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Story and Photos by Staff Sgt. Fredrick P. Varney, 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
Sgt. Kristina Johnson, secretary of general staff for Joint Forces Headquarters, leads a block of instruction during Army Warrior Tasks training Feb. 6 at the Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, Joint Forces Headquarters office on Boone National Guard Center.
FRANKFORT, Ky. - - The Soldiers assigned to the Kentucky Army National Guard’s Joint Forces Headquarters have a unique role. Charged with ensuring units throughout the state are operational in times of peace, conflict or during natural disasters, the Soldiers of JFHQ are a vital asset to the operational success of the Kentucky Guard.
“Our unit keeps everything going,” said Sgt. Christopher A. Turpen, human resources specialist for the personnel directorate of JFHQ.
“The Joint Forces Headquarters personnel support each and every Soldier of this professional organization in some way or another,” he said.
Whether it’s processing pay, calculating retirement points, issuing military identification cards, ordering beans and billets or securing training ammunition, the Soldiers of JFHQ work behind the scenes to provide administrative and logistical support to the units throughout the Commonwealth. According to Maj. Vernon Hubbs, commander of Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, JFHQ, the unit is critical to providing the needed oversight and support to Kentucky’s mission.
“As units mobilize, JFHQ assists with the transition for Soldiers heading downrange,” said Hubbs.
Sgt. Walter L. Conn, unit supply technician, Joint Forces Headquarters, processes a supply request Feb 6 during inactive duty training at the Boone National Guard Center in Frankfort, Ky.
“We ensure that units have what they need to be successful on the battlefield,” he said.
But HHD’s focus isn’t just on deploying Soldiers.
“You are a Soldier first, and then a skilled professional at your military occupational specialty,” said 1st Sgt. Alan Robinson, JFHQ first sergeant.
“The Soldiers assigned to JFHQ know their MOS – most of the Soldiers assigned to JFHQ are full-time personnel who conduct the mission day-in and day-out,” he said. “And they do it exceptionally well.
“But we also have to ensure we are up-to-standards on our Army Warrior Tasks and Battle Drills,” he said. “We have to maintain a level of readiness that supports any mission that comes our way so that we are able to move out and successfully complete the assignment.”
The Soldiers must stay current on weapons qualifications, physical fitness standards and the individual and collective tasks that all Soldiers are responsible for. Recently the JFHQ Soldiers traded their cubicles in for training lanes as they freshened up on the WTBDs during a drill weekend at Boone National Guard Center.
“Every day this unit supports the fight,” Robinson said. “On our drill weekends, we make sure we train for the fight.”
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By Paul Glasser
Frankfort State-Journal
Staff Sgt. Klinton Burke, of Frankfort, and his wife, Jamie, kiss their 10-month-old daughter, Rylea. Klinton returned home from Afghanistan Feb. 4. State Journal/Hannah Reel
(please visit the Frankfort State-Journal’s website to see the story as well: How could he leave this?)
Staff Sgt. Klinton Burke of Frankfort now has time to be a father to his 10-month-old baby after spending 11 months as a truck driver and mechanic in Afghanistan.
Klinton, 30, was one of about 150 soldiers from the 2123rd Transportation Company in the Kentucky National Guard who returned home in early February. He’s now spending time with his wife, Jamie, and daughter, Rylea.
Klinton arrived in Afghanistan on March 22, 2010, and Rylea was born April 19. He came home to visit May 3-19 but didn’t see her again until last week.
Leaving for Afghanistan when he knew his daughter would soon be born was difficult, he says. It was also an emotional moment when he had to go back overseas.
“It was the hardest thing a dad would have to do,” he said.
He was stationed at Bagram Airfield in eastern Afghanistan and was able to receive mail and packages every Tuesday. His wife sent candy, hunting videos and mini-DVDs she recorded of Rilea crawling and playing.
“Tuesday was the day of the week I looked forward to,” Klinton said. “I got to watch her grow up.”
Rylea likes to watch the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on TV and dance along with the show’s “Hot Dog” song.
In a recent interview, Rylea wore a onesie with the words “My heart belongs to daddy.” She played with toys, sucked on her bottle and cried briefly when her father prevented her from picking up the reporter’s tape recorder.
