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Military families making Christmas work from miles away
Courtesy The State Journal http://state-journal.com/
Story by Kevin Wheatley
Amber Lynn, seen here with her 4-year-old daughter, Kamille, will spend Christmas without her husband, Austin, who is deployed to Kuwait with the Kentucky National Guard. The family relies on Skype to stay in touch. (Dylan Buell/[email protected])
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Christmas is a time most spend with family and friends, but sharing the holiday can be difficult when loved ones in the military are on foreign soil thousands of miles from home.
Some in the Kentucky National Guard’s 2nd Battalion 238th Aviation Medical Evacuation unit have been in Kuwait since July, participating in a 9-month tour of evacuation and training missions.
Two of those deployed soldiers, Sgt. First Class Nathan Keach and Sgt. Austin Lynn, left behind wives and children at opposite ends of the spectrum: Keach, a veteran of the Gulf War, and his family are accustomed to being apart during the holidays; Lynn is missing his first Christmas with his wife and children, not to mention his one-year wedding anniversary.
Amber Lynn talks about her experience adjusting after the deployment of her husband, Austin. (Dylan Buell/[email protected])
Amber Lynn, Austin Lynn’s wife, said she’s had to adjust. Her husband hasn’t been there to help with things such as decorating the house, assembling Christmas toys for her son and daughter and storing patio furniture when fall turned to winter.His commander, Col. Brian Abney, came over during his lunch break one recent day to help Lynn set up her daughter’s Christmas present, a pink Barbie convertible.
“He misses a lot being gone,” Lynn said. “We had our first Christmas together being married because we got married a week before Christmas, but this is like our big first Christmas really together with the kids and all the family and all that stuff, and him being gone, it kind of sucks.”
Lynn, who works in the emergency room at the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center and is studying for a paramedic board certification, does her part to keep her husband involved — not only for the holidays, but also the family’s day-to-day happenings.
Andrew Keach, 13, milks one of his goats while doing evening chores at his family’s farm. (Hannah Reel/[email protected])
She plans to email him photos of the children opening their gifts Christmas morning and has sent him pictures of her 6-year-old son, Kannon, on his birthday and of her 4-year-old daughter, Kamille, at a school pageant.The two speak regularly on Skype, an online voice and video chat system. Lynn said the Skype application on her smartphone stays open so her husband can call at anytime, though it took him some time to get used to the eight-hour time difference.
Kamille had a difficult time adjusting to her stepfather’s deployment, Lynn said. His white truck sits in the family’s driveway, and she often asked his whereabouts when she saw it, Lynn said.
“She gets really upset at night, and she cries herself to sleep sometimes,” Lynn said. “If she’s sick or if she’s upset about something, normally she would have everything to do with me, but because he’s gone and he’s been gone so long now to her, she wants nothing to do with me and she just wants him.
“Sometimes in the middle of the night we have to call him on Skype or have to wake him up and she’ll have to talk to him so she’ll be able to go back to sleep.”
Andrew Keach, 13, pets the barn cat while taking a break from feeding the goats on his family’s farm. (Hannah Reel/[email protected])
The adjustment isn’t as stark for Amy Keach and her teenage sons, Matthew, 17, and Andrew, 13. This Christmas marks her husband’s third deployment since 2009 after a 10-year career on active duty.Having two able-bodied sons helps ease the workload at the family’s nearly 7-acre farm on the Franklin-Shelby county line, where they raise goats, chickens, cows, horses and pigs.
“The kids are a big help when he’s gone,” Keach said. “I don’t know what I’ll do when they leave.”
The fact that Nathan Keach volunteered for the mission to help pay for the family’s “goat mobile” — a white Ford cargo van they use to haul dairy goats to the state fair, county fairs and goat shows — may dampen the pangs of separation, but Amy Keach still keeps a part of her husband near her heart: The dog tags he wore during basic training hang from a necklace she wears while he’s deployed.
“It just keeps him close to me, makes me remember,” Keach said.
She, too, communicates with her husband through Skype, a much better alternative to the hand-written letters they mailed back-and-forth during the Gulf War.
