RedstoneRocket www.theredstonerocket.com June 2, 2021 Vol. 70 No. 22 PUBLISHEDINTHE INTERESTOFPERSONNEL AT REDSTONE ARSENAL, AL Re dstone celebrates Army’sbirthday, heritageinJune
By JO ANITA MILEY Garrison Public Affairs
In June,ArmyHeritage Month, this nation pauses to thank and honor all those whohaveserved in the Army over the past 246 years.They had the courage to staythe course and work together as one team in support of our nation. In May2019, the secretary of the Army MILITARY approved Army Directive 2019-20 imple- Aviation demonstration menting Army Heritage Month into the advances technology. Army’s equal opportunity program. The PAGE 5 directive waseffective immediatelyand applies to the active Army,National Guardand Reserve. It established June as Army Heritage Month, centered around the Army birthdayonJune 14. The Army wasfounded on this date in 1775 when the Continental Congress authorized the en- listment of expert riflemen to serveinthe American Continental Army. FlagDay is also celebrated on June 14 to honor the U.S. flag and to commemo- rate the flag’s adoption. Army Material Command’sEqual Opportunity Adviser Fi le photo by BryanBacon COMMUNITY and ProgramManager,Master Sgt. Elai- In June 2019 Redstone Arsenal celebrated the Army’s 244th birthday. Cutting the Memorial Dayreminder of na Paxton, said honoring the Soldiers cake, from left, are then Col. KelseySmith, WorldWar II veteran Harold McMurran sacrifices made forfreedom. whohad the couragetoconfront agony, and Command Sgt. Maj. Billy Counts. PAGE 31 danger and uncertainty,especiallyinbat- Army Birthdaycelebration at the Red- allows us to sharethe history of Soldiers tle to serveour nation, is keytocelebrat- stone Gateway, near Gate 9, from 5-9 p.m. past and present as aconstant reminder ing Army Heritage Month. The family-friendlyevent will featurea thatweappreciate our Army and our Sol- “We’ve always celebrated the Army’s “Cruise-In” CarShow, food trucks,craft diers from the Army’s establishment in FEDERAL birthdayinJune.However,this is onlythe vendors, fireworksand aglowstick fun 1775 to present times. Marshall thirdyear since Army Heritage Month run/walk around the Gateway. It honors “The Army has allowedmetoexperi- research team wasadded to the Army’s military Equal the commitment of service members and ence some greatand challenging aspects Opportunity Programcalendar of obser- soars celebrates the Army’s time-honored tradi- of life while serving forthe past 28 years. to success in vances,” she said. “Commanders of Army tions and heritage. As anoncommissioned officer,Irealize commands,Armyservice component microgravity. Redstone Senior Commander Lt. Gen. thatIam amember of atime honored commands,and direct reporting units Donnie Walker will open the event with PAGE 37 will observeand conduct Army heritage corps,which is known as ‘the backbone remarks and participate in acake-cutting of the Army.’ Serving our nation as aSol- and birthdayactivities during the month ceremonywith Garrison Commander to recognizethe service and sacrifices of Col. Glenn Mellor. dier affordsmethe ability to give back a adiverse Army and ourlong history of Garrison Command Sgt. Maj. Juan small fraction of what this greatcountry defending the nation and our national Jimenez has been involved in planning has givennot onlytome, butmyfamily SPORTS interests.Severalevents and activities will the Army birthdaycelebration along with as well. Irealized thatfreedom is not free Burgess paces takeplace on Redstone to highlight Army others in the Garrison. while growing up listening to my dadand graypast Heritage Month.” “It is very important to celebratethe uncles’ challenging stories of their time royalblue. The Army birthdaycelebration is the U.S. Army’s heritage in order to continue serving in the Army at various locations, PAGE 39 keyevent to celebrateArmyHeritage to educate our current and futuregenera- moreoverVietnam. As akid Ialwaysfelt Month. tions of Americans about the Army’s rich likeIwanted to do moreand joining the On Saturday, June 12 the Garrison’s historyofmen and women whohavelaid Army gave me thatopportunity.” directorateofFamilyand Morale,Wel- the path to freedom thatwesoenjoyas Formoreinformation about Army fareand Recreation will hold the 246th citizens in the U.S.,” Jimenez said. “This HeritageM onth, call 450-6575. 2 Redstone Rocket June 2, 2021 Redstone Arsenal: Federal Center of Excellence RocketViews Acting secretaryofArmy Crimes, accidents &other occurrences The DirectorateofEmergency Services, Sheriff’sDepartment to takethe Soldier into LawEnforcement Division, provided the fol- custodyfor return to military control. The sends messagetothe force lowing list of reported incidents May16-22: Soldier waslater placed on aflight departing May19: ARedstone traffic accident inves- Huntsville International Airport to arrive at Iw ant youtoknowthatIhaveanunceasing admiration foryour remarkablesense of tigator stopped aspeeding vehicle on Ride- Lawton Air Field to be taken into custodyby duty and devotion –thank you. It has been my highest honor to servealongside you. Having out Road. The National Crime Information the Fort Sill Military Police. served in manycapacities both in and out of uniformfor over three decades,starting out as a Center revealed the driverhad awarrant with May21: Atwo-vehicle accident occurred young Ranger private to most recentlyasthe acting secretary,ithas been an utter privilege. Decatur Police Department fordomestic vio- Ihavecontinued to be amazed, impressed, and humbled by the state of the Army and at the intersection of Martin Road and Dodd lence thirddegree.Decatur police confirmed Road. Traveling north on DoddRoad, ve- with the professionalism, capabilities and hardworkofour Soldiers and leaders.Our Army the warrant and requested extradition. The is strong. We areready. We aremodernizing. We aredeployedsupporting and defending hicle 1entered the path of vehicle 2which driverwas apprehended and shortlyafter- waseastbound on Martin. It wasdetermined our nation. It is your deep commitment to preserving and defending our Constitution that ward remanded into the custodyofaDeca- makes our Army what it is today. Abedrock of the Army’s long history is continual forward tur police officer.The vehicle wassecured on the driverofvehicle 1failed to yield to traffic progress,renewedbytransition and guided by dedicated leaders.AsIstep away,knowthatI scene forfutureremoval. beforeentering the intersection. Both vehicles will continue to be astrong advocate forthe Army team. MayGod bless you, your families May21: The Redstone Arsenal Civil Po- sustained functional damages. and this greatArmy. lice Liaison Office receivedaninformation Citations included three forfailureto packet from the Fort Benning Department of merge left when emergency vehicles arepres- John Whitley the Army Civilian Police Civil Liaison Office ent; one fordriving while license is suspended regarding aSoldier thatwas being held at the or revoked; one forfailuretoyield right of St. Clair Sheriff’sDepartment on awarrant way; one forfailuretouse seatbelts; one for entered into the National Crime Information no proof of insurance; five forexpired regis- Center by Fort Benning personnel fordeser- tration; one forreckless driving; and 42 for On this date in history: June 2 tion. Redstone CPLOtraveled to St. Clair speeding. In 2003: Europe launched its first voyage to another planet, Mars.The Eu- ropean Space Agency’sMars Express probe departed from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan. In 1990: The LowerOhio Valley tornado outbreak spawned 66 confirmed Quote of the week tornadoes in Illinois,Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio,killing 12. In 1979: Pope John Paul II started his first official visit to his native Poland, becoming the first Pope to visit acommunist country. he futurebelongs to those whobelieve in the beauty of their In 1966: Surveyor 1landed in Oceanus Procellarum on the Moon, becoming dreams.” the first U.S. spacecraft to soft-land on another world. –Eleanor Roosevelt In 1886: President Grover Cleveland, 49, married Frances Folsom, 21, in the “T Blue Room of the White House.(To date,Cleveland is the onlypresident to marry in the executive mansion.) In 1763: At what is nowMackinawCity,Michigan, Chippewascaptured Fort Michilimackinac by diverting the garrison’s attention with agame of lacrosse, Send your letters to editor then chasing aball into the fort. The Redstone Rocket invites your signed letters to the editor and your commen- In 1692: Bridget Bishop became the first person to be tried forwitchcraft in taries.Unsigned letters will not be published. Send your letters and commentaries to Salem, Massachusetts; she wasfound guilty and later hanged. [email protected].
RedstoneRocket Editorial office: 256-876-1500 Editorial Fax: 256-955-0133 Retail Advertising: 256-340-2463 ClassifiedAdvertising: 256-260-2218 Advertising Fax: 256-260-2211 http://www.theredstonerocket.com ment of the Army.Opinions expressed by writers herein are exclusivewritten contract with the Department of Army. The Redstone Rocket is published weekly on Wednesday. their ownand are not to be considered an expression by the Everything advertised in this publication shall be made The publisher will receiveeditorial content for publica- Rocket Staff Department of the Army.The appearance of advertisements available for purchase, use or patronagewithout regard to race, color,religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, tion in the Redstone Rocket through the Public Affairs Editor-in-chief: Col. Glenn Mellor,Garrison commander in this publication, to include inserts and supplements, does Director of Public Affairs: Julie Frederick physical handicap, political affiliation, physical handicap, or Office, Army Garrison-Redstone, Bldg.4488 Room not constitute an endorsement by the Department of the Editor: Skip Vaughn Army or the civilian publisher TN ValleyMedia, of the products anyother non-merit factor of the purchaser,user or patron. A-213, Redstone Arsenal, AL 35898. Assistant editor: Jonathan Stinson or services advertised within this publication. Aconfirmed violation of this equal opportunity policy by an The civilian enterprise printer of the Redstone Rocket advertiser will result in refusal to print advertising from that Staff writers: Emily Strickland, Rebecca Sallee The Redstone Rocket is an authorized publication for is Tennessee ValleyMedia Co., Inc., located at 201 1st source until the violation is corrected. Staff photographer: Eric Schultz members of the Department of Defense. Contents of Ave., SE, Decatur,AL35603. Copy Editor/Design: The Redstone Rocket is distributed free of cost to anyper- KelleyLane the Redstone Rocket newspaper are not necessarily the General Manager: French Salter sonnel at Redstone Arsenal and Research Park, Huntsville. Retail advertising deadline is 5p.m.Thursdaybefore official views of, or endorsed by,the U.S. Government, Advertising Sales: Donna Counts, 256-714-7152, Mailing rates for off post for the Redstone Rocket are $35 Wednesdaypublication. Classified advertising deadline Department of Defense, or the Public Affairs Office. is 5p.m. Fridaybefore Wednesdaypublication. or [email protected] per year,tax included. We do not guarantee timely delivery. The editorial content of this publication is the responsi- “Third class mail mayreceivedeferred service. The Postal Email: [email protected] The Redstone Rocket is published in the interest of the bility of Redstone Arsenal Public Affairs Office. Service does not guarantee the deliveryofthird class mail Email classified ads to [email protected] personnel at Redstone Arsenal, by Tennessee ValleyMedia Published by Tennessee ValleyMedia, aprivate firm in no within aspecified time.”(Article 630 of the Domestic Mail Rocket articles are available at: Co., Inc., aprivate firminnoway connected with the Depart- wayconnected with the Department of Defense, under Manual). We do not send subscription renewal notices. Redstone Arsenal: Federal Center of Excellence June 2, 2021 Redstone Rocket 3 Fi rst responder spotlight Insight on mysterious By SKIP VAUGHN pains and voodoo dolls Rocket editor [email protected] My boss asked me if Ihad anybig plans formybirthday. Iwas caught off Snippets What do youthink of your job? guard. By Jonathan Stinson Let me assureyou, there’snothing Assistant editor “I love my job,” Jonathan Carroll, a firefighter at about my appearance or demeanor that Station 5atthe Airfield, said. “I feel likeIprovide says “big plans.” auseful service to the community.LikeIdosome- Most of my big planning involves ask- qualify me as an expert on anumber of thing thatmatters.Weprovide asafe environment ing myself howcan Isleep to ensurethat topics unrelated to the cost of ink and forthe mission here, forthe testing, everything that Iwakeupwith enough working body paper,and torts. goes on here.” parts to get out of bed in the morning And it is my professional opinion that Carroll, 26, from Cleveland, Alabama, asmall and makeittowork. my recent uptick in ailments have noth- town in Blount County,joined the Redstone Fire Jonathan Carroll Big plans.The last big plan Ihad was ing to do with God or science,but in- Department March 28. The Cleveland resident in 2012. stead there’saparticular person whohas served in the Air Forcefrom2013-19 and left as astaffsergeant. He wasde- I’m nowcloser to 40 than Iam30and been working on avoodoo doll forthe ployedinthe United Arab Emirates forsix months in 2015. He and his wife of Iwent to the doctor acouple weeks ago past decade and they’ve finallygot it to six years,Holly, have adaughter,Harper,2.Heenjoys the outdoors, fishing, fi forthe rst time in, let’scall it, awhile. work. working out in the gym and being with the family. Carroll roots forthe Alabama Iwent because I’ve got apain in my Crimson Tide. fi Whywould someone go through to wrist thatshoots all the wayfrommy n- trouble of trying to create avoodoo doll gertips to my shoulder.While Iwas there of me? That’sagreat question. they asked if therewas anything else.I It’sprobablybecause Iwrote acolumn told them about half of my right leg be- once about Tim Tebow. ing numb.Ikept the fact thatIcouldn’t Yo usee,Iwasunaware thatthe quar- lift my left armovermyhead anymoreto terback of the Florida Gators,who Getting to know you myself.I’m saving thatsurprise forlater. Look, Ihaven’t made the best life caused my belovedCrimson Tide so By SKIP VAUGHN choices when it comes to my overall much trouble,would have such afollow- Rocket editor health and well-being. Iget that. And, ing in the heart of Alabama. And after we beatthem in the 2009 [email protected] according to my doctor,apparentlyyou have multiple system failures in your SEC Championship and Tebowcried, mid-30s,40s and 50s. Iwrote atongue-in-cheek column that Name: Andy Kolankiewicz She didn’t mention anything after that, compared the quote “There’snocrying so I’m not sureifshe wassaying “If you in baseball” to howitapplies in football. Position: Java Cafe manager under makeitanyfarther than thatit’ll either I’ve been told tongue-in-cheek doesn’t come across well in print. Family and Morale, Welfare and Rec- be amiracle