Klinton and Jamie said they plan to buy a new baby seat so Rylea can ride in Klinton’s old Dodge truck.
When she’s old enough, Klinton said he wants to teach Rylea to hunt - it’s one of his favorite pastimes.
Klinton said he also enjoys giving his wife a hard time - they were married on Dec. 5, 2009, but had little time to be a family because of training and the mission to Afghanistan. He said he doesn’t want to go back overseas.
“Rylea’s more important,” Klinton said.
He was previously deployed stateside in 2003 and 2004 as well as Iraq in 2006 and 2007. He was a mechanic at Camp Taji near Baghdad and said morale there was “through the roof.” Although fighting between Sunni and Shiite factions
raged through Iraq, Klinton was never attacked.
However, the mission to Afghanistan was much more difficult. His unit traveled more than 600,000 miles on convoy escort missions. They were attacked 40 times, and five soldiers were seriously wounded.
“We were not unscathed,” Klinton said, with tears in his eyes. “The mental and emotional aspect of it probably took the worst hit. Seeing friends get hurt, we had to be soldiers instead of humans, if that makes any sense. We drove on. War doesn’t make sense.”
But knowing his wife and baby were home helped keep him going.
He also credited his truck partner Pfc. Jeremiah Fleming, from Fleming County, with helping him stay focused.
“During the hard times he helped keep me sane,” Klinton said.
Another local soldier returned home with the 2123rd Transportation Company -Chris Adcock. He went to Franklin County High School with Klinton where he said the two were “trouble makers.” Adcock was assigned to the headquarters
platoon.
Lt. Ed “Gus” LaFontaine IV, of Berea, received the Bronze Star for valor when he helped rescue two men from the 2123rd Transportation Company wounded by an explosion in an ambush. He is the grandson of Frankfort’s Ed LaFontaine Jr., a World War II Navy pilot.
His grandson has spent 12 years in the National Guard, and it was his second deployment. Ed LaFontaine IV doesn’t say much about the incident for which he was decorated, according to this grandfather.
“He doesn’t brag about it,” said Ed LaFontaine Jr.
His grandson is a teacher and plans to open a pre-kindergarten school next year, Ed LaFontaine Jr. said.
Nine other soldiers in the unit were also decorated with the Bronze Star, and 80 received the Combat Action Badge.
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By: Spc. Michelle Waters, 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
Staff Sgt. Michael Embury plays the bassoon with his Music Performance Team with the 202nd Army Band in Frankfort, Ky., on Feb. 6.
FRANKFORT, Ky. – Whether it’s a difficult set of chords, or 13 miles on pavement, Kentucky National Guard Staff Sgt. Michael Embury puts a tremendous amount of dedication into his two passions: music and running.
“He truly is a great guy and leader,” said Sgt. Sharon Cates, a clarinetist with the Kentucky National Guard’s 202nd Army Band. “He is always there to help someone along with their PT or their music.
“He’s always willing to put in extra hours to train a Soldier with running or to help them with difficult music selections. You just know that, with music, he is truly doing what he loves,” she said.
Embury’s fascination with music began in the 5th grade, when notes on paper where nothing more than secret codes. Using his imagination, Embury would decipher the codes, unscrambling the keys to sweet songs with his trumpet.
In 1993, Embury joined the Guard’s 202nd Army Band where he played trumpet on drill weekends and annual training to help pay for tuition expenses of college. He mastered his craft at Eastern Kentucky University where he earned his bachelor’s degree in music education in 1996.
In 2004, Embury found himself in the student’s seat again working towards a master’s degree in education at Miami University in Ohio. He was forced to learn a new instrument to complete the program. The choice was simple—the bassoon. But not because he was overly enthusiastic about the woodwind instrument; rather because the 202nd was in need of a bassoonist or it wouldn’t have a complete ensemble.
“It’s quite an accomplishment for a musician to go from a three fingered brass instrument to a required 10-fingered woodwind instrument in such a short amount of time,” Cates said. “It takes tremendous dedication to and have the willingness to consistently practice on your own time.”
