Third Quarter Activities - Honorary Colonels of Utah

Third Quarter Activities
Army
Utah National Guard 2011 Information Update
Colonel Journal
Units of the 65th Fires Brigade are wrapping up
Aug 2011
an extremely busy, yet productive summer filled
with various training events, exercises and the
mobilization of 2nd Battalion, 222nd Field Artillery.
The next three months bring additional training
opportunities in which we will continue to improve
staff and leadership processes, and to field and become
more proficient on our Army Battle Command
Systems. Headquarters, 65th Fires Brigade will be
participating in Keris Strike, a multinational training
event conducted in conjunction with the Malaysian
military. This event is scheduled for September in
Malaysia. Additionally, the unit is participating in
two separate Fleet Synthetic Training-Joint (FST-J)
exercises—joint training opportunities conducted
with the U.S. Navy. These exercises are scheduled
for September and October. The 1-145th Field
Artillery will be conducting unit-level training and
portions of the Battalion will be supporting the
Brigade’s scheduled exercises. The 2-222nd Field
Artillery is scheduled to depart their mobilization
station to support Operation New Dawn sometime in
late July, early August.
In August, 1st Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group
will travel to Fort Polk, La., and participate in a Joint
Readiness Training Center rotation. They will also
be conducting a Counter-Narcotics Training event
in Micronesia and will participate in Ulchi Freedom
Guardian in Korea. In September they will conduct
a Military Free-Fall Sustainment in Eloy, Ariz., and
will also participate in Governor’s Day activities.
Freedom Academy
50th Anniversary
For high school student body officers
July 30-August 5, 2011
Camp Williams
17800 S. Redwood Road
The week-long activity schedule will be sent
via email. Please feel free to attend any
events that interest you. Wear your red
jacket or red golf shirt.
The 97th Aviation Troop Command’s (AVN TC)
primary focus of its August training is the final
preparation and assistance for the deployment
of 1st Battalion, 211th Attack Reconnaissance
Battalion. The Battalion will be finishing its
gunnery qualification at Gowen Field, Idaho, and
preparing for a CERTEX (Certification Exercise)
to be held at Camp Williams and in the local area.
These two events are critical for the final Longbow
Apache Unit Fielding Exercise to be held at Fort
Hood, Texas starting in September. These are major
training exercises that certify the unit as an Armysanctioned, Longbow Apache unit. As summer
is finally arriving in Utah, 97th AVN TC stands
ready to assist with any contingency operations
such as flooding or fire-fighting operations that
may be asked of the National Guard. The 2nd
Battalion, 211th Aviation Regiment responded to a
request for support from Weber County Emergency
2-222nd Field Artillery Deploys to Afghanistan
from Cedar City and St. George Airports.
The approximately 475 Soldiers of the Utah National Guard’s Second Battalion, 222nd Field Artillery
departed Cedar and St. George in four groups on the first leg of their 12-month deployment to Iraq June 4.
Army continued
Management to assist with the emplacement of sand
bags weighing in excess of 1,000 pounds each. The
Battalion responded with two UH-60 Blackhawk
helicopters and ground-support crews. By the end
of the day, 56,000 pounds of sand was transported
on slings below the helicopters and breaches in the
levee were plugged. The opportunity to work closely
with the Weber County Emergency Management
team as well as the Weber Fire District was a valuable
experience and has helped establish new procedures
should such an event occur again. The crews that
responded to the Weber County flooding did so just
days before they departed for Fort Hood, Texas in
preparation for a year-long deployment to Afghanistan.
The Soldiers appreciated an opportunity to serve
their state prior to engaging in combat operations in
support of the Nation. These are Citizen-Soldiers
at their best! July typically provides a pause from
intensive military training for 2nd Battalion, 211th
Aviation Regiment but it does require a heightened
state of alert for fire-fighting response. Crews are
trained and ready to help minimize any fire threat
to Camp Williams and its surrounding communities
as well as the state. In August, the Battalion says
goodbye to its current Commander, LTC Pete Adams,
and welcomes in its new commander, LTC Gordon
Behunin. LTC Behunin is an accomplished leader
with combat experience and will undoubtedly lead
Utah’s only utility helicopter battalion to even greater
accomplishments.
The
300th Military Intelligence Brigade
(Linguist) receives a new commander in August.