from God or medicine will I’ve nevertaken thatadvice,evenaf- reation have advanced far beyond my expecta- tions,” or “It just get better after 55.” ter hundreds of emails and letters from Based on my experience over the readers whohaveshared their extremely What did youwant to be when you last 37 years,I’m not betting on the “it lowopinions of me. grewup? just gets better” theory.While I’ve been It wasinone of those letters thatI’m Arace car driver or an astronaut. Be- known to whine,I’m not wine. pretty suresomeone had tried to curse Idon’t have afancy doctor degree,but me,likeinthe other-worldlysense.Iwas cause it seemed exciting. Idid attend about asemester or twoof well-cursed in the vernacular sense. lawschool and Iran anewspaper,both It seems likeone of those Auburn fans What do youhope to accomplish of which areachievements thatclearly was finallysuccessful. in 2021? Make2021 better than 2020 was. That should be easy. If youcould choose to do anything What is the best partabout your for aday,what would it be? job? Go to the beach. Because Ihaven’t The people. Ihavethe most amazing been in awhile. staff and the best clientele on Red- stone. What is the best piece of advice someone has given you? Who is your hero, and why? “Be nice until it’stime not to be nice.” Gordon Ramsay, he is acelebrity chef. Igot it from amovie. Because of his attitude and demean- or. What do youlike to do for fun? Go to the gym. 4 Redstone Rocket June 2, 2021 Redstone Arsenal: Federal Center of Excellence Know your laws: Statutes of limitations By AMY WASYLUKA vides thatingeneral thereisa actions on simple contracts. vise youwith respect to anylimitations Huntsville attorney two-year statute of limi- 6-2-33, Alabama Code periods which maybeapplicabletoyour tations period forthe (1975), provides that claims. The Alabama Supreme Court recently following actions in- in general thereisa Both the Huntsville/Madison County granted aWrit of Mandamus directing cluding butnot lim- 10-year statute of Bar Association and the Alabama State atrial court to enter an order dismissing ited to: wrongful limitations period Bar provide referrals to attorneys who the Mobile County BoardofHealth and death; malicious foractions for work in awide range of legal areas. FamilyOriented Primary Health Care prosecution; libel the recovery of Yo ucan look foranattorney using the Clinic’sclaims against Abbott Laborato- or slander;per- lands,tenements Huntsville/Madison County Bar Asso- ries and Abbott Laboratories Inc. on the sonal injury; re- or hereditaments ciation’s Find aLawyerService at:www. basis thatMobile’sclaims were barred covery of wages or the posses- huntsvillebar.org/directory or by calling by the applicablestatute of limitations. or overtime etc.; sion thereof; and, the Alabama State Bar’sLawyerReferral Statues of limitations protect defen- and damages to actions founded dants against plaintiffs bringing claims personal property. on anycontract or Line at 800-392-5660. against them forconduct which occurred 6-2-34, Alabama wring under seal. Editor’snote: The opinions in this col- too far in the past. Not onlydostatute of Code (1975), provides This is not an ex- umn do not constitute legal advice nor do limitations protect defendants,but they thatingeneral thereis haustive list of Alabama theyestablish an attorney-client relation- also ensurethatplaintiffs prosecute any asix-year statute of limita- statutes of limitations and ship.Ifyou havequestions concerning the claims they mayhaveinatimelyman- tions period forthe following ac- thereare often legal factors which issues discussed, contact an attorneyof ner.Alabama’sstatutes of limitations are tions including, butnot limited to: tres- can affect the running of limitations pe- your choice.Norepresentation is made found in the Alabama Code.Relevant pass to real or personal property,false riod. Therefore, if youbelieve youmay that the quality of the legal services to be limitations periods include: imprisonment, assault or battery,actions have acause of action foralawsuit, it performed is greater than the quality of 6-2-38, Alabama Code (1975), pro- forthe use or occupation of land, and is important to find an attorney to ad- legal services performed by other lawyers. Soldier/civilian/family readiness briefs
By Army NewsService and Defense Bacsa is nowone of morethan 298,600 Department websites fully-vaccinated Soldiers as of May17. The Army also announced it had administered Female medical Soldierspledge morethan 1million vaccines at about 80 in- supporttoward vaccines stallations worldwide and has administered DoD SustainmentSeries: Sustainment Early in Acquisition WASHINGTON –Maj. Christine Bacsa 95% of the vaccines it received. Over half initiallyhesitated to takethe newly-released of active-duty Soldiers have receivedatleast Tuesday,06/08/2021 10.00 A.M. CDT https://www.dau.edu/events COVID-19 vaccine after learning she had one inoculation. become pregnant in December.She didn’t “I’m incredibly proud and thankful for 1100-1130:OpeningbyDr. VicRamdass andkeynote by Ms. Stacy Cummings knowifthe vaccine could lead to complica- the effort our medical teams have invested 1130-1230: Panel #1 "Sustainment Early in Acquisition?" tions with her pregnancy or if it could po- to reach this milestone of 1million vaccina- 1230-1300: Break tentiallyharmher fetus. tions administered. It is atestament to their 1300-1400: Panel #2 "BuildingSuccessful SoftwareSustainment Strategies DuringAcquisition?" “Atthattime therereallywasn’t enough dedication to the health and safety of our information about the vaccine and preg- force,”Christopher Lowman, senior official ****************************************************************************************************************************************************** nancy,” Bacsa said during alivestream performing the duties of the undersecretary panel discussing the effects of COVID-19 of the Army,said. “This is helping us im- Summer Law Series –Procurement Integrity vaccines.“So to makemydecision, Ireally proveour readiness and takecareofour had to think about my situation.” communities.” Thursday,06/10/2021 12:00P.M.CDT https://www.dau.edu/events However,talks with her health careteam Although pregnant women have aslight- at the Office of the Army Surgeon General ly increased risk at developing serious illness This summer, DAU is proud to offer our SummerLaw Series featuring Jessica Tillipman, Assistant Dean for GovernmentProcurement LawStudies at and other medical professionals quicklyal- from COVID-19, Northwestern University TheGeorgeWashington University. At this session, Dean Tillipmanwill address procurement integrity.Comepreparedtolisten, learn, and ask leviated those concerns. published data on May11thatrevealed the questions. ****************************************************************************************************************************************************** Bacsa, asenior Army public health nurse, virus did not present anysignificant risk to successfullycompleted her second dose of pregnancy. Acquisition Topics: Operational Energy-Aware Acquisitions Culture the vaccine in April during her second tri- “Based on howthese vaccines work in the mester and experienced no side effects. body, it’sunlikelythatit’ll pose arisk to us Wednesday, 06/16/2021 11:30 A.M. CDThttps://www.dau.edu/events “Being pregnant, Idid find myself in a during our pregnancy or to our fetus,” Bac- similar high-risk category,givensome of sa said. “These vaccines have been shown to Energy is astrategic enabler to our combat capabilityand readiness. TheAir Force is theDOD’slargest energy consumer,and is thus, hasthe unique my ownpersonal medical history,” shesaid. be safe and effective.” opportunity to leverage modern technologies and processes to improve lethality, while aligningobjectiveswith theSecretary of Defense’s latest climate “I had alot of questions about the safety of Bacsa said she supports vaccines as an priorities.Operational energy,oraviationfuel, accounts for over 80% of the AirForce fuel budget annually, so the AirForce is working to identify the vaccine.But really, what helped me was effective treatment against coronavirus.She energy-informedsolutions to improve aircraft range,reduce maintenanceactions, decrease planning time, and deliver an assuredsupply of fueltothe discussing all my concerns and questions. encourages other Soldiers to takethe inocu- “When youlook at the risks and benefits lations,asthe Army strivestomeet its goal fight. …the choice in the end wasreally easy.” of vaccinating 70% of the forcebyJuly 4. Redstone Arsenal: Federal Center of Excellence June 2, 2021 Redstone Rocket 5 Military Aviation demonstration delivers technological firsts By AMY TOLSON DEVCOM Aviation &Missile Center Public Affairs
When it comes to giving the warfight- er adefinitive edge on the battlefield in futureconflicts,collaboration is key, as evidenced at Dugway Proving Ground, Utah, in May. The CombatCapabilities Develop- ment Command Aviation &Missile Center’sAir Launched Effects and Ad- vanced Teaming science and technol- ogyprogram teams participated in the Experimentation Demonstration Gate- wayEvent 21, led by Army Futures Command’sFutureVertical Lift Cross- Functional Team. Morethan 600 expert participants from 20 Department of Defense agencies participated, including members of theAvMC workforcefrom Fort Eustis,Virginia; Huntsville; and Moffett Field, California. “The collaboration amongst the en- gineers,scientists and warfighters was instrumental in the success of EDGE21 and reallyset the conditions forProj- ect Convergence 21 later this fall,”FVL CFT Director Maj. Gen. WallyRugen Army photo said. An ALE-Small launches from aDeployable Advanced Ground Off-Road tactical ground vehicle at the Experimentation Dem- The goal of EDGE21 was“to mature, onstration GatewayEvent 21, led by Army Futures Command’sFuture Vertical Lift Cross-Functional Team at Dugway Proving integrateand test keyelements of the Ground, Utah. ecosystem, as well as an opportunity to get emerging capabilities into the hands of the Soldiers while reducing risk for waspushed to platoon leaders on the Project Convergence,” Nate Bordick, ground so they could use multiple ALE “A sthe engineersfiguring out hard problems, working AvMC Intelligent Teaming branch chief, unmanned aircraft systems to investigate said. The aviation-focused demonstra- areas of interest using Team Awareness alongside ourindustry partners,itwas ahugehonor to support tion resulted in 56 technological firsts for Kit tablets. our FVLCFT andPEO Aviationteammates in doing things the Army FuturesCommand’smodern- Other keytest objectives, according to that haven’t been done beforeaswecontinuetoexperiment ization efforts. Bordick, included: “Asthe engineers figuring out hard •Increasing “the ability to get Air and inform the requirements of howAir LaunchedEffects, problems,working alongside our indus- Launched Effects-Small into the fight launchedfromair and ground assets,can increase our lethality try partners,itwas ahuge honor to sup- and extend the ecosystem’sreach by and situational awareness on the battlefield.” port our FVL CFT and PEO Aviation demonstrating C-12 and Deployable teammates in doing things thathaven’t Advanced Ground Off-Road tactical been done beforeaswecontinue to ex- ground vehicle ALE launches.” AC-12 Jeffrey Langhout. periment and informthe requirements successfullylaunched an ALTIUS 600 at AvMC Director of howAir Launched Effects,launched 25,000 feet, the highest ALTIUS launch from air and ground assets,can increase everperformed. EDGE wasthe first time denied environments.” begin to demonstrateincreasing auton- our lethality and situational awareness the ALE-S wasintegrated onto atactical Formembers of the AvMC workforce, omythatimproves dynamic battlefield on the battlefield,”AvMC Director Jef- vehicle drivenbySoldiers. the work continues leading up to PC21 adaptability,significantlyreduces man in frey Langhout said. •Assessing “the Aided Target Rec- and beyond. the loop requirements,and pushes mis- Soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Divi- ognition capability onboardALE-S,as “For the remainder of the fiscal year, sion command down to the lowest tacti- sion were able to get hands on experience well as the ability to sharethreat/target- we will continue to mature, integrateand cal level. with the developing Advanced Teaming ing infoacross the networktoultimately test advanced ALE payloads and team- “Beyond FY ‘21, we willincrementally and ALE technology,which allowed improvesurvivability and shorten the ing behaviors to enhance collaborative matureand demonstrateincreased mis- forthe exchange of valuablefeedback kill chain.” Reconnaissance,Surveillance and Tar- sion capability using manned-unmanned and ideas through those Soldier touch- •Collecting “sensor data for get Acquisition mission capability and teams of greater size, spanning multiple points.Soldiers participated in launch- training Vision Based Navigation improveoperational resilience,” Bordick domains,and with greater levels of au- ing experimental ALE and route control softwareused to operateALE in GPS said. “In Projectr Conve gence 21 we will tonomy.” 6 Redstone Rocket June 2, 2021 Redstone Arsenal: Federal Center of Excellence Swipe away updates with Digital Garrison
By JONATHANSTINSON apphas continued to be updated as users Assistant editor have provided feedback on what works [email protected] and what doesn’t. “(Digital Garrison) has alot of flex- The race to see whocan get the most ibility and can tie into avast amount of users to download the Digital Garrison data thatcan be accessed in one loca- appisclose. tion,”Mellor said, highlighting the po- Redstone Arsenal is sitting at No.4on tential of the app. the list of total installation downloads of “The ability to get severalpieces of in- the Digital Garrison app. Fort Hood and formation within afew swipes and taps Fort Braggare on its heels at No.5and is important forthe people whoworkon No.6. and live near Redstone,” he said. “I am Redstone has a15-user lead over Hood mostlyinterested in installation infor- mation, butthe ability to see upcoming and a112-user lead over Bragg. events and hours of operations forgates, “For the sizeofRedstone Arsenal, Commissary and PX and be aswipe compared to the Fort Campbells and away from the weather forecast is adefi- Fort Braggs of the Army,weare doing nite benefit. very well,”Garrison Commander Col. “For those whogoTDY,this is agreat Glenn Mellor said. “Wejust need to en- tool to find out information about the sureweget the word out thatthis is a base or training center youare going to.” very useful tool foranyone whoneeds it. To date,Digital Garrison has had Everyone should be interested in the close to 140K downloads across all the alert system thatisbecoming moreuse- installations. ful as the appbecomes morewidelyused The appcan be found in Apple’sapp forthe immediate delivery of noise alerts, storeand Android’sGoogle Playstore- weather closings and other important in- front, and anyone whoiscurious about formation.” noise alerts or the things thatgoboom Since its rollout, the Digital Garrison on Redstone can use the app.