For Embury, it was merely something that he felt he needed to do to help out his unit, but it was a bonus to his career.
“This really isn’t about me at all,” Embury said. “It’s about them.”
They are Embury’s Soldiers. More than forty musicians assigned to the Kentucky National Guard’s 202nd Army Band. No matter what accolades the unit gives him, Embury is quick to remember the band mates he plays with.
“It’s such an exhilarating experience to have the opportunity to perform on stage with such accomplished musicians,” he said. “I love my job.”
The only thing as exhilarating as sitting on stage behind the hot lights making music with other Guardsmen is the runner’s high Embury experiences each time his foot hits the pavement crossing the finish line of
Staff Sgt. Michael Embury, who is a member of the Kentucky Army National Guard Marathon Team, performs physical training during the 202nd band’s drill weekend in Frankfort, Ky., Feb 6.
another marathon.
“It’s a rush. Of course, running is made easier by playing instruments because of breathing. I just really enjoy it,” he said. “Running is no different than playing an instrument. If you want to be good at it, you have to devote time to work at it.”
In 2010, Embury joined the Kentucky National Guard’s marathon team because it seemed like a fun and exciting challenge.
He’s a consistent top contender in most of the half marathons he’s participated in, with a recent 1st place for his age group at the Erie Half Marathon in Erie, Pa., and 1st in the military division for the Army Half Marathon in November.
“It feels great to be able to devote yourself to something and see the hard work pay off,” said Embury.
Embury hopes to eventually attend the Advanced Non-Commissioned Officers Course in the next year.
“I had a brief break in service a few years back. While I was out, I realized how much I missed it because it was like a second family. It’s my goal to continue my career in the Guard and enjoy every minute of it,” he said.
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to read the full story, please visit the Cincinnati Inquirer website
(http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110221/SPT0302/102220350/Coach-s-absence-will-be-Major-loss?odyssey=tab|mostpopular|text|SPT)
Maj. Ed Cook is the head coach for the Dixie Heights High School Swim Team. He'll deploy to Iraq with the 149th Manuever Enhancement Brigade based in Louisville, Ky. (Photo by Cincinnati Inquirer)
Dixie Heights coach Ed Cook is reuniting with members of his team at this week’s state swimming and diving championships at University of Louisville’s Ralph Wright Natatorium.
When the meet kicks off with the diving competition on Thursday, it will have been nearly two weeks since Cook departed immediately following the regional meet for his second deployment in 10 years as a member of the Army National Guard.
Cook, who has a rank of Major, is in the middle of a three-week deployment training at the Kentucky National Guard Western Kentucky Regional Training Center…
Please go to Cincinnati Inquirer - Coach’s absence will be ‘Major’ loss for the full story.
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By: Spc. Will Bolton, 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
The Kentucky National Guard’s OH-58 Kiowa helicopters have proven successful during past search and seizure missions for the Joint Support Operations as well as during natural disasters. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Will Bolton, 133rd MPAD)
FRANKFORT, Ky. — “We are hands down the best aviation unit in the state,” said Kentucky National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Bernard D. Adkins.
Sitting behind the flight operations desk, the 38-year-old crew chief technician manages and maintains flight operations at the Army Aviation Support Facility for his Charlie Company 1st Battalion 376th Aviation, 63rd Theater Aviation Brigade headquartered at Frankfort’s Boone National Guard Center.
Adkins isn’t just tooting his own horn either. In March 2009, the 63 TAB was assigned to the Chemical Biological Radiological and High-Yield Explosive Consequence Management Response Force.
Under CCMRF, the 63rd TAB is responsible for any and all kinds of large scale disasters that would necessitate a large scale evacuation of people; including natural and manmade. Organizing a response to one of these scenarios takes more than just a laptop and a phone.
“What we bring to the table is that higher level headquarters that can process all the overwhelming data that’s going to come in and try to make sense of it and prioritize missions versus asset availability,” said Adkins.
“We want to get as much help out to the civilian community that we possibly can with what we have available,” he said.
And available to assist the Commonwealth or any other states is a fleet of Kentucky’s UH-60 Blackhawks and OH-58 Kiowas paired with New York National Guard’s CH-47 Chinooks.