Amy Keach feeds a goat a peppermint after milking her. (Hannah Reel/[email protected])
The two families are prepared to celebrate Christmas, and the deployed soldiers have helped coordinate buying gifts for their children and stepchildren. The wives have already sent their Christmas gifts to the Middle East: baked goods and things to stay entertained for Nathan Keach, and razor cartridges, Xbox games and T-shirts for Austin Lynn.Both said the Kentucky National Guard’s family resource group offers a vital support network for those with loved ones overseas.During this deployment, the group has made neck pillows, ornaments and Christmas stockings for the troops. Amber Lynn began collecting coupons, eventually sending a load of soap, deodorant and other toiletries to the soldiers in Kuwait.
“For his colonel to come over and put together that Barbie car on his lunch break, that was awesome for him to do that because even though it’s got directions with it, I couldn’t tell you how to use a screwdriver to get the stuff in there,” Lynn said. “It would’ve ended up on backwards.”
Staff Report
UK President Dr. Eli Capilouto and Maj. Gen. Edward W. Tonini, Adjutant General for Kentucky, sign a memorandum of Understanding for a unique partnership between the University and the Kentucky National Guard in the Lexmark Room on UK’s campus, in Lexington, Ky. Dec. 18, 2013. (US Army National Guard photo by Capt. Stephen Martin, Kentucky National Guard Public Affairs)
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 18, 2013) – University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto and Major General Ed Tonini, Adjutant General for the Kentucky, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding outlining a framework for a wide range of collaborative projects.
To view all photos from this event, please click HERE.
“The National Guard has a unique dual mission, with both federal and state assignments,” Tonini said. “This partnership with the University of Kentucky will help our citizen-soldiers fulfill all their responsibilities to their fellow countrymen, whether responding to natural disasters here at home or on federal missions abroad.”
While many of the specifics for collaborations are still under development, initial efforts will focus on providing guardsmen with resources in job training, behavioral health, and leadership skill development. UK will also explore the possibility of creating more flexibility in education programs that would accommodate the diverse needs of Soldiers and their families. Additional collaborations are being discussed in areas such as leadership exchange, information sharing, medical research and athletics.
Capilouto hailed the partnership as a significant opportunity to strengthen each institution for the benefit of the Commonwealth.
“These initiatives will benefit both institutions, but ultimately all Kentuckians are the winners,” Capilouto said. “The University of Kentucky and the National Guard each serve this state in different ways, but with notable overlap in some areas. Sharing ideas, skills and resources with one another will make both institutions stronger, smarter, and therefore more agile in delivering our services to the people of Kentucky.”
As an example, Capilouto cited a new initiative that will allow Kentucky National Guard medics to shadow staff in the UK Chandler Hospital Emergency Department. This project will further refine the state’s emergency preparedness skills and could be one of the first such initiatives of its kind in the country.
Dr. Roger Humphries, chair of the UK Department of Emergency Medicine, said huge potential for performance improvement exists in the shadowing project. “As the region’s only Level 1 Trauma Center, our staff has a great deal of experience handling complex, life-threatening injuries,” Humphries said. “This collaboration will expose our guardsmen to triage and treatment of traumatic injury patients so that they are better prepared when they face these injuries on the battlefield.”
Capilouto emphasized UK’s tradition of partnerships with the armed forces and likened the Kentucky National Guard MOU to the master alliances the university has signed with Kentucky businesses and industries.
“Kentucky is a safer place under the support rendered by the Kentucky National Guard and the University of Kentucky is honored to bolster that mission and play a mutually beneficial role in extending the long history both institutions have in serving Kentucky,” Capilouto said.
Story by Capt. Stephen Martin, Kentucky National Guard Public Affairs
Chief Warrant Officer Leah Pedicone graduated Warrant Officer Candidate School from in February 2013 at Fort Rucker, Ala. (U.S. Army National Guard Photo submitted by CW2 Pedicone)
FRANKFORT, Ky. – In a time where the government and the military are seemingly “drawing down,” one sector is seeing immense growth.
Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. has graduated several of the first Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Warrant Officers in the nation – creating a new position to fill the gap.
To see all photos for this story, please click HERE.