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By SAMANTHA TYLER ArmyMateriel Command Public Affairs
Army Materiel Command’stop lead- er Gen. Ed Dalyrecognized the AMC Toastmasters Club forreceiving acorpo- rate-levelaward May21. The club receivedthe Toastmasters’ CorporateRecognition Award. Only about 14 of these awards aregiveneach year,according to Jesse Barber,the club’s president. Toastmasters is anetworkofclubs thatoffer opportunities to practice pub- Photo by Doug Brewster lic speaking, improvecommunication Army Materiel Command’sCommander Sectionals and build leadership skills.The world- Gen. Ed Daly recognizes the AMC Toast- EASY FINANCE starting at $799 wide organization has 364,000 members mastersClub for receiving the Corpo- in morethan 16,200 clubs,found in 145 rate Recognition Award from Toast- OPTIONS! countries. mastersInternational. From left are 12 MONTHS “This is about an effort forpeople to Daly,AMC ToastmastersClub President SAME AS CASH introspectively lookathow they can be- Jesse Barber and SecretaryRontario come better,” Dalysaid. Hicks. According to Barber,the Corporate Recognition Awardprogram provides an tered in 2016. Barber said the club has opportunity to recognizelong-standing wonToastmasters International highest pl and dedicated corporatesponsors in the club honor,President’sDistinguished, district. every year since then. It has also placed “Toastmasters International has ex- in the top three every year in the district’s amined AMC’sToastmasters Club and speech contest. found some unique characteristics not AMC’sclub is focused on areas includ- found in other clubs with respect to club ing self-development, building collabora- management, member development, and tive teams and productivity,Barber said. support to the district,”Barber said. To learn moreaboutToastmasters, The AMC Toastmasters Club char- visit www.toastmasters.org. ofasas u undernd $500
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Redstone Arsenal: Federal Center of Excellence June 2, 2021 Redstone Rocket 9 Native Colombian pursues dream asmilitaryofficer By RICHARDBUMGARDNER “I neversaw coming to the States as an Security Assistance Command Public Affairs opportunity,mainlybecause Ididn’t speak English,”hesaid. “But Iwanted to learn BOGOTÁ –AsChief Warrant Officer 3 English to preparemyself better forafuture Mauricio Garcia and his Colombian safety career as alawyerinColombia.” officer counterpart walk the flight line at In 2007, Garcia movedtoMiami to start a Colombian Army base,inspecting forsafety classes at acommunity college.After his girl- hazards and violations,hecould not help but friend from Colombia visited, they discov- marvel on howhis life has come full circle. ered their relationship wasgoing to change Garcia, aUH-60M Black Hawk pilot with an unexpected arrival. and aviation safety officer,isdeployedhere “She’sfromavery conservative familyso as part of aSpanish-speaking technical as- we got married,”Garcia said. “My wife was sistance field team from the Security Assis- an American citizen from birth, and after tance Command’straining unit, the Security we decided to stayand live in the U.S.,Itold Assistance Training Management Organiza- Courtesy photo Courtesy photo my wife thatthe minimum thatIcan do is to tion, based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Then 2nd Lt. Mauricio Garcia graduates from the This is then 2nd Lt. Mau- servemynew home country.” The Colombian Ministry of Defense Colombian MilitaryOfficer Academy. ricio Garcia’sgraduation Even without the language skills he funds the five-person TAFT team, via afor- photo from Colombian thought he would need, Garcia enlisted in eign military sales case,toadvise the Colom- MilitaryOfficer Academy. the U.S. Army in September 2008, wherehe bian Army on howtorun and manage their Straight out of Colombia He is now achief warrant spent the first eight months at the Defense Advance Rotary Wing School, along with First of two-partseries officer three in the U.S. Language Institute,inSan Antonio. their aviation safety,supply, logistics and Army. “I passed my proficiency test and was maintenance programs. U.S. Army forhelp in build- fund thetuition costs themselves.In1999, shipped out to basic training at Fort Sill, Due to his unique background and life ing an advance tactics school Oklahoma,”hesaid. path, Garcia’sofficial role of aviation safety thatworkedout to about $1,200 per semes- fortheir military leaders.U.S.ArmyCapt. ter plus the cost of Garcia living by himself After basic training, Garcia movedonto officer is routinelyovershadowedbythe cul- Ralph Puckett, aRanger assigned to Puerto his military occupation skill training at Fort tural, language,and in-depth knowledge he in Bogota wherethe school waslocated. Rico’s65th Infantry Regimental Combat SamHouston as a68J medical logistics spe- has accumulated over the past 20 years. Garcia’sparents worked hardtomakesure Team, had the experience and language skills cialist, which involved receiving, storing and In this two-part story,Garcia now finds he could stayinschool. to makethathappen. fi issuing medical supplies. thathis multiple military careers have merged In December 2003, after three dif cult Puckett and his team led thateffort from Over the next four years,Garcia served in unexpected ways. years of being away from home,with long 1955-57 and built the bedrock of what is with the 31st CombatSupport Hospital at In the beginning hours devoted to dual-track military science known todayasthe Escuela de Lanceros,or Fort Bliss,Texas,deployedtoAfghanistan Born in Medellin, Colombia, to working and lawstudies at the military academy, Gar- LanceroSchool. in 2009, back to El Paso,and then in 2011 class parents,heloved going out to the local cia graduated at age19. “One of my proudest memories of my movedthe familytoWashington, D.C., airport to watch airplanes takeoff and land, He soon found himself assigned as asec- time with the Colombian military wasgrad- when he took an assignment at Walter Reed knowing thatone dayhis dream of flying ond lieutenant in an Army infantry battal- uating from LanceroSchool,”Garcia said, Army Medical Center. might be areality. ion, not what he wasexpecting, leading sol- whostill wears thattab on his uniform. “When Walter Reed closed (due to aBase “My father wasatransit agent and moth- diers against terrorist and insurgent groups However,after six years in the military, Realignment and Closuredecision) Ihad to er worked in abeauty spa, so Iknewthatit likethe Revolutionary Armed Forces of Co- sometimes spending months in the Colom- decide between going to Bethesda or Fort Bel- would be very hardfor my parents to payfor lombia, known as FARC. bian jungle working counter-narcotic opera- voir Community Hospital, whereIeventually flight school,”Garcia said. “My onlychance Over the next six years,Garcia did what in- tions,Garcia knewitwas time forachange. decided to go to,” he said. “Even after moving fi fantry soldiers do,attending advanced skills “I left the Colombian Army because I to ful ll my dream wastojoin the Colom- fl to Fort Belvoir,and helping to open up the bian Army or Air Force.” training likethe counter-guerilla courses,the neverhad the opportunity to y,”hesaid. hospital in January 2012, Iwas thinking about At 16 and straight out of high school, he Urban Special Forces School, and graduat- Twist of fate flying and howtomakethathappen.” enrolled in the Colombian Officer Academy ing from the grueling LanceroSchool. While Garcia waspreparing to do ayear Discoverinpart twohow Chief Warrant to preparehim foracareer as an officer in Built as acollaboration between the U.S. of community service as an intern lawyer,a Officer3Garcia’scareer changed by achance the military,and hopefullyinto the cockpit Army and Colombian military,the Lancero mandatory requirement to receive his law meeting with an Army aviation safety officer. of either a fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft. School is aresult of arequest in the mid- certificate,fatepresented him an unexpected Editor’snote: On May 21, retired Col. Unlikemilitary academies in the U.S.,stu- 1950s by then-president of Colombia, Lt. turn as his uncle in Miami, Florida, invited Ralph Puckett receivedthe Medal of Honor dents at Colombian military schools have to Gen. Gustavo Rojas Pinilla, whoasked the him to the U.S. to studyEnglish. forhis heroics during the Korean War.
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Medal to Lt. Col. Hugh Darville during a construction of joint security stations keep- Retired Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite, former virtual recognition session May19. ing Iraqis safe from Al Qaeda. commander of the Corps of Engineers and Darville,slated to retireinAugust, most Wright added thatearly on in his career, 54th chief of engineers,commented on Dar- recentlyserved as deputy commander and Darville had grasped the organization’s goals ville’scontribution to the architectural engi- interim commander of the Engineering and and objectives, and ensured the curricula at neer community and his eventual selection Support Center,Huntsville. the Army Engineer School could directly forthe Urbahn Medal. Named in honor of Max Urbahn, the transfer to recognized architecture, engineer- “Hugh is the first active dutyArmyen- medal is awarded annuallytoalicensed ar- ing, construction, or AEC civilian credential- gineer in ageneration to become alicensed chitect member of SAME foreminent and ing programs from professional certification architect and championed efforts to ensure notablecontributions in the field of architec- to trade apprenticeships and skills validation. aspiring architects could followhis foot- ture. “Hugh also led by example,obtaining steps,” he said. “Due to his efforts,architec- ForDarville,the awardculminates aca- Lt. Col. Hugh Darville both his architecturelicense and the certified turegraduates areincluded in the highest reer spanning 26 years and recognizes his construction manager certification, one of priority forselection as engineer officers by contribution to the architectureprofession, the very fewuniformed leaders with either Cadet Command; the Architectural Expe- leaving alasting and measurable impact on excel in the execution of the immediate mis- credential,”hesaid. rience Programand architectural licensure the military engineering community. sion as evidenced by his work in humanitar- During his four-year tenureasdeputy areincluded in Army policyasapriority for According to the announcement, Darville ian and contingency operations.Hugh has commander and interim commander,the engineer officer professional development; wasselected as this year’srecipient because of been engaged in almost every major contin- Huntsville Center executed 20,900 contract architects receive thesame ‘skill identifiers’ as his “strategic vision forthe architecturepro- gency operation of the U.S. Army and the actions globallyvalued at $10.1 billion for43 engineers forselecting officers to fill keyde- fession in the U.S. Army Engineer Branch Corps of Engineers over the past 20 years.” strategic Department of Defense programs velopmental positions; and reimbursement and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.” He oversawhumanitarian assistance and with 31 Centers of Standardization/Exper- forarchitectural exam, licensureand related It cites howDarville “tackled the institu- contingency construction projects,highlight- tise,encompassing design of chemical weap- credential fees areauthorized. tional and policy obstacles forbringing more ing the importance of architects to Army en- ons demilitarization and ballistic missile “Importantly, Hugh also personallymen- architecturegraduates into the Army and gineer leadership,including planning, design defense facilities,modernization of Army tored severaldozen young officers about USACE.” and construction of atraining complexin and Air Forcefacilities,design oversight of navigating architectural licensing require- “He worked to change personnel regu- Botswana; three theater missile defense sites DOD and Veterans Affairs medical facilities; ments while serving their country,” Semonite lations,change officer skill identifiers,and in Israel; an orphanage in Moldova;and the and support to disaster response and over- said. “Hugh’scontributions to the field of cement relationships with accredited archi- renovation of 29 schools in Iraq, aregional seas contingency operations,including re- architecture, bothtowards accomplishing tectureprograms to accommodate Army en- hospital in Bulgaria, and twoschools and construction of Puerto Rico’selectrical grid the Corp’smission in support of our nation, gineer captains at the career course,” retired three clinics in Macedonia. following Hurricane Maria, and developing and in ensuring USACE and the Army have Lt. Col. Neal Wright, SAME vice president, Darville also designed the master plan alternate carefacility concepts and perfor- the architects needed to accomplish future said. and keyfacilities forCamp Bondsteel in mance work statementsfor the nationwide missions,makehim the best choice forthis “Hugh’sskills as an architect allowhim to Kosovo —the largest contingency construc- COVID-19 response. distinguished award.” Service &Parts for: Wanda’sTravelTourss Wanda’s TRIPS INCLUDE: Hotels, Bus, NISSAN -INFINITI Proudlyserving Tennessee,Alabama,and Georgiafor 15 yearss Air when needed Diehl •AlaskaCruise/Seattle tour&hotel 8/19-27, 2021 ...... $2,350 Payment plans available on all trips. 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417698-1 14 Redstone Rocket June 2, 2021 Redstone Arsenal: Federal Center of Excellence Gold Star flag waves for families of fallen Soldiers By JASONCUTSHAW Because as all of youknowwell, freedom to honor Gold Star families to ensure Space and Missile Defense Command isn’t free.Itisbought and paid forwith their fallen heroes areneverforgotten Public Affairs the sacrifice made by our service mem- and thatthey,making their ownsacrific- bers and their families.” es,are not forgotten,”Reid said. “Weare Prior to Memorial Day, the Space and Karbler said the command’spresence humbled by their strength and have these Missile Defense Command held acer- at the ceremonyconfirmsthatthe memo- events to let them knowthey areand will emonytohonor families wholost loved ry of those the country has lost in service remain an important part of our SMDC ones serving in the armed services. to the nation will not be forgotten. and Army family.” Members of SMDC gathered with “I hope it brings ameasureofcomfort Reid said SMDC has been asupporter Gold Star families as the command and peace to our Gold Star families to of Redstone Arsenal SurvivorOutreach raised aGold Star service flag Fridayat knowthatyou arenot alone,” he said. Services programs since 2011 and started the command’sheadquarters. The blue and gold star banner tradi- the Gold Star flag raising ceremonyin “This ceremonyisone of both sorrow tion began in WorldWar Iwhen white 2017. and solace,” Lt.Gen. Daniel Karbler, service flagsbordered in redweredis- “AsMemorial Dayisaday of remem- SMDC commander,said. “The raising playedfromhomes,businesses,schools brance of those whohavedied in service of the flag givesusoccasion to remem- and churches to indicate,bythe use of a to our country,itisthe perfect oppor- ber and reflect on our fallen heroes,the blue star,each active service member in tunity to acknowledge all the men and valiant men and women whomade aself- the U.S. military.Agold star indicated women of our armed forces whohave less commitment to defend our nation’s those whohad giventheir livesfor their made the ultimate sacrifice and honor values,freedoms and liberties –choosing country. their families,” Reid said. “Over the livesofservice and sacrifice.Italso re- In 2015, the Army authorized the years we have planned manyevents for minds us of the respect and gratitude we Gold Star service flag to be flownunder the families,and we takeevery opportu- owethose whocarry their legacy forward the American flag during significant ob- nity to encourageothers to followsuit. with both courageand perseverance,our servances,such as Memorial Day. Our Gold Star families deservethe rec- Gold Star families. Phillis Reid, aparalegal forthe SMDC ognition.” “Asthis flag flies,itreaffirmsour en- Legal office and the command’sproject After the ceremony, the families laid fl during connection to the generations of coordinator forsurvivoroutreach events, ared rose at the base of the agpole in Photo by Cecil Longino service members whohavegone before said the command will always remember honor of their lovedone.The Gold Star fl fl Space and Missile Defense Soldiers us,our pride in our nation’s bravest war- the nation’s fallen heroes and the loved ag remained on the agpole through- raise the Gold Star flag Fridaytohonor riors,and our promise to support those ones they left behind. out the Memorial Dayweekend and was families who lost loved ones serving in whocarry the greatburden of their loss. “Now, morethan everitisimportant See Flag on page 15 the armed services.