The Kentucky National Guard relies on a team of mechanics and Soldiers to keep UH-60 Blackhawks in the air. This particular Alpha model, used for medevacs, will be upgraded to a Lima model to ensure a wider range of use for the CCMRF mission currently held by the 63rd TAB. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Will Bolton, 133rd MPAD)
But for Adkins to keep the birds in the air, the 63rd TAB headquarters relies on the maintenance expertise of Kentucky National Guard of Master Sgt. Richard A. Hackett Sr. The senior aviation sergeant and his crew maintain the operational status of the Guard’s fleet on a daily basis.
“Any day it could be half a dozen to a dozen people just maintaining aircraft in different varieties and different degrees,” said Hackett.
Most of those people, Hackett said aren’t on the flight line. They are the mechanics, supply and administrators who ensure the aircraft are ready for the pilots. The Kentucky Guard standards are set extremely high, Hackett said. “We look at things that, if anything is a thousandth of an inch wrong, we have to fix it,” said Hackett.
“If I see a crack or a scratch, then the part’s no good I can’t put it back into service. Everything has to be 100 percent,” said Hackett.
The Kentucky National Guard maintains daily flight operations for training purposes and in support of the needs of the Commonwealth. In addition, the Kentucky National Guard is partnered with the New York National Guard for the CCMRF mission.
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Story by David Altom, Public Affairs Deputy Director
Photos courtesy of U.S. Army
Lt. Col. Toby Peterson, Maj. John Holmes and Maj. Brent Hulse brief members of the state legislature on the Kentucky National Guard's agribusiness development mission in Afghanistan.
FRANKFORT, Ky. – Members of the Kentucky National Guard’s first Agribusiness Development Team received a standing ovation from members of the House Agriculture and Small Business Committee Feb. 9 after briefing state legislators about the Kentucky National Guard’s ongoing missions in Afghanistan.
“This is one of the highlights of this session,” said Rep. Wilson Stone. “I believe that with all sincerity.”
Lt. Col. Toby Peterson, Maj. John Holmes and Maj. Brent Hulse gave state representatives an overview of the KYADT1’s mission during its 2009 Afghanistan deployment. The officers brought the committee up to date on the future of the KYADT mission and the role Kentuckians have in rejuvenating Afghanistan’s agricultural industry in a time of war.
“Kentucky National Guard Soldiers and Airmen have the largest group out of nine states doing this mission,” said Holmes. “We currently cover more than 12,000 square miles in northern Afghanistan, working down to the extension agent level and very often the individual farmer.”
Holmes said the teams have received extensive support from the University of Kentucky, private businesses and local Kentucky farmers.
“The support is outstanding,” he said. “There are Kentucky Proud banners flying throughout three provinces.”
Members of the House Committee on Agriculture and Small Business listen as Maj. John Holmes and Lt. Col. Toby Peterson describe their mission in Afghanistan.
Rep. Rita Smart expressed interest in how the county extension agent concept worked in Afghanistan.
“Having been a county extension agent, I’m particularly excited to hear that you are using those methods and that they are working,” she said.
The Kentucky Guard has proved instrumental in providing irrigation and education projects and the introduction of Women’s Empowerment programs throughout the regions of KYADT operation.
The delegation reported that bee-keeping provides Afghan war widows a means for making money and providing for their families. Holmes said Afghan women are delving into poultry thanks to the current KYADT2’s efforts, raising chickens and selling eggs to increase household income.
“There is hope for their future,” Holmes told the committee members. “Resistance to education is gradually fading away. The more mature generation is encouraging their daughters to take part in the training. They’re opening schools and we’re trying to help them.”
Peterson said the agribusiness mission is far from over, and Kentucky’s assistance to the Afghan agribusiness development will continue to flourish.
“We have a team there now and one preparing to depart. There will be two more teams to follow after that, so we’ll be there for another three years,” he said.
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By Capt. Andi Hahn, 149th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade Public Affairs Officer
Capt. John Rock, 617th Military Police Co. Commander and Assistant Principal of Thomas Jefferson Middle School, speaks at his school assembly during their Veterans Day appreciation.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – When Kentucky National Guard Capt. John Rock leads his Soldiers into Iraq in support of Operation New Dawn, the 617th Military Police Company commander will lead with the same high standards and discipline he leads with every day through the halls of Thomas Jefferson Middle School.