The Kentucky National Guard is fortunate to have graduated one of those officers, Warrant Officer Leah Pedicone. She is also the first female Chemical Warrant Officer in the National Guard Bureau and with her promotion to Chief Warrant Officer, is the senior-ranking female chemical warrant in the entire Army.
“I aspire to accomplish great things, and to be able to affect change for the better,” said Pedicone. “As an officer, I will have the unique opportunity to be able to educate and influence more Soldiers on a larger scale than I have been able to do before.”
A native of Anaheim, Ca., Pedicone joined the active duty Army in 1997 as a Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Specialist. After serving out her required term of enlistment, she transferred to the Kentucky National Guard and deployed to Afghanistan and Uzbekistan in 2003 with the 1163rd Medical Co. out of Shelbyville, Ky.
Through three deployments and providing relief support to Hurricane Katrina, Pedicone was ready to take this next step in her career.
“It’s an honor and a privilege to be a part of such an elite group and is not for the faint of heart,” commented Pedicone. “If you have the drive to leave the Army with a legacy and where you can give back as much as been given to you, then you need to take the next step.”
In August, along with Chief Warrant Officer Tim Smith, Pedicone graduated as a CBRN Warrant Officer in the Kentucky National Guard.
Chief Warrant Officer Leah Pedicone deployed with the 198th Military Police Battalion to Iraq in 2010 as the Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge. (U.S. Army National Guard Photo submitted by CW2 Pedicone).
This was a process that started well before her third deployment, this time with the 149th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade in 2010 to participate in the historic drawdown of Operation Iraqi Freedom.Pedicone is currently assigned to the 103rd Chemical Battalion as the CBRN Warrant Officer for the KY CBRN Enhanced Response Force Package or CERFP.
The units mission is to provide immediate response to support ‘incident site search capability’, rescuing trapped casualties, providing decontamination and performing medical triage. They’re primarily a state-side support unit and Pedicone is providing much needed experience in this critical role.
“Leah is a trailblazer in the Army chemical community,” said Lt. Col. Lance Grebe, commander of the 103rd Chemical Battalion. “The spotlight will be on her in this position and she will represent our organization and our mission phenomenally.”
Pedicone says she would be remiss without thanking the leaders that invested in her in the 198th Military Police Battalion, the 149th MEB, the 103rd Chemical Battalion and the Warrant Officer Community for recommending her to be a warrant officer, even with them knowing it would mean losing a senior leader in the unit.
“It took a deployment, an injury, tears, sweat, humbling setbacks and lots of prayers and faith to get me to this point,” said Pedicone. “I’m in awe that I get to have this opportunity.”
Photos by Maj. Dale Greer, 123rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
Cadets from Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps Detachment 295 tour the Kentucky Air National Guard Base in Louisville, Ky., Nov. 19, 2013. More than 30 cadets visited aircraft maintenance operations at the 123rd Airlift Wing and viewed a C-130 Hercules static display. AFROTC Detachment 295 is based at the University of Louisville. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Maj. Dale Greer)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Cadets from Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps Detachment 295 toured the Kentucky Air National Guard Base in Louisville, Ky., Nov. 19, 2013. More than 30 cadets visited aircraft maintenance operations at the 123rd Airlift Wing and viewed a C-130 Hercules static display. AFROTC Detachment 295 is based at the University of Louisville.