SCAN ME Redstone Arsenal: Federal Center of Excellence June 2, 2021 Redstone Rocket 15 Armyrecognizes financial management intern By KATIE DAVIS SKELLEY obtaining her degree in education at the too small, and that’swhatmakes her in- DEVCOM Aviation &Missile Center Public University of Alabama, when she picked valuabletothe organization,”Claysaid. Affairs up and movedtoSouth Africa to work Steele is quick to point out thatshe foranonprofit, training local managers considers the awardateam effort and It is not often thatanew employeein on the ground running the organization. thatshe wassuccessful at RCCTO be- atemporary role has the opportunity to It wastherethatSteele discoveredher cause she wasgiventhe tools and the au- create official organizational processes love foraccounting. tonomytodoso. and develop tracking tools –especially “I found thatIneeded to teach myself “I read the (award)email twoorthree forone as high-profile as the Army Rap- managerial accounting so Icould teach times.Ithought to myself,‘Surelythey id Capabilities and Critical Technologies them, and then found thatIreallyliked have emailed the wrong person,’” she Office. working with budgeting –Ifound it fas- said. “Honestly, Iwas shocked. Iamstill cinating,”she said. in shock and alittle overwhelmed. Even But Jessica Steele wasupto the chal- fi lenge.Steele,with the CombatCapabili- It wasanatural tfor Steele to later when someone gets nominated on their ties Development Command Aviation & join the AvMC team, as her mother had own, they didn’t do it on their ownand Missile Center Resource Management worked forthe organization in its earlier they didn’t get thereontheir own. Ihave fi incarnation as the Aviation and Missile gained awealth of experience from all of Of ce,completed asix-month rotation- Research, Development and Engineering the people involved, from my ownlead- al assignment at RCCTO and became Center.Steele said she wasinfluenced by ership at AvMC to the team Isupported such avalued asset thatshe wasnamed her mother’sown willingness to accept at RCCTO –itshouldn’t be just me get- the Army Financial Management and Jessica Steele developmental rotations in her career. ting this award.” Comptroller Financial Management In- “I sawthatshe waslearning so much Steele hasn’t spent much time at Re- tern of the Year forBelowACOM, aDe- not onlyeducating me on programman- and Iloved that,”she said. source Management recently, after partment of the Army-levelaward. agement, butwalking me through how Heading to RCCTO forsix months accepting another developmental at Starting what is essentiallyanewjob developmentals can grow and shape wasalso an opportunity to build bridg- DEVCOM headquarters,serving on every fewmonths can be stressful for your career and howthey can teach you es between the twoorganizations who the Science and Technology Integration anyone,especiallyinayoung, dynamic about parts of your field thatyou never work closelytogether.Steele said that Strategy Cohort forFutureofWork. organization likeRCCTO.Steele said would have realized wasadoor foryou.” Resource Management Division Chief Steele’swords of advice to others con- thatwhile she wasnervous to move from Meeting newchallenges head on is Terrence Clayreferred to the post as a sidering arotational assignment out of AvMC to RCCTO,her apprehension nothing newfor the self-proclaimed developmental but“it wasmorelikea their comfort zone: It’sOKtobescared. wasquicklyput at ease. Army brat.After spending her child- trial-by-fire,” she said with alaugh. “It is Do it anyway. “The programmanager trusted me hood moving forassignments,Steele said such afast-paced organization with such “Alwaysdothe thing thatscares you,” from dayone and thatreallyset the tone she learned “from apretty young ageto high stakes visibility –itwas alot. It was she advised. “There’sareason thatit forthe developmental,”she said. “I was put myself outthere, be myself and not alot to learn butvery rewarding.” keeps popping in your mind. Don’t not atrusted member of theteam and val- to be afraid of anything.” Clayhad no such qualms. takethe risk because youare afraid of ued. They spent alot of timewith me, Thatskill served Steele well when after “Jessica has nevermet ajob too big or the outcome.” Flag Continued from page 14 taken down Tuesdaymorning. Attendee Annette Hall, president of the North Alabama Chapter of American Gold Star Mothers,and mother of StaffSgt. JeffreyHall, whodied in Afghani- stan while serving with the 10th Mountain Division’s 2nd Battalion, 87th Infan- try Regiment, said it is important forGold Star families to knowthe sacrifice of their lovedones arenot forgotten. “The most important thing to Jeffreywhile he wasinthe Army washis men,” Hall said. “Tohonor him and the men he served with is one of the greatest things anyone could do.” Another Gold Star familymember said thatfor SMDC to support the families whohavesacrificed meant alot and lets them knowthey arenot forgotten. “My dad wasaWorldWar II and Korean Warveteran so Igrewupwith Me- morial Daybeing important,”said Eilene Shellman, mother of Spc. Paul Gordon Knaack II, whodied after being wounded while serving with the 82nd Airborne Division in Afghanistan. “Losing achild in service to the country is whole dif- ferent ballgame.Memorial Dayisnot just one dayayear,Memorial Dayisev- ery dayfor us.Being able to come hereatSMDC and seeing the Gold Star flag and being surrounded by other Gold Star families givespeace and comfort with knowing you arenot alone.” 16 Redstone Rocket June 2, 2021 Redstone Arsenal: Federal Center of Excellence Screaming Eagles takeflight in Black Hawk simulator By ETHAN STEINQUEST Fort Campbell Public AffairsOffice
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky.–Fort Campbell is entering the latest frontier of flight simulation technology with the Army-owned and operated Black Hawk Aircrew Trainer,orBAT,ahighlyimmersive device thatthe installation began using May3. Boasting acomplete UH-60 cockpit, state-of-the-art visual systems and adedicat- ed operating station forinstructors,the BATallows pilots to build mission readiness while saving the Army both time and money. “Since the Army has the rights to the software, it’snot aproprietary issue,” Tim Hight, chief of Training Support, Training Division, DirectorateofPlans,Train- ing, Mobilization and Security,said. “Asthe aircraft gets upgraded, the simulator is directlyinstep.Inthe past, it cost the Army alot of money to update the software, butnow thatthe Army has bought the rights,wecan stayconcurrent with what the aircraft has on board.” DPTMS also expects to see reductions in labor,material and maintenance costs after purchasing the BATfor roughly$10.3 million. Hight said the system should payfor itself within three years. “It’sa12:1 cost savings,” Fred Workman, supervisory training support specialist, Jones Training Support Center,said. “We’re talking about maintenance,fuel, wear and tear –getting in the device versus being in an actual aircraft.” The Utility Helicopters Project Office began fielding BATs in August 2016 and expects to see them in use Armywide by the first quarter of 2025. Fort Campbell was the 15th installation to receive the technology. “It’sreallythe tip of the spear forArmyaviation –Fort Campbell and the 101st CombatAviation Brigade in particular,” Allen OBrion, UH-60 operational devices (Training Aids,Devices,Simulators and Simulations) lead, UHPO,Program Execu- Photo by Ethan Steinquest tive Office forAviation, said. “WedelayedFort Campbell slightlybecause we have Chief Warrant Officer 3Ahmed Edwards, 5th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, anew configuration BAT. Our first11wereUH-60M onlyaircraft models,and this 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), guides 1st newest one accommodates UH-60L as well, which is the legacy Black Hawk.” Lt. Glen Fisher,5-101st Avn. Regt., left, and Chief Warrant Officer 2Sam Harvill, Because the installation uses both of those models,UHPO decided to wait until 5-101st Avn. Regt., right, through training exercises May10using the Black Hawk the BATcould support them before fielding it to Fort Campbell. The result is amore AircrewTrainer.The BATisahighly immersive and cost-effective flight training streamlined version of the Transportable-Black Hawk Operations Simulator. simulator the installation began using May3. “BAT is abig improvement as far as facilitating the training and making it easier,” Chris Hill, atraining instructor with DPTMS,said. “Moretime is spent training daylong, makeitnighttime,put them in athunderstormoricy conditions.The en- than loading or resetting the device because of errors,and it’sasclose as youcan get vironment is completelymanageablebythe operator,and youcan makeitwhatever to the real thing without being in the aircraft.” youwant.” Using asystem likeBAT also allows pilots to train under conditions thatcannot Amajority of Fort Campbell’sinstructor pilots and simulator operators received be replicated in exercises with live aircraft. BATtraining the first week the system wasinuse,and nowthe pilots of the 101st “One of the most significant advantages of asimulator is youcan give themthings CombatAviation Brigade,101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), aresettling into youcan’t in the aircraft, likeafire or ahydraulic malfunction or threat,”Paul Riccio, their owntraining rhythm. atraining instructor with DPTMS,said. “You can shoot at them in the simulator all DPTMS offers five BATtraining periods aday,Mondaythrough Thursday, and each session allows forthree pilots including the operator.Usage is being determined through aregular training rotation. “It’sbeen almost aseamless transition,”Hill said. “They’re doing everything they can do in the aircraft, from emergency proceduretraining and instrument flight rules to sling loads and flying against aknown threatand using the aircraft’ssurvivability equipment to counter it.” Manyofthose exercises count as credits forthe Commander’sAviation Training and Standardization Program, which includes annual requirements forArmypilots. “You get morerealistic training out of the device than youdid with our older legacy devices,” OBrion said. “When youcouple thatwith the synthetic training en- vironments thatbasicallyreplicate the real worldbecause it’sbased on satellite imag- ery,you reallyhaveafeeling thatyou’re flying at Fort Campbell, Koreaorwherever the data is pulling from.” BAT’sability to keep pace with innovations in aircraft technology further enhanc- es its impact on mission readiness,and OBrion said it has been well-receivedatother installations. “That’sone of the things we didn’t have with the T-BOS,and it got so far behind,” John Kokoski, atraining instructor with DPTMS,said. “Asupdates happen with the aircraft, we’regoing to update this similarly.” Fort Campbell also benefits from the BATs being built in nearbyHuntsville which givesDPTMS easy access fortroubleshooting and other issues. “Wehaveagood working relationship,they’re close by and basicallyany time there’sanew upgrade we’ll be first in the hopper to get it,”Hight said. “But Ithink the biggest highlights arethe cost savings,the superior electronics package and the Army actuallyowning the software.” Redstone Arsenal: Federal Center of Excellence June 2, 2021 Redstone Rocket 17 Unmanned aircraft system blazes trail for three decades By ProgramExecutive Office for Aviation over 80% supported combatoperations. Public Affairs It also pavedthe wayfor other un- manned aircraft to be developed and The role of unmanned aircraft systems fielded. The Hunter’scapabilities set the in the Army is growing at unprecedented standardfor the Army’s unmanned air- rates.Rapid advances in technology are craft systems program, achieving several enabling moreand moreUAS capability operational and technological firsts. to be deployedonthe battlefield. As the In 1999 the Hunter became the first ProgramExecutive Office forAviation’s UAStobedeployedoverseas when it was Unmanned Aircraft System Project Of- used to support contingency operations fice designs,develops and delivers the in the skies over Kosovo.Itwas also the next generation UAStothe Soldier,it first UAStocross the border into Iraq will morethan likelybuild on the legacy in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. created by the MQ-5BHunter,the first Converting to aweaponized configura- and longest serving Army UAS. tion in January 2006, the Hunter became When the Hunter wasinitially fielded the Army’s newest UASpropelled by a in 1995 the UASbecame agame chang- heavy fuel engine and equipped with the fi er on battle eld. The system carried a latest in avionics.Itwas also one of the wide array of onboardpayloads used to Army photo first UAV’stoincorporateAutomatic survey enemyelements and transmit to Soldiersfrom the 15th MilitaryIntelligence Battalion recover aMQ-5B Hunter Take Offand Landing technology fora ground-based or airborne battle man- unmanned aircraft system at RobertGrayArmyAirfield at Fort Hood Texas, fol- fullyautonomous flight including pre- agement systems which wasessential to lowing atest flight Dec. 9, 2015. Initially fielded in 1995, the Hunter wasthe first fi programmed waypoints. eld commanders. and longest serving Army UAS, remaining in the Army inventoryfor more than 30 Even with all its success the “The Hunter provided commanders years. Hunter neverreached full rate produc- with near-real time intelligence,recon- “The Hunter also enhanced the com- Described as the workhorse forun- tion as aprogram, and on Dec. 16, naissance,target acquisition, target iden- 2015, the Hunter flew its final flight in tification and battle damage assessment mander’sability to identify and track manned aerial vehicles during its more hostile activity and targets,and identify than 30-year tenure, the UASprovided Army service at Fort Hood, Texas.As capabilities,” Bill Smithson, asenior lo- the Army transitioned to the larger and friendlyforces to avoid unnecessary loss operational support to the forcewith gistics specialist whohas worked on the See Aircraft on page 18 Hunter programsince its inception, said. of life.” morethan 225,000 flight hours,ofwhich
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256-380-5619 417709-1 1 4 18 Redstone Rocket June 2, 2021 Redstone Arsenal: Federal Center of Excellence Aircraft Continued from page 17 morecapable MQ-1C Gray Eagle,the Hunter transferred to government-owned, contractor-operated units and continued supporting overseas operations another four years.OnDec. 16, 2019, the Army directed its first and oldest UASbereturned to the U.S. and divested from the inventory.The Hunter UAS flew its final training flight at Dugway Proving Ground, Utah, in March 2020. “The men and women whoworkedonthis programput their hearts and souls into seeing the overwhelming success thathas spanned over three decades,” Smithson said. “Although the programstarted on ashakyfoundation, it grew and thrivedas the first set of unmanned ‘Eyes Beyond the Horizon’for the Army and our allies.” While no longer part of the active UAS fleet, todaythe Hunter can be found on displays likethe one mounted on aplatformjust outside the Sparkman Center,and mounted on the latest displayrecentlyerected outside PEO Aviation headquarters. According to Smithson, the Endurance UASProduct Office’sNon-ProgramofRe- cordProduct Team is in communication with other organizations thatmay be inter- ested in the possibility of obtaining aHunter UASfor futuredisplays. The Hunter’sreal contributions were on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, whereits reconnaissance,surveillance,targeting and acquisition capabilities quick- ly wonoverSoldiers and commanders.But the lessons learned and advancements achievedduring its morethan 30 year lifecycle years will undoubtedlyprovide untold benefits forArmyUAS programfor years to come. PEO Aviation Public Affairsphoto Membersofthe Program Executive Office for Aviation‘s Unmanned Aircraft Sys- tem Project Office stand in front of anewly constructed MQ-5B Hunter aircraft displayApril 27 after its installation outside PEO Aviation headquarters. Initially fielded in 1995, the Hunter wasthe first and longest serving Army UAS, remaining in the Army inventoryfor more than 30 years. The final Hunter flight took place in March 2020 at Dugway Proving Grounds, Utah.
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MEMBER FDIC Redstone Arsenal: Federal Center of Excellence June 2, 2021 Redstone Rocket 19 Engineers’ Learning Center opens doors for in-person classes By KRISTEN BERGESON so just the increased cybersecurity is a Engineering and SupportCenter Public huge benefit,”Elam said. “In addition, Affairs we nowhavesecurity guards and CAC- access throughout the facility.” The Corps of Engineers Learning The ability to logintothe securenet- Center is nowoffering in-person instruc- work,combined with the facility’snew tion formission-critical courses at its state-of-the-art video conferencing tools newlocation at Redstone Gateway. and monitors,allows classes to virtually The center,which provides technical connect with instructors and leadership and professional training forUSACE across the globe.These technological and other government agencies,moved advances proved to be beneficial forthe from the Bevill Center at the Universi- newcenter’s first in-person class,the Vis- ty of Alabama in Huntsville to the first itor Assistance Programcourse forUS- floor of Building 100 Secured Gateway ACEparkrangers,Elam said. in March. However,all classes were held “This class wasabletohavetheir lead- virtuallyuntil Maydue to COVID-19 re- ership from headquarters in D.C. give strictions. them briefings via WebEx,”hesaid. “At With the gradual introduction of in- Bevill, they would have had to schedule Army photo person training, currentlylimited to crit- one of the VTC(video teleconferencing Aclass of 41 parkrangerswith the Corps of Engineersattend the first in-person ical courses with on-site requirements, capability) rooms with leadership,but training offered at the newUSACE Learning Center.The center,which opened students and instructors are finallyable nowthey can just pull it up right from its doorsfor mission-critical courses in May, is located in Building 100 Secured to enjoythe manyamenities availablein their desks.” Gateway. and around the newcenter.Roy Elam, The newcenter also includes eight one of the numerous communal spaces from home.The center also has adining USACE Learning Center director,said “huddle rooms,” collaborative spaces spread throughout the facility. area with concessions forstudents to the move wasdesigned with afocus on whereclasses can split into smaller Within walking distance or ashort purchase,and food trucks arrive daily improving twomajor areas: workforce groups to complete projects or study drive from the Learning Center area with avariety of lunch options. security and student experience. based on their individual needs.Atab- hotel, multiple restaurants and acoffee These amenities have atremendous “Because we’reonRedstone Arse- let computer is posted on the outside of shop,providing out-of-town students impact on the student experience,aswell nal, we can nowaccess the secured US- each room forscheduling and communi- and instructors with all of the conve- as the quality of learning, said Jonathan ACEnetworkthrough Wi-Fi, which cating upcoming events.For moreinfor- niences needed to live comfortablyaway we couldn’t do from the UAHcampus, mal gatherings,students can go to any See Classes on page 20
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417741-1 www.majacksonco.com |256-739-0317 superiorcarpetala.com 20 Redstone Rocket June 2, 2021 Redstone Arsenal: Federal Center of Excellence Classes Adventure Continued from page 19 Carlisle,Northwest Division’s natural resource programmanager and lead instructor forthe USACE Visitor Assistance Program. He travels from Portland, Oregon, to Huntsville at least three times each year to lead the weeklong training and attended morethan 40 classes,either as astudent or as an instructor,atthe center’sold loca- Awaits! tion. “Personally, being on the Arsenal and having everything close by is so much more convenient,”hesaid. “It also helps to makesurethatstudents areontime forclass, which is reallyimportant fordecreasing interruptions.” Prior to COVID-19, the center trained about 10,000 students each year,with more than half of those attending class in atraditional classroom setting. Though the USACE Learning Center is currentlyonlyoffering in-person training formission- critical courses,Elam said he hopes to soon fill all four of the center’slarge class- rooms with students. “The better trained your people are, the morereadyyou aretosuccessfullycom- plete the operations,” Elam said. “This newfacility allows formoreeffective training forevenmorestudents,soitwill have ahuge impact on USACE as awhole.” The Learning Center is also equipped to handle large conferences and seminars outside of the ULC’sstandardcatalog. In August, the center will host the annual USACE Safety Officer’smeeting. Nearly 100 safety officers from across the Corps are expected to attend in person, while the remaining will participate via WebEx. Building 100 Secured Gatewayispart of Redstone Gateway, amixed-use develop- ment near Gate 9geared toward government contractors and research firms. The 250,000-square-foot building, located in the secured section of the Gatewaythatsits behind the gate,houses approximately1,400 employees from the ProgramExecutive Office forMissiles and Space,the FBI, USACE, and Finance Centers. Formoreinformation about the USACE Learning Center and its 200-plus course offerings,visit ulc.usace.army.mil.