After over four years in charge of the Brigade,
Colonel Val L. Peterson will relinquish command
to Colonel Derek J. Tolman. Colonel Peterson,
who is Vice President of Utah Valley University
and a Representative for District 59 in the Utah
State House of Representatives, will move to
Joint Forces Headquarters. Colonel Tolman, a
full-time employee of the Utah National Guard, is
a recent graduate of the United States Army War
College in Carlisle Barracks, Penn. In addition
to welcoming a new commander, the Brigade
has a challenging schedule of training and
operations during the next quarter. This includes
personnel supporting events in Tanzania, Italy,
Mali, Germany and Korea, as well as a number
of exercises around the United States. One
of the Brigade’s units that recently returned
from operations in northern Iraq, the 141st
Military Intelligence Battalion (Linguist), will
be conducting awards ceremonies and holding
family support “Yellow Ribbon” seminars over
the next few months..
The 204th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade
(MEB) activities for the month of August
include Soldiers assisting in this year’s Freedom
Academy, sponsored by the Honorary Colonels.
The 1457th will provide engineer equipment
displays and the 489th Brigade Support Battalion
2-211th Aviation places sandbags along a broken levee in Weber County
Members of 2nd Battalion, 211th Aviation Regiment support Weber County Emergency Management by ultilizing two UH-60
Blackhawk helicopters for emplacement of 56,000 pounds of sandbags along a broken levee to prevent further flooding.
The Honorary Colonels Corps website has changed.
Please go and check it out at:
http://freedomacademyutah.org/honorary_colonel
118th Sappers Return From Afghanistan
(BSB) will conduct weapons training.
Also in August, the 204th Headquarters
and 489th BSB will participate in what the
Army calls CP&SIT (Command Post &
Staff Integration Training). This training
is part of the new Command Post Platform
in which the Army has spent millions of
dollars. The 204th MEB has been issued
some of the same equipment. The training
plan in August will be to set up tents, run
the network cables, set up computers,
printers and projectors and practice a wargaming scenario. Sounds like fun!
Air
The
Approximately 120 members of the Utah National Guard’s 118th Engineer (Sapper)
Company, returned from their 12-month deployment to Afghanistan July 10.
Governor’s / Family Day
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Camp Williams Parade Field
17800 S. Redwood Road
10:00 a.m.
Formal invitations are forthcoming.
130th Electronic Installation
Squadron has several projects to complete
by the end of September including:
preventive maintenance inspections
on existing communication antennas
and installation of communication
infrastructure for exercise area, Buckley
Air National Guard, Colo.; perform
a GPS mapping survey of existing
communications infrastructure, Creech
Air Force Base, Nev.; engineer and install
UHF radio system, March Air Reserve
Base, Cali.; and design and engineer a
secure compartmental information facility
(SCIF) at Vandenberg Air Force Base,
Cali. The 130th is also preparing for Air
Expeditionary Force Deployment in early
2012 to Central Command.
Miscellaneous
Major General Tarbet plans to take his
senior staff to Boston, Mass. for a Staff
Ride in August. He will also attend the
National Guard Association of the U.S.
Conference in Milwaukee, Wis.
We processed 60 community support
requests during May, June and July.
Minuteman Awards Dinner
The Minuteman Awards Dinner celebrated its 50th
anniversary this year as it held its annual awards
ceremony at the Little America Hotel on June 15,
2011. Recipients for this year’s special award were:
Mr. Greg Adamson, Founder, Heart2Home; Monsignor
Joseph Terrence Fitzgerald, Catholic Diocese, Salt
Lake City; Honorary Colonel Fred Lampropoulos,
Chairman and CEO Merit Medical Systems, Inc.; Mrs.
Ruby T. Price “Grandma Ruby,” at age 95 continues
serving as an educator and community
activist; awarded posthumously to Command
Sergeant Major James C. Sproul, Utah Army
National Guard; and the Patriot Guard Riders
of Utah.
A special thanks to the Honorary Colonels for
sponsoring this awards dinner. It has been a
special highlight for the Utah National Guard
for 50 years.
Brig. Gen. (retired) Jake Garn (left) and Maj. Gen. Brian Tarbet (right) in each photo, present the 2011 award recipients the
Bronze Minuteman. Left to right above: Greg Adamson, Monsignor Joseph Terrence Fitzgerald, Anne-Marie Lampropoulos
accepts the Bronze Minuteman for her husband Fred Lampropoulos. Left to right below: Ruby T. Price, Suzanne Sproul receives
the award posthumously for her husband Command Sergeant Major James C. Sproul, Peggy Morrill accepts the award on
behalf of the Patriot Guard Riders of Utah.