Tech. Sgt. Chuck Rodgers, an engine mechanic from the 123rd Maintenance Squadron, demonstrates the operation of a C-130 turboprop valve housing to a group of U.S. Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets from the University of Louisville during a tour of the Kentucky Air National Guard Base in Louisville, Ky., Nov. 19, 2013. Valve housings vary the pitch of aircraft propeller blades based on throttle input, controlling whether an aircraft moves forward or backward. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Maj. Dale Greer)
Tech. Sgt. Chuck Rodgers, an engine mechanic from the 123rd Maintenance Squadron, discusses C-130 propulsion systems with U.S. Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps Cadet 3rd Class Trevor Johnson during a tour of the Kentucky Air National Guard Base in Louisville, Ky., Nov. 19, 2013. Johnson is assigned to Detachment 295, which is based at the University of Louisville. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Maj. Dale Greer)
Capt. Josh Ketterer, a C-130 Hercules pilot from 165th Airlift Squadron, talks about principles of flight with U.S. Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets during a tour of the Kentucky Air National Guard Base in Louisville, Ky., Nov. 19, 2013. The cadets are assigned to Detachment 295, which is based at the University of Louisville. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Maj. Dale Greer)
Program will provide gifts for 454 kids in 168 families
Story courtesy The State Journal http://state-journal.com/
By Kevin Wheatley, Published: December 18, 2013
Linda Jones, left, Brooks O’Neal and Cindy Culver pick out gifts for a family with three boys. (Dylan Buell/[email protected])
(Editor’s note: This story has updated numbers of children and families supported by the program)
FRANKFORT, Ky. — A sign outside a room at the Boone National Guard Center stocked with toys intended for underprivileged military families lets visitors know they’re stepping into the North Pole.
The nondescript room might as well be Santa’s workshop during the holidays as Kentucky National Guard staff sort through gifts, some of which will be the only presents nestled beneath the tree on Christmas morning.
Click here for more photos of Operation Military Cheer.
Books O’Neal, 6, puts a skateboard into a bag that has gifts for a military family with three boys. (Dylan Buell/[email protected])
Called Operation Military Cheer, the program’s cache of toys - everything from board games to Barbie dolls to Legos to bicycles - has dwindled in recent days because the distribution of gifts has begun.
Essentials, such as grocery gift cards and infant food, are also provided through
Operation Military Cheer.
This year the holiday program will provide gifts for 454 Kentucky children, whose parents serve in all branches of military services. That’s one more child than last year, but organizers expect additional requests for assistance will come as late as Christmas Eve.
“That’s our payoff in the end, is knowing that the National Guard’s made a difference,” said Cindy Culver, lead organizer for Operation Military Cheer. “I’d like to be a fly on the wall on some of these Christmas mornings. These kids come around the corner, they’ve had bicycles in front of the tree and probably may not have had anything if it wasn’t for this program.”
The program has grown considerably since Culver’s first involvement in 2007, when her husband, Maj. Tim Culver, was deployed on a training mission to Africa. Fewer than 100 children had registered that year, Cindy Culver said, noting participation has risen every year since.
Pfc. Joe Lovely carries bags containing gifts to a van for distribution. (Dylan Buell/[email protected])
Families seeking assistance are typically steered to the program through a military point of contact, usually a first sergeant, said Linda Jones, another Operation Military Cheer coordinator. Once approved, the family will usually submit a Christmas list for their children by Black Friday, and then collect a garbage bag filled with unwrapped toys either at the Boone National Guard Center or the nearest armory.Those moments tend to be emotional, Culver and Jones said. A number of active duty and reserve military families struggle through the holidays, either with spouses serving overseas or trouble finding steady work or some other hardship, so any assistance is met with the utmost gratitude. Those involved in the program, more often than not, reciprocate the feelings.
Culver recalled one military wife who requested help in 2008. Her husband had been deployed overseas, and the holidays had stretched the family’s finances thin. “She had two little girls, and her goal was to have them riding bicycles by the time her husband came home from deployment,” Culver said. “I hooked them up with two bicycles, and she sent me a video . of one of the girls riding down the sidewalk meeting dad at the end in a military uniform.
Pfc. Brittni Sherman, left, and Pfc. Joe Lovely put bags of gifts into a van Wednesday morning. The van will make stops at National Guard bases in Lexington, Richmond and London, and the gifts will then be distributed to military families in the area. (Dylan Buell/[email protected])
“I had to close down my computer, and I took a walk around the pond, and I cried the whole way around the pond.”
Anyone can “adopt” a military family through Operation Military Cheer by calling the program’s toll-free phone line at 800-372-7601 or on the Kentucky National Guard’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/KentuckyGuard.
Any extra toys collected for the program go to the Galilean Children’s Home in Liberty,
Culver said.
The nonprofit Home Builders Association of Lexington is a large donor, she said. The Kentucky National Guard partnered with the organization earlier this month for a toy drive.