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The Space and Missile Defense Command Technical Center’stargets team launched aPathfinder Zombie target May19from the Hebrides Range in Scot- land during the ongoing At-Sea Demo/FormidableShield 2021 exercise. The purpose of At-Sea Demo/FormidableShield 2021, which includes approx- imately10nations participating with ships,aircraft, ground assets and deployed staff, is to improveallied interoperability in ajoint live-fire Integrated Air and Missile Defense environment. SMDC playedarole in the exercise by internation- allyshipping afullyintegrated round forthe first time. “This wasmyfirst mission as test director forSMDC.Leading this team of professionals in the first international Pathfinder Zombie launch wasanhonor formeand being in Scotland waspretty special within itself,” Pamela Galloway, mission test director,Targets Test Directorate, Technical Center,said. “Wepro- vided asuccessful target at the planned launch time and appeared to have met all test objectives. Early indications arethatthe Pathfinder Zombie launch and flight were nominal.” She then explained howlaunching from overseas changed howthe team nor- mallyoperates during alaunch. “Logistics wasour main challenge,” Galloway said. “With this mission being overseas we had to develop anew logistics plan, which included building up the target into an All-Up-Round, or AUR, and shipping thatAUR to the United Kingdom. After researching severaloptions forshipping the round, we opted for anew acquisition forashipping container thatrequired design, manufacturing and test just weeks prior to use. “Another challenge wasthatthe range integration time wassplit between two other target programs preparing fortheir launch, so our team had to be more flexible on howweprepared forops.The entireeffort wasvery challenging.” She said the team adapted well to the unknowns of operating on aforeign range. Army photo “After multiple range holds,none due to our target, and sitting on console for The Space and Missile Defense Command Technical Center’sTargets Team fi launched aPathfinder Zombie target May19from the Hebrides Range in Scotland 12 hours when our nominal count is 5.25 hours,the Path nder Zombie team ran during the ongoing At-Sea Demo/Formidable Shield 2021 exercise. The purpose a flawless hot countdown and launched exactlyonthe time defined by thecus- of At-Sea Demo/Formidable Shield 2021, which includes approximately 10 na- tomer,” Gallowaysaid. tions participating with ships, aircraft, ground assets and deployedstaff, is to im- Gallowayand three other team members were onsite forthe launch, with oth- prove allied interoperability in ajoint live-fire Integrated Air and Missile Defense ers from SMDC supporting them from Redstone Arsenal. She added thatthe environment. SMDC playedarole in the exercise by internationally shipping a fully integrated round for the first time. whole team wascritical to the mission planning and development of the Path- finder Zombie target launch. After the test, Kevin Creekmore, Test Directoratedirector and launch target Team member RickyJudy, SMDC ground support lead, said one their biggest mission director,said the exercise is the most complexintegrated air and missile obstacles wasensuring the team brought everything they might need to complete the mission. defense event the Zombie team has participated in. fi “You don’t have the luxury of running to the storetopurchase items at a “Welaunched aPath nder Zombie target, used forasimulated sea-based moment’snotice,” Judy said. “Another challenge is working at anew range and terminal engagement, to include coordination with multiple allied ships along fi trying to meet their range requirements during apandemic. Working around the with concurrent air-breathing threats,” Creekmoresaid. “Path nder Zombie is restrictions of number of personnel assembling formeetings,target checks and athreatrepresentative,low-cost Short Range Ballistic Missile target suitablefor pad preparations along with making surewecoordinated with the range on any use in U.S. and foreign missile defense testing. The Zombie targets utilizeexcess requirement or procedurethatmight affect the current dailyoperational tempo. Army motors thatare near the end of their operational life,but can be repur- And let’snot forget driving. It wasquite an adventureattimes.” posed for flight testing at much lowercost than developing newsystem.” Judy said one of the successes forthe team while in Scotland wasbeing able to Creekmoresaid the Pathfinder Zombie government and contractor team use their newshipping container to transport aready-to-fire target. worked extremelyhardand came together in difficult conditions to provide a “This wasthe first test of the container with an all-up-round shipped from target meeting mission requirements. Holloman Air ForceBase,New Mexico,toScotland on aC-130 aircraft,”Judy “The team performed exceptionallyand reallyrepresented the Army and Unit- said. “And while Iwas not on the ground forthe launch, it proved to be avalu- ed States well during the planning and execution of this mission,”Creekmore able experience formeasInowhaveabetter understanding of their range re- said. “Due to COVID-19 restrictions the coordination and planning wasradi- quirements,how their range operates and logistic readiness necessities forasuc- callyrevised forthe original plan and required extensive coordination due to the cessful mission in aforeignnation.” diverse natureofthe test participants and the remote location of the event.” 22 Redstone Rocket June 2, 2021 Redstone Arsenal: Federal Center of Excellence Redstone drinking watermeets safety standards By Garrison Environmental Management Division The Garrison can provide detailed tables which present the Redstone Arsenal and Huntsville Utilities drinking water monitoring data for2020 (or the most recent monitor- The Garrison and Wolf Creek drinking water compliance and supplyteam arecom- ing periods) as required. mitted to providing youwith asafe and dependablesupplyofdrinking water.During Although your drinking water meets federal and state requirements,wehavelearned 2020, we monitored your drinking water continuouslyfor potential contaminants to en- through monitoring and testing thatsome constituents have been detected in our drink- sureitmet the stringent requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act. Based on the 2020 ing water.However, the EPAhas determined thatyour water is safe at or belowthese analytical results,your drinking water met the SDWA standards and the drinking water detection levels. provided to youonRedstone Arsenal is safe to drink. Be awarethatall drinking water,including bottled water,may reasonablybeexpected Huntsville Utilities provided the majority of drinking water at Redstone during 2020. to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants.The presence of these contami- Redstone purchased approximately2.1 million gallons of potablewater per dayfrom nants does not necessarilyindicate thatthe water poses ahealth risk. In order to ensure Huntsville Utilities and supplemented this supplybyproducing approximately0.45 mil- thattap water is safe to drink, the EPAprescribes regulations which limit the amount lion gallons per dayatwater treatment plant 3onRedstone.Water treatment plant 1did of certain contaminants in the drinking water provided by publicdrinking water sys- not produce potablewater during 2020 due to ongoing renovations which improved the tems.The Food and Drug Administration regulations establish limits forcontaminants sludge removalsystem, improved the laboratory area, rebuilt apump,and improved vari- in bottled water.Moreinformation about contaminants and potential health effects can ous other areas to modernizeplant 1. Huntsville Utilities used their twosurface water be obtained by calling the EPA’sSafe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791. plants as the primary sources forthe potablewater provided to Redstone Arsenal. The The MCLs forvarious contaminants areset at very stringent levels.Tounderstand Tennessee Riverserves as the rawwater source forthese plants as well as both of the the possible health effects described formanyregulated constituents,aperson would Garrison plants. have to drink twoliters of water every dayatthe MCL levelfor alifetime to have aone- Source water assessments thatprovide baseline data forthe quality of our rawwater in-a-million chance of having the described health effect. However,some people may beforeitistreated areavailableduring regular duty hours forreviewinthe Environmen- be morevulnerable to these contaminants than the general population. People whoare tal Management Division office at building 4488 on Martin Road, room A-336. These immuno-compromised such as cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, organtrans- assessments identify the origins of potential contaminant sites and assessed their suscep- plant recipients,people with HIV/AIDS or other immune system disorders,some elderly tibility to our rawwater supplysystems.Based on our assessments,the potential con- and some infants maybeparticularly moreatrisk to infections from these contaminants. taminant sites exhibited alow risk to the Redstone Arsenal’sraw water supply. People at risk should seek advice from their health careproviders about drinking the wa- We routinelymonitor your drinking water formanyconstituents in accordance with ter from their public water system. The EPA/Centers forDisease Control and Prevention federal and state safe drinking water laws and regulations.Again, as reflected in the guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by cryptosporidium and 2020 test results,the drinking water produced by Redstone Arsenal and purchased from other microbiological contaminants areavailablefromthe Safe Drinking Water Hotline Huntsville Utilities is safe to drink and meets federal and state drinking water standards. (1-800-426-4791). If youhaveany questions about this report, or your drinking water,call the drinking Although thereisnot aproblem with lead in drinking water at Redstone Arsenal, water manager in the Garrison Environmental Management Division at 955-8230. We lead, if present in elevated levels,can cause serious health problems,especiallyfor preg- want youtobeinformed about your drinking water utility. nant women and young children. Lead contaminants in drinking water is primarily from materials and components associated with service lines and home plumbing. The Garrison is responsible forproviding high quality drinking water,but cannot control the variety of materials used in plumbing components.When the water has been sitting in the water lines forseveralhours (especiallyoverthe weekend), youcan minimizethe potential forelevated lead and iron levelexposurebyflushing the lines fortwo to five minutes beforeusing the water fordrinking or cooking. If youare concerned about lead in your water,you mayhaveyour water tested by calling our water quality labat 876-4062. Information on lead in drinking water,testing methods,and steps youcan taketominimizeexposureisalso availablefromthe Safe Drinking Water Hotline or at www.epa.gov/safewater/lead. Contaminants thatmay be present in source water include the following: •Microbial contaminants,such as viruses and bacteria, which maycome from sewage treatment plants,septic systems,agricultural livestock operations and wildlife. •Inorganic contaminants,such as salts and metals,which can be naturally-occurring or result from urban stormwater runoff, industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining or farming. •Pesticides and herbicides,which maycome from avariety of sources such as agricul- ture, urban stormwater runoff, and residential uses. •Organic chemical contaminants,including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which arebyproducts of industrial processes and petroleum production. They can also come from gas stations,urban stormwater runoff, and septic systems. •Radioactive contaminants,which can be naturallyoccurring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities. The sources of drinking water (both tapwater and bottled water) include rivers,lakes, streams,ponds,reservoirs,springs and wells.Aswater travels over the surface of the land or through the ground, it dissolves naturallyoccurring minerals and, in some cases, radioactive material, and can also pick up substances resulting from the presence of ani- mals or human activities. The water supplyteam at Redstone is committed to providing top quality water to every tap. We ask all of our customers to help protect our water sources,which arethe heart of our community,our wayoflife,and our children’s future. We extend our sincere thanks to each of you, our Redstone Arsenal valuablecustomers,for the opportunity to serveyou. Feel free to sharethis information with all the other people whodrink this water,especiallythose whomay not have receivedthis notice directly(forexample Red- stone businesses). Yo ucan do this by posting this in apublic place or distributing copies by hand or mail. Redstone Arsenal: Federal Center of Excellence June 2, 2021 Redstone Rocket 23 Community Cain caps 46 years of service at IMCOM Sustainment By SKIP VAUGHN things.And that’swhatyou become.” Rocket editor His focus has been “people always,mission first.” But he said his mission nowis [email protected] “Florida bound” as he and his wife move to Rockledge,Florida, to be with their daughters and grandchildren. After four and ahalf decades of government service,MikeCain had manypeople Cain and his wife of 49 years,Kay,havelivedatRedstone the past four years.They he wanted to thank. have twodaughters,April and Autumn, and three grandchildren, Ben, 16, Winnie, He said they made him whoheistoday. Cain retired as the chief of Familyand 13, and Sawyer,7. Morale,Welfareand Recreation forInstallation Management Command-Sustain- Thirty-sevenpeople attended the luncheon in The Summit ballroom and 57 others ment. Since November 2016 he provided FMWR Directoratesupport to 27 garrison watched virtuallyvia Teams and Zoom. The Cains wavedtotheir grandchildren via FMWR programs spanning sevenArmycommands located in 19 different states and Zoom during the ceremony. one foreign country. Davis Tindoll, director of IMCOM Sustainment, presented Cain the Meritorious His retirement ceremonyluncheon washeld May26inThe Summit. Civilian Service Medal and the certificate of retirement. He also shared memories “It’sjust likeamural, likeacollage,” Cain said of his 46-year career which included of his friend forover50years.They playedhigh school football against each other three years as a first lieutenant. “So manypeople,places and things.You remember in Kentuckyjust outside of Fort Knox. Cain’s Meade County team beatTindoll’s the song by John Lennon and Paul McCartney ‘In My Life’? That’swhatitis. When North Hardin team, 35-14. youspan four and ahalf decades working with so manypeople,they become apart “Youwill be remembered as someone who’smade adifference,” Tindoll said. “And of you. Just likeacollage.All those pieces put together.You’re made up of so many yo uwill be missed.” Cain, 69, from Brandenburg, Kentucky, grew up in an Army familyasthe son of anoncommissioned officer.Hewas adistinguished military graduate from ROTC at Eastern KentuckyUniversity whereheearned his bachelor’sand master’sofscience “It’s justlikeamural, likeacollage.Somanypeople, places in recreation and parkadministration. and things. Youremember the song by John Lennon andPaul After serving in the Army 1974-77, he became acommunity MWR outdoor rec- reation programmer in May1979 at Fort Knox. His career took him to Germany, McCartney‘In My Life’? That’swhatitis. Whenyou span Florida, Texas and finallyAlabama. four and ahalf decades working with somanypeople,they “It’sbeen alot of moves,”Cain said. He counted nine permanent change of sta- become apartofyou. Just like acollage. All those pieces put tion movesinfour and ahalf decades. together.You’re made up of so many things.And that’swhat youbecome.” MikeCain
Photo by Skip Vaughn Photo by Skip Vaughn Davis Tindoll, director of IMCOM Sustainment, left, receives amemento from Mike Cain, the retiring chief of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation for Mike Cain during Cain’sretirement ceremony. It’saframed article about the high Installation Management Command-Sustainment, and his wife, Kay, wave to their school football game theyplayedagainst each other in Kentuckywhen Cain’s grandchildren via Zoom during his retirement ceremonyatThe Summit. Meade County team beat Tindoll’sNorth Hardin team, 35-14. Redstone Arsenal: Federal Center of Excellence June 2, 2021 Redstone Rocket 27 Veterinarian captain cares for militaryworking dogs By REBECCA SALLEE Staff writer [email protected]