Leading a company of Soldiers is different than leading a thousand adolescents – Rock knows that. But the standards he sets as assistant principal and commander are the same: 100 percent accountability, accomplish the mission and keep morale high.
“Rock is the strongest member of our team,” said Danny Kanipe, Rock’s colleague. “He is strict yet extremely fair to students and has tremendous responsibility for our safety and general behavior of our students.”
Rock, a former history teacher and basketball coach, received orders numerous times during his seven-year career at TJMS for annual trainings or schooling. This is the first time in his nine-year military career he will deploy into a combat zone.
Capt. John Rock, 617th Military Police Co. Commander and Assistant Principal of Thomas Jefferson Middle School, talks with a student during lunch break. Rock is deploying to Iraq with the 149th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade this summer in support of Operation New Dawn.
“The only good thing that made this palpable,” said Kanipe, “is that I know how much he believes in his mission and what he’s doing for the Guard.”
Kanipe said he was shocked and saddened when he learned of Rock’s orders to deploy. Knowing the students would likely react the same way, Rock said he has kept his impending mobilization somewhat of a secret.
“I didn’t tell the kids because I’m the heavy hand around here,” Rock said. “In a way, I want them to always think I could be back the next minute or the next day.”
But with the 617th headquartered in Louisville, some of his students are already well aware that Rock will deploy – with their family members.
“Some of the kids have relatives deploying with the brigade and have asked questions,” Rock said. “But for the most part, I’m trying to slip out the door quietly.”
In order to exit with little attention or fanfare, Rock said he has prepared the staff at TJMS to run the school efficiently with a minimal impact to the students, the same way a Soldier teaches subordinates to carry on in the absence of leadership.
“I haven’t trained my staff right if I step out the door and things don’t continue to move forward,” he said. “I tell them ‘you know everything to do and you know how to do it.’
“I’m not nervous about being away from my job,” Rock said. “The staff at TJMS share and live a lot of the same values that the Army does. They are dedicated to their mission and making sacrifices to instill integrity and enhance education in the lives of the children.”
His dedication to education and the mentorship of his TJMS students will continue while he’s deployed. Rock said he’ll continue to get progress reports on one student in particular who comes from a rough home and has shown interest in the military.
“I told him each time he makes the honor roll, I will send him a letter from Iraq,” Rock said.
“The next report card came out he was on the honor roll,” he said. “I told him ‘great job,’ and he said ‘I get a letter from Iraq right?’ and I said ‘absolutely.’”
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Story by Sgt. A. Dale Elliott, Unit Public Affairs Representative, 75th Troop Command
Col. John Edwards, Jr., 75th Troop Command commander, receives the brigade guidon from Kentucky Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Edward W. Tonini, during a change of command ceremony in Richmond, Ky.
RICHMOND, Ky. – The Kentucky National Guard welcomed Col. John Edwards as commander of the 75th Troop Command during a ceremony Feb.6 at the Joint Operations Center in Richmond, Ky.
“I have learned a lot from my past commanders,” Edwards said. “Each person who I have served under has given me advice and guidance that brought me here today.”
A highly decorated Veteran with a 23-year career, Edwards will bring his experience as an engineer and chemical officer to the 75th with pride. He’s worked with junior leaders as a TAC officer at the 238th Regiment and commanded the 103rd Chemical Battalion in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005.
“I challenge him to elevate the 75th Troop Command to another level,” said Maj. Gen. Edward W. Tonini, adjutant general.
With his experience as a TAC Officer, Tonini urged Edwards to mentor and push young officers toward success.
“Think outside the box and develop our junior leaders,” he said. “Our junior leaders across Kentucky are the key to our future and I want you to personally focus on their development, assign mentors and push them with realistic and tough training.”
John Edwards Jr., receives the rank of colonel from Kentucky Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Edward W. Tonini, during a promotion ceremony Feb. 6 at the Joint Readiness Center in Richmond, Ky. Edwards accepted command of the 75th Troop Command immediately following the promotion ceremony during a change of command ceremony.