The Lexington-Bluegrass Association of Realtors and the Disabled American Veterans are also contributors, Culver said, and Operation Homefront provides dollar-store toys at the program’s Christmas dinners at each of the 15 armories where gifts are delivered.
“You can’t be up here working and be a Grinch,” said Kentucky National Guard spokesman David Altom, who once helped coordinate Operation Military Cheer. “It wears on you. Your
heart’ll grow three sizes.”
Santa Claus reviews his flight plan for his annual Christmas Eve trek across the globe in the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command Current Operations Center at the NORAD and Northcom headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., Sept. 26, 2013. U.S. Air Force photo by Michael Kucharek
By: Terri Moon Cronk, American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON (Dec. 19, 2013) — On Christmas Eve, tens of thousands of children around the globe will gather around their family telephones and computers to track the path of Santa Claus as he makes his rounds delivering gifts on his sleigh led by tiny reindeer.Official NORAD Santa Tracker: http://www.noradsanta.org/
On the receiving end of the emails, phone calls, mobile “NORAD Santa” applications, website trackers, Facebook followers, Tweets and other social media inquiries into Santa’s journey will stand a cadre of 1,250 volunteers to field children’s questions at the North American Aerospace Defense Command at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo. NORAD has conducted the Santa tracking program for 58 years, said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Bill Lewis, a NORAD spokesman.
“The program has its own life,” Lewis said of the “NORAD Tracks Santa” mass appeal that’s often handed down in families from generation to generation. The program’s website offers games and other activities for children until Dec. 24 when the tracking Santa tracking map goes live, he said.
When the website goes live, other tracking methods via satellite, ground-based radar and “fighter jets” also spring to life, Lewis said. Sirius radio will also give a live-feed rundown of Santa’s journey, he added.
Children ranging in age from 4 years old to early teens contact the “NORAD Tracks Santa” call center at 877-446-6723, Lewis said. Typically, the younger ones want to know when Santa will arrive at their houses, where he is at that moment, and what kinds of gifts he has in his sleigh.
Sometimes children want to know how Santa can deliver presents around the world so quickly.
“Santa travels at the speed of starlight,” Lewis said. “And he’s got the ability to circumnavigate the globe and do his mission with the speed and accuracy that nobody’s ever seen.”
NORAD routinely performs aerospace warning and aerospace control missions 365 days a year, and that’s where the “fighter jets” come into play when Santa approaches his first stops in the Northeastern Canadian provinces, Lewis explained. From there, he goes around North America, then north to south and back and forth along the poles, making deliveries as he goes across each of the time zones, he said.
“[Canada] has the ‘pilots’ this year who will take on the ‘fighter jet’ mission, and as Santa makes his approach into North America, [the ‘jets’] go up, make sure it’s him, verify it on the flight plan that he gave us and let him go on his way,” Lewis said.
As Santa makes his rounds, the call center volunteers tell the children they must be asleep between 10 p.m. and midnight before Santa can bring their presents.
“A lot of times when we tell the children what time it is they say, ‘That’s really close to now!’ and you’ll hear the phone just drop as they run off to bed,” Lewis said.
The military and civilian volunteers work in two-hour shifts from 3 a.m., Mountain Standard Time Dec. 24 to 3 a.m. Christmas day, he said. Responses are available in eight languages — English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese and Chinese.
“In just the call center alone, volunteers do anything from social media posting, pushing out tweets all night, posting on our Facebook page, and answering phones — which is the largest percentage of [the shift] — and they answer emails,” Lewis said.
During Christmas in 2012, more than 1,250 volunteers in the “NORAD Tracks Santa” call center fielded about 114,000 calls and nearly 11,000 emails from children, NORAD figures show.
The website had 22.3 million visitors from 235 countries and territories across the globe during December, and the program’s Facebook page grew to more than 1.2 million followers.
More than 129,000 people also tweeted about Santa’s journey on Twitter, and cell phones downloaded 1.5 million applications. Altogether, 25 million people around the world followed Santa’s journey in real-time on the web, on their mobile devices, by e-mail and by phone in 2012.