The officer in charge of the Veterinary Treatment Facility does his best forall of the four-legged patients thatcome through his doors. But Capt. Tim Beck said thereisaspecial place in his heart forthe military work- ing dogs. Beck, recently serving a temporary assignment at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, joined the Army as part of the health professional scholarship programin 2017. In addition to the usual duties of avet, Beck is the health provider forsome of the country’smost loyalpatriots: military working dogs. Severalqualities set them apart from other dogs,hesaid. “The most unique thing about treating working dogs is almost all of them are trained in patrol, also known as “bite-trained,”Beck said. “Wedon’t interact with them in our clinic without amuzzle.” But that’sbecause their instinct when they areinpain is to bite.“Ninety-seven percent of my working dogs arecuddle dogs,” he said. In fact, the onlytime Beck wasbitten by aworking dog, he waswearing a“bite suit” and it was“on purpose.” “I have neverbeen bit in aclinic,”hesaid. Redstone’sworking dogs are“incredibly fit,”requiring them to be on ahigh-cal- orie diet, typically500 calories per cup,compared to typical dogfood thatis400 to 450 calories per cup.And some military working dogs eatasmuch as eight cups of food aday –but they work it off. “I always comparethem to professional athletes,” Beck said. He sees the military working dogs at least once amonth for“spot day,”when he checks their weight and bodycondition, inspects their kennels,and provides monthly medicine forheartworm, flea and tick prevention. Twice ayear,heconducts asemiannual physical exam on the dogs.During one,he drawsblood foracomplete workup; during the other,hedecides if they might need morebloodwork. At times,Beck said, veterinarians takeinformation from the doghandlers and interpret it along with their ownobservations to assess an animal’shealth. “The handlers have an incredibly strong bond (with the dogs),”hesaid, recalling an incident during atemporary assignment in Turkey when ahandler told him his dogwas “licking his lips funny.” On ahunch, Beck took an X-ray and found thatthe dog’sstomach wasbloated and filled with air,which can occur when it’shot and adog drinks water too fast. Thatcondition can lead to GDV, gastric dilatation-volvulus,and is morecommon Courtesy photo in large and giant breed dogs.It’scritical because the stomach can rotate,trapping Veterinarian Capt. TimothyBeck poses with Dixi, aGerman shepherd currently as- signed at Air Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. gas inside the stomach, and threatening the dog’slife.(In this instance,the dogwas fortunatelyjust suffering from “bloat.”) Most military working dogs nowundergo asimple procedurewheretheir stom- achs are“pexied,”orpinned to avoid GDV, Beck said. some events involving the president or vice president. Capt. Sean Lulofs,kennel master of the K-9 Branch, has been training dogs for The Redstone handlers and veterinarian work together to keep the dogs in top over 29 years,and credits excellent veterinary carefor their overall good condition- shape,because youneverknowwho’sgoing to need their services next. ing. Agraduate of EckerdCollege in St. Petersburg, Florida, Beck graduated from the Lulofs doesn’t want to reveal the number of working dogs at the Arsenal, but Ohio State University School of Veterinary Medicine and “owed” the military three said they areusuallyBelgian Malinois or German shepherds.“Ialso have aDutch years of service.Hedid aone-year internship at alarge clinic at Fort Hood, Texas, shepherd,”hesaid. and came to the Arsenal in 2018. All of the dogs aretrained to apprehend subjects.Some also detect explosivesand The following year,hewas assigned to ayear at Incirlik Base in Turkey,wherehe others also detect narcotics. treated the military working dogs.Hereturned to Redstone in September 2020. The Arsenal’sworking dogs performexplosive searches when VIPs visit the Arse- At Redstone,Beck is in charge of ateam of six Soldiers and three civilians at the nal, and during random antiterrorism measures,Lulofs said, adding thatthereisa veterinary clinic. He also travels regularly to Columbus Air ForceBase in Mississippi working dogatone of Redstone’sgates every daytoconduct random searches. to carefor military working dogs there. The dogs and their handlers arealso called upon to do K-9 police patrol work else- He and his wife Anna, director of communications and special projects at the whereinthe country forthe U.S. SecretService and Department of State,including Huntsville Botanical Garden, have twocats, Atlas and Hercules. 28 Redstone Rocket June 2, 2021 Redstone Arsenal: Federal Center of Excellence Illinois native recalls camaraderie among fighter pilots By SKIP VAUGHN Rocket editor [email protected]
Lee Smith had big aspirations while growing up in the small community of Harvard, Illinois,60 miles northwest of Chicago. “In 1962 Iwent to the Air ForceAcademybe- cause Iwanted to be afighter pilot,”the retired Air Forcecolonel said. He graduated in 1966 with abachelor’sinengi- neering and then receivedhis master’sfromPurdue in 1967. He completed his pilot training at Reese Air ForceBase in Lubbock, Texas,inApril 1968.
Next he had about ayear of advanced training at Courtesy photo McConnell Air ForceBase,Kansas. Courtesy photo In 1969 Capt. Lee Smith wasacombat fighter pilot Capt. Lee Smith was25in1969 when he became a Retired Air Force Col. Lee Smith and his wife, Janet, with the 354th Tactical Fighter Squadron based in combatfighter pilot with the 354th Tactical Fighter reside in Madison. Takhli, Thailand. Squadron based in Takhli, Thailand. From June- December 1969, he flew 84 combatmissions in the F-105D single seatfighter/bomber. Vietnam revisited These were daytime missions over Laos,South Part 322 in series Vietnam and North Vietnam. Normallythey flew in formations of twoorfour F-105 Thunder Chiefs. “It wasless threatening than manyothers faced, to Huntsville in 1993 to work forRaytheon Com- particularly the F-105s thatbombed Hanoi,”Smith panyand he retired in 2010 as aRaytheon program said. His squadron of about 30 pilots wasamong manager supporting the Space and Missile Defense three squadrons in the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing, Command. so therewereabout 100 fighter pilots stationed at When he and his wife arrivedfromFlorida in Takhli at anygiventime. 1993, he said, they expected to leave after three During Smith’ssix months at war, eight pilots in years. his squadron were killed in action. “And thatwas 28 years agoand we haven’tleft Smith, whoresides in Madison, said he did not yet. Love it,”hesaid. “I enjoythe community,the get shot down or injured butdid have twosignifi- positive community support toward the military cant emergency landings.Hesaid he most remem- and the military industrial complex. And Ienjoythe bers “the camaraderie with the other fighter pilots.” He receivedfive Air Medals.After Thailand he church community thatI’m apart of.” returned to Reese Air ForceBase,wherehehad re- He and his wife,Janet, celebrated their 53rdanni- ceivedhis pilot training, and became aT-38 Talon versary in May. They have twodaughters –Elizabeth instructor pilot. Williams of Grapevine,Texas,and Janell Zesinger Smith went on to serve26years in the Air Force. of Madison –and five grandchildren. Twooftheir He retired in 1992 at Eglin Air ForceBase,Florida, grandchildren areinTexas and three in Madison. wherehewas assigned to the Joint Air Defense Op- Smith, 77, has served as avolunteer tax preparer erations/Joint Engagement Zone.Heserved as the with the Redstone TaxCenter the past 11 years.For test director foranArmy, Air Forceand Navy test the past sevenyears,hehas also volunteered with of combatidentification. AARP tax services in Huntsville. “I thought it wasfantastic,”hesaid of his Air Forthe past six years,hehas volunteered as amil- Courtesy photo Forcecareer.“Ienjoyedthe people,Ienjoyedthe itary tour guide at the U.S. Space &Rocket Center. In 1987 Col. Lee Smith wasstationed at KelleyBar- work and Ienjoyedtraveling all over the world. But He is amember of theAir ForceAssociation and he racks in Stuttgart, Germany. attends the Messiah Lutheran Church in Madison. most of all Ienjoyedthe opportunity to flyfighter ed thatconflict is very appreciated,”hesaid. “It is and attack aircraft. My favorites were the F-105 His younger brother,Barry,74, of Portland, Or- particularly appreciated by those of us wholived Thud and the A-10 Warthog.” egon, is aNavyveteran whoserved on an aircraft through thattime in our history.” His assignments included Osan Air Base,Korea; carrier in the Gulf of Tonkin in 1968-70. RoyalAir ForceWoodbridge,England; Norvenich Smith shared his thoughts on this nation’s com- Editor’snote: This is the 322nd in aseries of ar- Air Base,Germany; and Kelley Barracks in Stutt- memoration of 50 years since the Vietnam War. ticles about Vietnam veterans as the United States gart, Germany. After retiring at Eglin Air Force “The current recognition forall the Soldiers,sail- commemorates the 50th anniversaryofthe Vietnam Base,heworkedinthe defense industry.Hecame ors,Marines and airmen whofought and support- War. Redstone Arsenal: Federal Center of Excellence June 2, 2021 Redstone Rocket 29 St. John Paul II alums attending U.S. MilitaryAcademy
By JONATHAN STINSON Assistant editor [email protected]
One local high school has eight stu- dents attending the U.S. Military Acad- emy. “These eight students arefromthree St. John Paul II Catholic High School graduating classes of 2017, 2019 and 2020,”Sharon Wieter,director of strate- gic communications forthe school, said. “This is quite an accomplishment as the class sizes were:108, 79 and 101 respec- tively.” The students are: Dianna Boyer, Bridget Cianfaglione,John Boyer, Ge- rard McCarron, Gerald Moore, Seth Brown, MatthewSauter and Adler Brin- inger. “Each of these young men and women embraced the coreJPII values of Learn Enthusiastically, Lead Honorably and Live Responsibly,” Headmaster Jeremiah Courtesy photo Russell said. “They areareflection of the Eight former students from St. John strong foundation giventhem through Paul II Catholic High School are attend- their faith, service to others,and aca- ing the U.S. MilitaryAcademy. From demic commitment to excellence.Many left, first row,are Dianna Boyerand of them have parents or relativeswho Bridget Cianfaglione; second row,John served or areserving. It has been aplea- Boyer, Gerard McCarron, Gerald Moore, suretowatch them continue their jour- Seth Brown, MatthewSauter and Adler Brininger. ney to be whoGod is calling them to be.” During their time at the school all of the students were actively involved in to perform100 hours of community ser- school clubs,organizations and sports, vice and, forexample,the class of 2021 according to Wieter. spent morethan 11,000 serving others “In addition to being competitive in Huntsville and Madison County,ac- athletes,manywereteam captains and cording to Wieter.The 89-student Class severalwent on to win at thestate level, of 2021 also wasoffered morethan $11.8 both as ateam member and individu- million in scholarships. ally,”she said. “All were members of the Since 2002, the school has had 24 stu- JPII National Honor Society and other dents attend military academies with the honor societies while at JPII.” U.S. Military Academyleading the way Each senior at the school is required with 15 students attending West Point.
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417705-1 Redstone Arsenal: Federal Center of Excellence June 2, 2021 Redstone Rocket 31 Memorial Day reminder of sacrifices made for freedom By KARI HAWKINS served this greatcountry,” Battle said. “As ArmyMateriel Command Public Affairs we memorializethose whohaveserved and those whohavedied, these walls areare- Reminders of past Memorial Daycer- minder of thepeople whohavemade us a emonies were present among the veterans, better nation.” service members,community leaders and Walker said the memorial and the fallen attendees whocame together Mondayto heroes whose names areetched in its walls rekindle Huntsville’slongstanding tradition aresymbols of miltiary values and service, of honoring the nation’s fallen on its most and the sacrifices made forfreedom and lib- solemn holiday. erty. About 300 patriots attended the Hunts- “Of all the military values these fallen he- ville Memorial DayCeremonyatthe Hunts- roes displayed, their sacrifice is the ultimate ville/Madison County Veterans Memorial and truest form of selfless service,” he said. Park,aceremonythatwas canceled last year “Whether they were drafted or volunteered due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As in years at atime of war, their commitment to serving past, the ceremonywas markedbythe plac- our nation defined their livesand deserves ing of wreaths at the memorial representing our deepest appreciation. This monument the community’sGold Star families,the City is awitness to their duty,courageand sac- of Huntsville,the North Alabama Veterans rifice.” and Fraternal Organizations Coalition, and But his comments were especiallydirected morethan 30 military and veterans groups. to the families of fallen heroes whowerein “While Memorial Daymay still look dif- the audience. ferent as we continue to grapple with the CO- “For the families of fallen service mem- VID-19 pandemic, one thing thatremains Photo by Megan Cotton Gully the same arethe memories and emotions bers,the military values of honor and per- sonal couragehavehit hardintheir homes,” The Gold Star wreath is carried to its place of honor during the Huntsville Memo- thatgoalong with this remembrance each rial DayCeremonyatthe Huntsville/Madison County Veterans Memorial by Medal year,” Redstone Senior Commander Lt. he said. “This Memorial Day, likeall others beforeand after,brings to the forefront the of Honor recipient and retired Capt. Mike Rose and Redstone Senior Commander Gen. Donnie Walker said. Lt. Gen. Donnie Walker.Walking with them are, Gold Star mothers, from left, Lydia “This dayisareminder thatwehavewith- loss thatthey endureevery day. Their cour- Scott and Annette Hall. Amember of the Young Marines escorts the group. in our community,our state and our nation, ageand grace is inspiring to all of us.” While Memorial Dayisatraditional holi- the nearly 400,000 veterans whocall Ala- of all –their life forours,their life forour na- families wholive each daywith the painful bama home.And youcan feel patriotism in tion, their life forour flag and the freedom it reminder of alife cut short so each of us can dayfor remembering the nation’s military heroes,itisalso aday to honor the nation’s the waythis community honors its fallen – symbolizes.” live long in freedom.” and their families.” While the nation is one of manydiffer- Walker shared the podium with Hunts- miltiary heritage,military values and those serving in uniformtodayaswell as the na- Morethan 1.1 million U.S. men and ences,Walker said Americans arebound to- ville MayorTommyBattle at amemorial fi thathonors and respects its fallen heroes as tion’s patriotism, Walker said. women have diedinwar throughout the na- gether and uni ed by love of country. well as its veterans and service members. “In this community and state,patriotism tion’s history.Each of the nation’s fallen he- “Thatgoes to the heart of what it means runs deep,” he said. roes represent amiltiary story of duty, cour- to be an American,”hesaid. “Aswehonor The memorial represents the struggle for fi freedom thatdefines the nation, Battle said, “You can hear patriotism in the words ageand sacri ce,headded, with some of the this Memorial Day, Ihope the link we have from the Revolutionary Warofalmost 250 of our elected and community leaders who stories known and manyothers left untold. in the loss of our fallen heroes reminds us all years agotothe wars in Iraq and Afghani- pledge their support to the military missions “But howeach of us responds to these howimportant it is to stand up forliberty stan. of Redstone Arsenal and the state’sother fallen heroes says much about the traditions and freedom. Todayisareminder of thetrue “Freedom does reign in our nation and military installations.You can see patriotism we hold dear,” he said. “I hope each of you, cost of warand areminder to honor those the walls of this memorial point out those in the everydayacts of kindness extended to todayand every day, live in respect of the whodied while answering the call to serve whohavefought, whohavedied, whohave the military families,service members and memories of those whogavethe greatest gift our greatnation.” Madison honors those who proudly wore the uniform By EMILYSTRICKLAND Staff writer [email protected]
The late morning sun shone brightlyonthe City of Madison Wall of Heroes dur- ing the Madison City Memorial DayCeremonyMonday. Dozens of Madison residents attended the observance,which took place at 11 a.m. at Madison Veterans Memorial Park and wasfacilitated by American Legion Post 229. See Madison on page 32
Photo by Eric Schultz MembersofAmerican Legion Post 229 stand at attention during the Memorial DayCeremony. 32 Redstone Rocket June 2, 2021 Redstone Arsenal: Federal Center of Excellence
of our armed forces and Madison bravelydefended America,” Lt. Gen L. Neil Thurgood Continued from page 31 said. “Whether serving here at home or abroad, this elite “Today, we honor every man and group of individuals has woman whoproudlyworethe uniform ensured thatyou and Iare able to live our dailylives free of tyrannyand fear.” Thurgood, the director of Hypersonics,Directed Energy,Space and Rapid Acquisition whooversees the Army Rapid Capabili- ties and Critical Technolo- Photo by Eric Schultz gies Office,spokeinhonor Photo by Eric Schultz of those whodied in service Amember of the American Legion Post 229 honor Lt. Gen. L. Neil Thurgood speaks during and reminded the crowd guard plays Taps. the Memorial DayCeremony. whyitisimportant to ob- serveMemorial Day. Members of the Bob Jones High the manysacrifices made by U.S. mili- “This is aday to cherish their memo- School Air ForceJROTC presented the tary service members throughout the ry and to celebratethe courageand the colors at the beginning of the ceremo- nation’s nearly 250-year history. deeds of all veterans whohaveserved ny and also raised the colors at noon “The harsh reality of war, and mili- the nation,”hesaid. “They have right- in accordance with the U.S. flag code, tary service in general, is thatnot ev- fullyearned our gratitude,our respect which instructs thatthe American flag eryone will makeithome,” Thurgood and aplace of honor among us.And we is to be flownathalf-mast from dawn on re minded the crowd.“Let us honor the will work to instill and keep their honor, Memorial Dayuntil it is raised to full- memory of heroes no longer with us. forthatishow honor is kept.” mast at noon. The St. John Paul II High And let us strive to live up to the exam- Thurgood wasjoined by U.S. Rep. School band performed “God Bless ple set by such selfless patriots each and Mo Brooks and Madison MayorPaul America” and “In the Mood,”and Girl eve ry day. Yo ur presence hereshows you Finley,who each shared remarks and Scout Troop 926 and BoyScout Troop acknowledge and appreciate the great Photo by Eric Schultz honored the ultimate sacrifice made by 201 assisted in posting wreaths on the sacri fices our military men and women The colorsare presented by Bob Jones those whogavetheir livesinservice in monument. have made forgenerations to come,en- High School Air Force JROTC. the military. The event wasasolemn reminder of suring freedom endures.” NO OUT OF POCKET COSTSTO GOVERNMENTPOLICYHOLDERS