Edwards will attend the U.S. Army War College this summer. He assumed command from Col. Wayne Burd who is assigned as special projects officer for the Kentucky National Guard
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Permission and courtesy of Ledger Independent (story by Misty Maynard, Ledger Independent)
Purple Heart recipient Staff Sgt. Dennis LeFrancois , 2123rd Transportation Company, is back home safe with his wife Linda and granddaughter Tiffany after his deployment from Afghanistan. (photo courtesy of Ledger Independent)
ABERDEEN, Ohio — Dennis LeFrancois is a man of few words.
The two-time veteran of war recently returned from Afghanistan where he suffered injuries that earned him a Purple Heart, but ask him about why he served and all he can say is that it seemed the “right thing to do.”
Ask him about the difficulties of serving overseas, away from his family, and he will say that he missed them but that he believes the family has it harder, for soldiers bond with soldiers and have their work to keep them busy.
Ask LeFrancois about his injuries and he will tell you what happened - a rocket hit the “B huts” or living facilities of the soldiers — but he does not describe fear or panic or any other emotion.
Ask him how he’s doing now and he simply says, “I’m good.”
LeFrancois is a staff sergeant with the 299th Chemical Company of the Kentucky Army National Guard. His prior service overseas, from 2004-2005, took him to Iraq. He volunteered for the mission in Afghanistan, attaching himself to the 2123rd Transportation Company. During both years of his service overseas he served as a mechanic. The bulk of that information was provided by his wife of 21 years, Linda.
The friendly banter exchanged by husband and wife makes light of the service overseas. LeFrancois said his absence is a vacation for his wife, while she teased that now he is home she has to adjust to his snoring once again. When the tone turns serious, however, the truth comes out: he is glad to be home, and his wife is glad to have him there.
“I love having him home,” she said.
LeFrancois admitted it was difficult being away from home.
Staff Sgt. Dennis LeFrancois receives the Purple Heart Medal from Maj. Gen. John Campbell, 101st Airborne Division commander. (photo couresty of U.S. Army)
“Especially at the holidays,” Linda said. She described how, on holidays, they would talk and the family — including nine children and 15 grandchildren — would call their greetings over the phone. The family seems close-knit and when the couple’s 18-year-old grandchild, Tiffany Habershaw was asked about her grandfather’s service, it brought tears to her eyes. She said she worried while he was gone and is proud of him for his service.
Dennis and Linda typically were able to talk every few days while he was in Afghanistan. If more than a few days passed and some news came on the television about an incident in Afghanistan, Linda LeFrancois worried until they were able to talk again.
It was Dec. 30, that LeFrancois was injured. The rocket hit around 4:30 a.m., as he was making coffee. LeFrancois suffered injuries to his neck, arm and the side of his knee, but he was able to call his wife to tell her news of the injuries.
Linda said her phone call came at 1:30 a.m.
“He said, ‘you need to wake up, I have something to tell you,'” Linda said.
It was midnight on New Year’s Eve the next time she heard from her husband. He had undergone surgery and was recovering.
LeFrancois said he went back to work after the injury, completing the final two weeks of service with the unit before packing up to head home. He arrived home Friday.
“He’s one of the lucky ones,” she said.
LeFrancois spent the weekend relaxing and catching up with family, but the downtime won’t last long, his wife said.
“He’s what you might consider a workaholic,” she said. “He gets very fidgety if he can’t work.”
The company LeFrancois worked for prior to his deployment has closed, but he is optimistic he will find work quickly. Linda said he got a response from someone while he was overseas about an application he had put in and when the woman learned he was deployed, she said to have him call whenever he was home.
LeFrancois said he would consider volunteering to serve overseas again, however when it comes to military service he advises his children and grandchildren it’s not for everyone.
“It takes discipline,” he said.
“And dedication,” Linda added.
“And you got to believe what you are doing is right,” LeFrancois said.
You may view the original story at the below link:
http://www.maysville-online.com/news/local/article_46bbde1e-33d2-11e0-80d6-001cc4c002e0.html