The program began in 1955 when a local newspaper ad directed children to call Santa directly, but the number was a misprint. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone rang through to the crew commander on duty at the Continental Air Defense Operations Center. Since 1958, Lewis said, NORAD has carried on the tradition.
The program is paid for by 55 corporate contributors, Lewis said.
“We have people calling all the time to help,” he said. “We just could not do this without the volunteers.”
The volunteers sign up for “NORAD Tracks Santa” for a good reason, Lewis said.
“It’s the joy of the season in your heart,” he said. “When you get the first few phone calls from these kids and hear the innocence in their voices … if you step back and take it all in, it’s incredible.”
You can view the original article HERE.
Photos by Alli Burton, Kentucky National Guard Family Programs
Click here for more photos.
Cadet Swakhila Fishback receives her diploma during a graduation ceremony for the cadets of the Appalachian Challenge Academy in Harlan, Ky., Dec. 14, 2013. (Kentucky National Guard photo by Alli Burton)
HARLAN, Ky. — The Kentucky National Guard’s Youth Challenge program reached new heights with the graduation of Appalachian Challenge Academy’s Class 3 on December 14, 2013. The academy is in its second year of operation and already the program is making a huge difference in the lives of Kentucky’s teenagers.
“I am very proud of the accomplishments of each Class 3 graduate,” said Josh Coldiron, ACA director. “This was our most successful class to date. Collectively, cadets earned 223 high school credits, which is a new class record at Appalachian ChalleNGe. Nineteen cadets earned their GED, and the class completed 3,072 hours of community service.”
A large crowd fills the auditorium at Harlan County High School in Harlan, Ky., for the graduation ceremony of cadets from the Appalachian Challenge Academy, Dec. 14, 2013. (Kentucky National Guard photo by Alli Burton)
Jointly funded between the federal government and the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and sponsored by the Kentucky National Guard, the Youth ChalleNGe program is designed to help youth, ages 16-18, get a jump start on life. The 22-week curriculum covers extensive academic studies geared toward completing a high school diploma as well as physical fitness, leadership and community awareness projects.
The program has been around for nearly 20 years. More than 100,000 cadets have graduated from the program nation-wide.
Coldiron said 16 cadets from ACA Class 3 completed GEN 140 - Development of Leadership, offered through Southeast Community and Technical College, earning one college credit hour. Sevent-three of the cadets were certified in first aid and completed KHP 190 - First Aid and Emergency Care, offered through Southeast Community and Technical College Workforce Development Program, each receiving one college credit hour.
“Life doesn’t stop after graduation from the academy,” said Coldiron. “We have 32 cadets returning to high school to get their diplomas, while the rest are either joining the workforce, attending Job Corp, joining the military, or pursuing college or vocational and technical education.”
“We’re really proud of all the things our cadets accomplished this year,” he said. “We’re already looking forward to continued success with the next class.”
The Kentucky National Guard Youth ChalleNGe academies are currently recruiting for a January 12, 2014 deadline.
To find out more about the Appalachian ChalleNGe Academy in Harlan call 1-855-596-4927 or email [email protected]
To find out more about the Bluegrass ChalleNGe Academy at Fort Knox call 1-877-599-6884 or email [email protected]
Appalachian Challenge Academy Director Josh Coldiron congratulates a cadet during the academy’s class graduation in Harlan, Ky., Dec. 14, 2013. (Kentucky National Guard photo by Alli Burton)
Dan Smoot, President of Operation UNITE speaks to cadets at the Appalachian Challenge Academy during a graduation ceremony in Harlan, Ky., Dec. 14, 2013. (Kentucky National Guard photo by Alli Burton)
Story by Staff Sgt. Scott Raymond, Kentucky National Guard Public Affairs
Sgt. Rugger Tincher of the 149th Vertical Construction Company greets his family during a welcome home ceremony for the unit in Lexington, Ky., Dec. 22, 2013. Tincher’s youngest son, Ryan, was born during the unit’s deployment to Afghanistan. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Scott Raymond)
LEXINGTON, Ky. — “This is probably the best gift we could ask for at Christmas,” said Sarah Tincher, wife of Sgt. Rugger Tincher, as she waited patiently outside Alltech Arena in Lexington, Ky. for her husband and father of two.