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By EMILYSTRICKLAND Staff writer [email protected]
Alabama is one of the most biodiverse states in the U.S.,and the nearly 40,000 acres of land encompassed by Redstone Arsenal arenoexception to that. How- ever, Endangered Species Day, observed on May21, shed some light on afew of the plants and animals thatmay not be around forever. Currently, ahandful of endangered and threatened species reside within the gates of Redstone Arsenal. Endangered spe- cies include the Alabama cave shrimp,the Indiana batand the gray bat, while the northern long-eared batand Price’spotato bean arecurrentlythreatened. Christine Easterwood has been an ecol- Christine Easterwood ogist with the Garrison Environmental Management Division for11years.Her primary role is to track the populations of endangered and threatened species thatlive on the Arsenal and ensurethatinstal- lation activities and missions of the Army’s tenant organizations do not put those populations at risk of harm. Courtesy photo If amission cannot be completed without posing arisk to an endangered or threat- An Alabama cave shrimp is photographed beside apennytoshow the size of the ened species,Easterwood coordinates with the U.S. Fishand Wildlife Service to work creature. out the best path forward, ensuring thatorganizations on the installations can meet their goals while preserving the natural environment as much as possible. Endangered species,Easterwood said, areatthe highest risk forbecoming extinct. “They maybemoresensitive to changes in the environment, either from humans or pollution or contaminated groundwater.” Threatened species are“one step down” from endangered, she said. “They’re not criticallyindanger,but if the pattern continues,making them morerareorsensi- tive,then they maybeheaded towardsbecoming endangered, with ahigher risk of extinction.” Identifying and monitoring the abundant wildlife on Redstone Arsenal takes co- operation from manydifferent organizations.Easterwood’soffice workswith Auburn University and other state and federal agencies to survey the land every fewyears or so and get an understanding of what baseline populations exist on the Arsenal. In some cases,likethatofthe Indiana bat, the survey does not necessarilychronicle the exact sizeofthe population, butrather highlights the areas on the installation that would serveasasuitablehabitatfor the animal. “The thing about managing is trying to keep the landscape in the best condition it can be to support the animal or the plant,”Easterwood said. This management differs greatlybyspecies.For example,the Alabama cave shrimp,which has onlybeen found in Madison and Jackson counties,ispresent in one cave on Redstone Arsenal. Because of their subterranean habitat, Alabama cave shrimp arevulnerable to groundwater contamination; therefore, anyorganization performing an activity thatmay affect the groundwater quality must takeproper precautions to ensurethattheir activity is not posing an unnecessary risk to the spe- cies.Groundwater protection precautions areusuallyincluded in best management practices fornormal construction work,since they prevent erosion and groundwater sedimentation. In this instance,these practices serveanadditional purpose because they protect the Arsenal’sAlabama cave shrimp population. The three endangered/threatened batspecies on Redstone Arsenal provide another example.While manypeople associate bats with caves, Easterwood said thatbat ac- tivity in wooded areas is moreofaconcern on the installation. Manyspecies of bats hibernate in cavesduring the winter butlive in forest “maternity colonies” wherethey raise their young during the warmer months.Toprotect these populations,time-of- year restrictions have been placed on tree cutting. On an individual level, Easterwood encourages visitors to be good stewardsofthe land on Redstone Arsenal. “If you’re out herehiking or biking, try to keep your footprint restrained,”she said. “Try to stayontrail.” Easterwood also asks thatvisitors takepersonal respon- sibility and refrain from littering. 34 Redstone Rocket June 2, 2021 Redstone Arsenal: Federal Center of Excellence Volunteers invited to help preserve Path to Nature By REBECCA SALLEE Staff writer [email protected]
Moretime at home during the pandemic allowed manyofustopay extraattention to our outdoor spaces, butthe ecologist at Redstone Arsenal had the opposite problem –and she’shoping volunteers can help turn things around. Teleworking allowedChristine Easterwood to cover her office duties,but prohibited her from tending to one of her favorite projects,the Path to Natureonthe Arse- nal’ssouth side near the Col. Carroll D. Hudson Recre- ational Area. Built in 1995 and funded by theDOD Legacy Re- source Management Program, the 72-acrenatureob- servatory is visited during atypical year by hundreds of area school children. The Path to Natureisliterallyjust that, with one path leading to atupelo wetlands area, and another leading to adeck thatoverlooks apond. Permanent “ecological concept signs” along the wayeducate students about the abundant floraand fauna teeming at the area. The grounds also featurepicnic tables,bathrooms,and Photo by Eric Schultz Photo by Eric Schultz acovered outdoor classroom with electrical outlets and Christine Easterwood, ecologist for the Garrison, This is the outdoor classroom at the Path to Nature. workstations forstudents. holds aPond Slider turtle found on the Path to Na- Even beforethe classroom wasbuilt and the path was ture. named, Huntsville City Schools introduced students to wood said. “When they grow big enough, the babies bail Easterwood has tried to manage the overgrowth of priv- the wetlands on field trips through EARTHSCOPE, its out, fall to the water and start swimming.” et and other invasive species along the path, and weeds in environmental education program. The emergent wetland and pond on the grounds “is a wooden plant containers,but Mother Natureiswinning The following year,the Legacy programfunded the greatplace to see herons,” she said. “Birdlovers love to the battle. design and construction of a“watchablewildlife site” in come down hereand enjoythe diverse array of species.” Handmade flower boxesthatonce beckoned bees and the area with an interpretive trail. Earth Dayisusuallythe biggest dayofthe year at the butterflies arenow dominated by clover and other weeds. Construction wasfunded by the Army Community of Path to Nature, butApril 22 events were canceled in 2020 Opportunity is knocking forvolunteers,either indi- Excellence and the Garrison, Easterwood said. and 2021 due to the pandemic. viduals or groups,tohelp improvethe Path to Naturein The Path to Natureopened to Huntsville city and Easterwood hopes by thetime Earth Day2022 rolls time to welcome visitors this summer,and students back Madison and Madison County schools in 1995. around, the area will have once again reached its poten- in the fall. On the path, students “wind their waythrough pris- tial. Volunteers can plant flowers,weed gardens,put up tine tupelo gum swamps,lush bottomland forest and It is showing some wear and tear,especiallyafter a birdhouses,clear the paths of debris,and the list goes scrub and shrub swamps,” Easterwood said. year in which it wasgivenlittle attention. on, Easterwood said, emphasizing thatall planting and The area is home to numerous species of animals, The boardwalk thatled to the tupelo wetlands recent- other work must be approved through her office. including beavers,deer,wood ducks,great blue herons, ly had to be demolished because the rise and fall of the Easterwood came to the Arsenal in 2007 after earning barred owls,great horned owls,osprey,warblers,and water compromised it structurallyand made it unsafe, her master’sinwildlife biology at Auburn University. manyother birds. Easterwood said. She and her husband, Jud, asupervisory wildlife biol- On arecent visit to the Path to Nature, she spotteda Thereiscurrentlynosustainablefunding available ogist forthe state of Alabama, have three children, Leah, slider turtle thatappeared to be nesting, multiple rabbits, formaintenance of the property.“Just to clean up what 9, Grayson, 7, and Bryce,5. and apiliated woodpecker,onornear the wetlands. we’vegot would be reallyinvigorating,”Easterwood said. Anyone interested in volunteering at the Path to Na- Wood ducks frequent the wetlands during nesting sea- While the grounds have been mowedregularly during tureisencouraged to call Easterwood at 842-8697, or son and often makeuse of artificial nest boxes, Easter- the pandemic, other maintenance issues were ignored. email her at [email protected].
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417736-1 Redstone Arsenal: Federal Center of Excellence June 2, 2021 Redstone Rocket 37 Fe dederalral Marshall research team soars to success in microgravity By TAYLOR GOODWIN The ring-sheared drop payload initially NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center launched to the International Space Station in 2019, butthe hardwareneeded modifica- No force–including gravity –could hold tions to achieve the desired results.Since then, ateam of NASA researchers down in their the Marshall team has been working to im- quest forascientificbreakthrough to benefit provethe efficacyofthe experiment by mak- life on Earth and in space. ing necessary adjustments beforeattempting Scientists from Marshall Space Flight moreorbital deployments. Center completed twoparabolic flights April The team began with twoparabolic flights 28-29 to test modifications to apayload called in November 2020, which allowedthem to the ring-sheared drop. test severalpossible improvements to the pay- “This demonstration proved thatthe load. After flight, the team had approximate- modified hardwareiscapable of deploying ly five months to implement lessons learned and pinning each of the protein solutions and preparefor the next flight opportunity in thatwill be used in an experiment using the April. ring-sheared drop hardwareonthe Interna- In April’sparabolic flight campaign, the tional Space Station,”Louise Strutzenberg, test apparatus consisted of asyringe that co-investigator on the ring-sheared drop par- holds solution to be dispensed, the newly abolic re-flight experiment, said. “The lessons modified cage-tip tube capableofdispens- learned will prepareusto takethe next steps ing astableliquid drop,and amotor thatis beforeresuming testing on the space station.” activated to drive the piston in the syringe to The team flew out of Fort Lauderdale, dispense the liquid. During flight, video cam- Florida, on ZeroGravity Corporation’s eras were in position to capturethe behavior modified Boeing 727 aircraft, which achieves of the fluid droplet as it wasdispensed. periods of variablegravity through aseries “Being weightless is trulyanindescrib- ZERO-G photo by Steve Boxall of maneuvers called parabolas.The plane, able experience,” Marshall materials science Marshall’sring-sheared drop team tests their payload in weightlessness on Zero called G-Force One,completed 30 parabolas engineer Gabriel Demeneghi said. “It is even Gravity Corporation’sG-Force One aircraft. Each team member is at least partially each day–enabling the teams to tend to their moreexciting to be in microgravity to make vaccinated and wastested for COVID-19 each morning before entering flight experiment in weightlessness for22-second strides on aproject thatyou’re passionate facilities. intervals. about.” Developed by Marshall and Rensselaer On dayone of flight, the team pinned two Polytechnic Institute of Troy,New Yo rk,the out of three protein solutions.Due to apow- experiment studies the formation of poten- er supplyissue,the team’shigh-speed camera tiallydestructive amyloid fibrils, or protein wasunabletocapturethe pinning. However, clusters,likethose found in the brain tissue of abackup cameracaptured the majority of in- patients battling neurodegenerative diseases – flight operations.Once their feet were firmly such as Alzheimer’sand Parkinson’s. on the ground, the scientists were able to re- Such illnesses damage neurons,the driv- viewvideo footage,correct the powersupply, ers of the human nervous system, which and modify operations to increase efficiency. chemicallycontrol information processing On the second day, theteam pinned one- necessary forthe mind and bodytooperate. inch drops of all four flight fluids –gather- The accumulation of these amyloid fibrils ing all necessary footage and data to analyze refuse to dissolvethe waymost proteins do. on the ground. In addition, they successfully Instead, they build up over time until disrupt- pinned one-inch drops of twopre-sheared ing the healthyfunction of tissues and organs test solutions thatthe Rensselaer Polytechnic – wh ich can be debilitating, or in some cases, Institute team prepared in pre-flight activities. fatal. NASA’s Flight Opportunities program, In Earth-based experiments,researchers within the Space Technology Mission Di- determined thatamyloid fibrils maybecreat- rectorate, makes these experiment flights NASA photo ed by shear flow,orthe difference of flow ve- possible,facilitating rapid demonstration of locity between adjacent layers of aliquid. In promising technologies forspace exploration, Core stages unite grounded experimentation, thatformation is discovery,and results to benefitlife on Earth. affected by theshape of experiment contain- The ring-sheared drop hardwareisspon- Technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility stacked two of three hard- ers and by heat convection –the tendency of sored by NASA’s Biological and Physical fl ware elements for NASA’s Space Launch System rocket April 28. Crews con- hotter,less dense material to rise in uidand Sciences,part of the agency’sScience Mis- nected the liquid oxygen tank flight hardware with the intertank. Later,theywill colder,denser material to sink due to gravity. sion Directorate. Thepayload is scheduled to add the forward skirttoformthe upper portion of the core stage that will help However,conducting the experiment in launch to the space station this summer from power Artemis II, the first crewedmission of NASA’s Artemis program and sec- microgravity eliminates heatconvection and NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Northrop ond flight of the SLS rocket. Crews moved the intertank to the assembly and allows liquids to form in spherical drops, Grumman’s 16th Commercial ResupplySer- stacking area in March, and then moved the liquid oxygen tank to the same eliminating the need foracontainer.Inthese vices mission. area. The joining of the three structures together is the first major assembly weightless conditions,researchers can “pin” a Editor’snote: Taylor Goodwin, aMedia of hardware for the Artemis II core stage. When completed, the upper partof droplet of liquid between tworings and culti- Fusion employee, supports Marshall’sOffice fi the stage will stand 66 feet tall –just afraction of the entire core stage. The vate amyloid brils forstudy. of Strategic Analysis &Communications. fully-assembled, 212-foot-tall rocket stage consists of five hardware elements. 38 Redstone Rocket June 2, 2021 Redstone Arsenal: Federal Center of Excellence Bilbrey becomes deputy director of safety at Marshall By NASA’s Marshall SpaceFlight Center tions in federal agencies. Systems Office,whereshe also held the within the Flight Projects Director- Since 2009, Bilbrey has held multiple position of chief operating officer of the ate. She joined Marshall in 1987 and Julie Bilbrey has been named deputy leadership positions in the directorate, National Space Science and Technology spent the first 11 years of her career in director of the Safety and Mission As- including chief of theProgram Analysis Center.The previous twoyears,she was Spacelabmission operations,whereshe surance DirectorateatMarshall Space and Systems Integration Branch, man- technical assistant to the director of the trained payload flight crewsand ground Flight Center,pending approval by the ager of the Mission Systems Assurance Space Systems Programs/Projects Office. support personnel while serving in vari- Office of Personnel Management. Bil- and Technical Support Department In 2003, Bilbrey wasanInternational ous flight controller positions. brey will be jointlyresponsible forplan- and, currently, manager of the Vehicle Space Station payload operations di- Bilbrey holds abachelor’sinindustrial ning and directing the center’ssafety, Systems Department. She recentlycom- rector,whereshe managed and directed and systems engineering from Georgia reliability,and quality engineering and pleted atemporary assignment as acting both mission preparation and real-time Tech. She has receivednumerous awards, assurance operations. deputy manager of Marshall’sScience space station payload operations. including aSilver Snoopy, Space Flight Bilbrey’snew position is part of the and Technology Office. From 1998-2002, Bilbrey waslead of Awareness Honoree award, NASA Out- Senior Executive Service –the person- In 2005, Bilbrey wasnamed associ- the Flight Training Integration Team, standing Leadership Medal, and two nel system covering top managerial posi- atemanager of the Science &Mission Training and Crew Operations Group, Center Director’sCommendations.
