combat air patrol. According to open news sources, more than 50 North
Korean submarines -70 percent of their fleet - set sail from their bases
as tensions rose. North Korea had also ordered its front-line troops
onto a war footing during this drastic rise in tensions.
News sources cited that North Korea saw the exercises as a veiled threat
of war. The source stated that Kim Jong-un, the supreme leader of the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea, had vowed to respond with the
"strongest military counteraction" if UFG 15 was not canceled.
UFG 2015, however, pushed on.
There were seven United Nations Sending States participating in UFG 15:
Australia, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, New Zealand, and the
United Kingdom. Also, the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission
monitored UFG 15 to ensure its compliance with the Korean Armistice
Agreement, signed in 1953.
So, despite the threats and real-world military action taken against the
region, the Pa. Air National Guard and participating entities completed
their mission. Once again, continuing forward with operations, the
111th ATKW and its members displayed professionalism and dedication at
home and abroad.
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