Just in time for the holidays, the Kentucky National Guard held a welcome home ceremony for the Soldiers of the 149th Vertical Construction Company at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky., Dec. 22, 2013. The Soldiers are home from deployment after spending nearly a year in Afghanistan.
“We are all so excited to have daddy back home, especially for the holidays,” Sarah said with 3-year-old son Colton by her side and 6-month-old Ryan in her arms. The Tinchers said they are happy to begin getting used to their family of four during the holiday season.
To see more photos of the welcome home, click here.
Maj. Gen. Edward W. Tonini, adjutant general for Kentucky speaks during a welcome home ceremony for the Soldiers of the 149th Vertical Construction Company at Alltech Arena in Lexington, Ky., Dec. 22, 2013. Tonini complimented the unit on a successful mission, calling combat engineers a “rare breed” of Soldier, but a group all of Kentucky is proud of. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Scott Raymond)
The combat engineers of the 149th from Cynthiana and Olive Hill, Ky., spent their time in Afghanistan doing what they do best, construction. But the unit was called upon for a variety of assignments to assist Active Duty units in theater.
“I couldn’t put into words our experiences in Afghanistan over the last 10 months,” commented Capt. Adam Evans, commander of the 149th VCC. “I can tell you though that there’s not enough time in the day to list all of our accomplishments. The only way to communicate what we acheived is to say that, I have absolutely commanded the finest Soldiers in the U.S. Military who stood up to every challenge we received.”
The Soldiers built tactical operation centers, medical facilities, dining facilities and living quarters for NATO troops. They performed more than 200 work orders for various forward operating bases throughout the country. The 149th was also asked to assist in the training of Afghan construction workers and conducted several convoy security missions.
Said Evans of the deployment, “One day we’ll all look back and marvel at the impact we had at helping to reshape a country such as Afghanistan.”
Since 9/11, nearly 16,000 Kentucky National Guard Soldiers and Airmen have mobilized in support of the Global War on Terror.
Photos by Staff Sgt. Scott Raymond, Kentucky National Guard Public Affairs
Department of Military Affairs Executive Director Mike Jones accepts a donation from Staff Sgt. Nicholas Anglin at the Boone National Guard Center in Frankfort, Ky., Dec. 12, 2013. The annual food drive collected more than 3,300 pounds of non-perishable foods for local food pantries. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Scott Raymond)
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Every Christmas season, the Kentucky National Guard holds a food drive at the Boone National Guard Center in Frankfort, Ky. While the staff of the Kentucky Guard’s Family Assistance Program accepts donations throughout the season, the main drive occurred at the front gates of the post Dec. 12, 2013. More than 3,300 pounds of non-perishable foods were collected along with $730 in cash donations.
Members of the Kentucky Guard’s command staff joined other Soldiers, Airmen and employees of Boone Center to greet everyone at the gate and collect the donations. Kristin Arnett is a Family Assistance Specialist and said its days like these that make her love her job and those around her.
“We have a great bunch of people that work on Boone Center, and their donations proved it this morning,” she said. “The outpour of their generosity warms my heart.”
To see more photos from the food drive, click here.
Maj. Bryan Combs, director of the Kentucky National Guard’s Family Programs unloads food donations from a Soldier’s car in Frankfort, Ky., Dec. 12, 2013. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Scott Raymond)
Despite the extremely cold morning, the front gate was packed with collection volunteers more than happy to lend a hand to the drive. Brig Gen. Benjamin Adams III, Chief of the Joint Staff also took the time to stand in the elements and help accept donations.
“The success of this food drive shows how our military and civilian employees continue to put the interests of others above their own,” said Adams. “We ask so much of them in both wartime and in peace, but when the time comes they get into the holiday spirit and really come through. That’s what the Kentucky Guard is all about!”
Retired 1st Sgt. Joan Kivior and Sgt. 1st Class Paul Hunt load food donations into the back of a truck in Frankfort, Ky., Dec. 12, 2013. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Scott Raymond)
Family Programs delivered the donations to local food pantries later that morning. Locations receiving the items included: Open Hands Community Food Pantry, Coalition of Committed Christians Soup Kitchen, Simon House and Camp Pleasant Food Pantry.
Maj. Bryan Combs, director of Family Programs said this year’s donations were down from previous years because of there only being one food drive. Family Programs conducted a drive prior to Thanksgiving also in 2011 and 2012. He hopes to do more soon.
“In speaking with the food pantries, this is a critical time of year for them because they receive little assistance (after the holidays) through the summer and their food banks are running low,” he said.
Volunteers for the Kentucky Guard’s annual food drive gather for a group photo at the front gate of Boone National Guard Center in Frankfort, Ky., Dec. 12, 2013. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Scott Raymond)
Below is a list of previous years’ totals, including pounds of food and cash donations.
2010 TOTALS: 1800lbs and $1843
2011 TOTALS: 4172lbs and $1562
2012 TOTALS: 3500lbs and $1203
2013 TOTALS: 3300lbs and $730
Story by Staff Sgt. Vicky Spesard, 123rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
Col. Robert Hamm (left), commander of the 123rd Operations Group, presents the guidon of the 123rd Special Tactics Squadron to Maj. Sean McLane, the unit’s new commander, during a change-of-command ceremony held at the Kentucky Air National Guard Base in Louisville, Ky., Nov. 24, 2013. The passing of the guidon is a time-honored tradition signifying change of leadership. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Vicky Spesard)
KENTUCKY AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Maj. Sean McLane assumed command of the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Special Tactics Squadron during a change-of-command ceremony here Nov. 24.
He replaces Lt. Col. Jeffrey Wilkinson, who now serves as deputy air commander of the squadron’s parent organization, the 123rd Airlift Wing.
McLane began his Air Force career in 1993 as an enlisted tactical air controller before being commissioned as a distinguished graduate of the Air National Guard Academy of Military Science in 2002. He most recently served as director of operations for the 123rd Special Tactics Squadron and brings many years of experience to his new role.
“Having been the lowest enlisted member of the squadron, you get to see how all of the leadership’s decisions affect you,” McLane said during the ceremony. “I don’t want to be disconnected from that Airman. When that extra workload or difficulty comes to him, I want to know how he is affected.
“If I can’t change the outcome of how it affects him, I can explain to him why it has to be that way,” he continued. “What I really want is for people to understand why they are doing what they are doing and how it affects the mission.”
McLane first came to the Kentucky Air National Guard in 1996 when the special tactics unit was a flight of about 24 members. He earned his combat control beret in 1997, maintaining full combat mission-ready status as a traditional Guardsman while attending college and, eventually, teaching high school math, science and history. His military career includes assignments as a special tactics squadron flight commander and weapons and tactics officer.
“I have known Major McLane since he was an NCO, and I had a lot of respect for him then,” said Chief Master Sgt. Tom DeSchane, the squadron’s combat control enlisted manager. “He has vision and he likes to have as much input as he can before he makes decisions. I think that’s what is going to make him a successful commander for the STS.”
Now staffed with more than 80 personnel, the squadron provides a rapidly deployable force to establish positive control of the air-ground interface, battlefield trauma care, terminal attack control, personnel recovery and air/ground meteorological effects forecasting in support of overseas contingency operations and domestic disasters.
“I want people to be proud of the job that they are doing, proud of their squadron and proud to be a member of it,” McLane emphasized. “If they have the proud ownership of their position, they are going to do their job better.”
Mission readiness is another top priority. McLane has deployed numerous times in support of military contingency and combat operations, including Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom; multiple Joint Chiefs of Staff-directed exercises; and civil natural-disaster response operations and state exercises.
“I’m not interested in fighting the last war,” he told the audience. “I’m interested in fighting the next one. I’m not interested in preparing for the last natural disaster we have faced. I am very concerned with being ready to respond to all of them.”
“When you look at the mission of special tactics, our federal and state mission, where they overlap is what we are going to train to and what we are going to be good at. If we do that, we will be ready for the future war and be ready for what the state needs us to do.”