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By SKIP VAUGHN Rocket editor [email protected]
Ann Burgess showedshe’sgot game likeher youngest sister. Burgess,whosebabysister Linda Burgess playedinthe WNBA, had astellar night in senior softball May24. She had three hits and made twoputouts at catcher as the gray team beatroyal blue 15-9 on field 2atBrahan Spring Park.They playinthe 55-and-overRockets league in Huntsville Senior Softball. Burgess,59, went 3-for-3 with awalk, one run batted in and scored tworuns.She caught twofoul popups behind the plate to strand runners on first and thirdinthe thirdinning. “Lovely.Ienjoyedit. It’sone of my best,”she said. “Don’t get to playoften because Iworkatthe VonBraun Center.And every opportunity Iget Icome out and play.” Linda Burgess, 51, the youngest of the five sisters, starred at Bob Jones High School and the University of Alabama beforeplaying forthe Los Angeles Sparks and Sacramento Monarchs in the Women’s National Basketball Association. In her 90 games in the WNBA, she averaged 5.8 points and 3.7 rebounds.The 6-foot-1 forward retired from professional basketball in 2001 and resides in Macon, Georgia. She wasinducted in the Huntsville-Madison County Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019. Player/coach Sam Sepulveda, David Koch and Ron Baer had four hits apiece for gray (7-5). David Keyhad three hits.Ken Valine and pitcher Michael Gundersen added twohits apiece.Gundersen, aleft-hander,pitched all seveninnings forthe win. Gray committed five errors butthey made plays when needed to strand baserun- Photo by Skip Vaughn ners,including Burgess’ twocatches in the thirdwith twoonand one out. Ann Burgess gets three hits and scores twice as graybeats royalblue 15-9. “Honestlyitwas good defense and our battings were solid. They weren’tgreat but they were solid,”Sepulveda, whoplayedshortstop and batted leadoff, said. Darnell Ford had three hits with an RBI double and scored three runs forroyal David McNeill 4000 blue (6-6). JorgeMarin, MarkWilbourn, pitcher Pete Mitchell and Yogi Guess had Steve Bishop 4110 twohits apiece.Mitchell took the loss. Ann Burgess 3231 “Wehit the ball to them,”royal blue player/coach Bob Thomson said. KenValine 4121 Bill Santi 4110 Royalblue (6-6) Michael Gundersen 4321 AB RHRBI Totals 43 15 24 14 JorgeMarin 3222 MarkWilbourn 4023 Pitching MikeKeyser 4012 IP AB HRER Jerry Bevel4000 Michael Gundersen (won) 7391499 Stan Sillivant 4010 Pete Mitchell 4120 RHE Bob Thomson 4000 Royalblue 0014040–9 14 2 Brian Yarger 4110 Gray 245031x–15245 Yogi Guess 4221 Darnell Ford 4331 Totals 39 9149 Senior softball league standings Pitching Hereare the standings forthe 55-and-overRockets league in Huntsville Senior IP AB HRER fi Pete Mitchell (loss) 643241511 Softball which plays Mondayand Thursdayevenings at elds 2and 1inBrahan Spring Park: WonLoss Gray (7-5) Navy blue 84 AB RHRBI Maroon 75 Sam Sepulveda 5341 Gray 76 David Koch 5344 Royalblue 76 RonBaer 5144 Red66 David Key 5032 Green 210 40 Redstone Rocket June 2, 2021 Redstone Arsenal: Federal Center of Excellence Moto powers maroon in clutch against green By SKIP VAUGHN Rocket editor [email protected]
With men on second and thirdand twoouts in the thirdinning, the green team intentionallywalked maroon slugger Scott Landers to taketheir chances with Moto Miller. Miller made them pay. His grand slam helped powermaroon to a22-21 win Thursdayonfield 2atBra- han Spring Park. They playinthe 55-and-overRockets league in Huntsville Senior Softball. “Just relaxed and stayedwithin myself,” Miller,the maroon catcher,said. “And on the grand slam, Iwanted to protect my teammate whothey just walked.” Landers had slugged atwo-run homer in the first and singled and scored in the second formaroon (7-5). So green gave him an intentional pass in the third. Miller described his thoughts as he approached the plate with the bases loaded, twoouts and his team trailing 12-8. “I’m just waiting formypitch,”hesaid. “I’m being patient and waiting formy pitch IknowIcould hit hard.” With a2-1 count, he blasted the next pitch over the left field fence. “My favorite pitch is the next one,” Miller said. He went 4-for-4 with six runs batted in and four runs scored. Twoofhis six home runs aregrand slams.Miller also caught apopup forthe first out in the top of the fifth inning. Photo by Skip Vaughn Player/coach Chris Maggio hit athree-run homer and went 4-for-4 with six RBIs Maroon catcher Moto Miller hit agrand slam and caught apopup in the 22-21 win over green. and tworuns scored. MarkHoffman was4-for-4 with twodoubles,one RBI and two runs.Landers went 3-for-3 with his two-run homer,two doubles and four runs.Mike Keyser added three hits with atwo-run triple.Dennis Brasher and Larry Guthrie Pitching added twohits apiece. IP AB HRER Maggio pitched all seveninnings forthe win as the maroon took their thirdstraight. BillyCooley (loss) 638262221 “Everybodyhit,”Maggio said. “Weall contributed. It’sour second close game in arow (with the 21-20 win over navy blue May24).” Maroon (7-5) Terry Koelblwent 5-for-5 with adouble,two RBIs and three runs forgreen (2-10). AB RHRBI Robert Tolliverand Jeff Crewshad four hits apiece.YogiGuess and RonBaer had Tim Lawter 3221 three hits apiece.Ruthie Hambrick, Ragnar Opiniano and TomFickling added two Scott Landers 3432 hits apiece.Player/coach BillyCooley took the loss in the circle. Moto Miller 4446 “Chris (Maggio) wasatough pitcher,” Cooley said. “He stopped us one run short.” MarkHoffman 4241 Chris Maggio 4246 Green (2-10) Dennis Brasher 4220 AB RHRBI Bill Santi 4111 Ruthie Hambrick 5223 MikeKeyser 4232 Terry Koelbl5352 Larry Guthrie 4221 Robert Tolliver5243 David Key4111 Ragnar Opiniano 5221 Totals 38 22 26 21 TomFickling 5223 BillyCooley 4110 Pitching Jeff Crews5342 IP AB HRER Shawn Gordon 2111 Chris Maggio (won) 745272118 MikePanko1000 Yogi Guess 4331 RHE RonBaer 4231 Green 2550135-- 21 27 1 Totals 45 21 27 17 Maroon 345550x-- 22 26 6 Redstone Arsenal: Federal Center of Excellence June 2, 2021 Redstone Rocket 41 Rocket City Trash Pandas salute militarycommunity Photos by ERIC SCHULTZ Gen. Ed Daly,com- Staff photographer mander of the Army Materiel Command, This wasahome run forthe community as the Rocket City Trash Pandas held throws out the cer- Military Appreciation Night on ThursdayatToyota Field in Madison. The Trash emonial first pitch Pandas,Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels,lost 3-2 to the Birmingham virtually on the score- Barons. board at Toyota Field.
Heather Pierce, of Madison, cheersfor the Trash Pandas as Still Serving Vet- Fr om left are Lt. Col. Jonathan Hatha- erans sponsored the Rocket City Trash way, assistant program manager at Pandas MilitaryAppreciation Night at Rapid Capabilities and Critical Tech- Jamie Viney, 4, gives Lt. Gen. L. Neil Thur- Toyota Field. Pierce is wearing the cap nologies Office; Trash Pandas mascot good ahigh-five in the stands. Thurgood, of her grandfather and Vietnam veteran Sprocket; and Lt. Gen. L. Neil Thurgood, director of Hypersonics, Directed Energy, Sgt. James Robinson. He served with director of Hypersonics, Directed En- Space and Rapid Acquisition, gave open- Luke Hendrix, 5, shows his patriotism the 101st Airborne in Vietnam. ergy, Space and Rapid Acquisition. ing remarks at Thursday’sevent. at the game.
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State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company,State Farm IndemnityCompany,Bloomington,IL StateFarmCountyMutual InsuranceCompany of Texas, Dallas, TX State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, State Farm GeneralInsuranceCompany, Bloomington,IL rocketcenter.com/drones @RocketCenterUSA State Farm Florida Insurance Company,WinterHaven, FL 1606202 StateFarmLloyds,Richardson,TX 417727-1 42 Redstone Rocket June 2, 2021 Redstone Arsenal: Federal Center of Excellence Ke ep pushing to take the checkered flag Yo ur glorydaysinsports By SKIPVAUGHN I’m ayear-round sports fan. But when it comes to car Rocket editor racing, Ihaveaconfession to make. [email protected] Idon’t likemotorsports.Ifit’sontelevision, I’ll turn the channel. I’ve just neverbeen attracted to racing that doesn’t involverunning. What is the highlight of your athletic endeavors? But it’sasport and the worldrevolves around athletics, right? There’sbeauty in competition of every kind as far “I playedcollege baseball (atthe U.S. Military Academyfrom1992- as I’m concerned. 95),”Col. Greg Fortier,the project manager forFutureAttack Recon Thereare also lessons from sports thatcan be applied Aircraft under the ProgramExecutive Office forAviation, said. “On to everydaylife.Ifound atidbit from motorsports history April 2, 1994, thatwas my 20th birthdayand we went to Annapolis to thattakes the checkered flag as ateachablemoment. playNavy. We went thereand beatthem (10-4) on my 20thbirthday. On May26, 2013, Tony Kanaan ended years of frus- And it waswhatwecalled aStar game so youget to put agold star on tration by finallywinning the Indianapolis 500. Kanaan your varsity letter.Itwas atotal team effort. Iplayedsecond base and drovepast Ryan Hunter-Reayonarestart with three laps Iwent 2-for-4 with one extrabase hit (a double). Iplayedthe whole to go,then coasted across the finish line under yellow game.Itwas greatbecause my familywas able to drive down to watch when defending race winner Dario Franchitti crashed far me play. They drovedownfromConnecticut. It’sobviouslyone of back in the field. the best memories of my four years at West Point forsure.” The Brazilian finished second in 2004 and twice fin- Fortier,47, from Terryville,Connecticut, has served in the Army ished third. He finallyreached his goal at Indy. 25 years.HearrivedatRedstone in June 2017 from Washington, D.C. The moral of this story is nevergive up.Don’t ever give He had atour in Afghanistan (2002-03) and atour in Iraq (2004- up. 05), both with the 82nd Airborne Division. The Madison resident Photo by Skip Vaughn and his wife of 16 years,Angela, an attorney with the Army Materiel Col. Greg Fortier,ofthe Program Command Legal Center,havetwo daughters,Grace,13, and Faith, Executive Office for Aviation, 11. Fortier likes to run and playgolf.Heroots forthe NewYork enjoys agolf outing at the Links. From thesidelines Yankees,the NewYorkGiants,the Florida State Seminoles and He playedbaseball for the U.S. By Skip Vaughn the Army Black Knights. MilitaryAcademyfrom 1992-95. Rocket editor
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NEW -LIKE NEW - Co ntactustoday: FACTORYCLOSEOUTS 256-726-7098 11507 So.MemorialPkwy, Huntsville•256-882-9999 oakwood.edu/leap officefurnitureoutlet.com 417719-1 - Redstone Arsenal: Federal Center of Excellence June 2, 2021 Redstone Rocket 45 Langewisch 604-9250. Sports&Recreation West Point chapter RocketAnnouncements Senior softball league Do youknowthereisaWest Point chapter Moreplayers areneeded forthe 55-and- in the Huntsville area? They do severalchap- over Rockets league in Huntsville Senior Scholarship benefitbanquet ville Optimist Club,Huntsville Police De- ter activities throughout the year to include Huntsville Bible College will hold its 28th partment, CAFY and the Florida Institute Softball. Games areMondayand Thursday cheering on Army to victory during sport- evenings on fields 2and 1atBrahan Spring annual Vision Banquet, Fridayat7p.m. virtu- of Technology Huntsville Site.Tonominate ing events and their annual Founder’sDay ayoung citizen, visit mystar991.com or call Park.The six teams include navy blue allyvia Facebook, on Yo uTube and at www. ,gray, celebration. Formoreinformation about the hbc1.edu. Funds from this event will be used KennyAnderson 883-3993. royalblue,maroon, redand green. Email chapter activities and to learn howyou can to provide scholarships forthe fullyaccredited league director Chris Maggio at cmag- be apart of this organization, visit the chap- college and to payfor the college’soperating Masquerade gala [email protected]. ter website at https://sallyport.westpointaog. costs.The guest speaker is Rev. Reginald Cal- The Redstone Arsenal Military and Ci- org/topics/11179/memberships.For more vert of the NewJerusalem Missionary Baptist vilians Club presents “Masquerade Gala in High school football officials information or assistance,email Dale Mc- Church, Birmingham. Formoreinformation, the Garden,”Oct. 22 from 6-10 p.m. at the The North Alabama Football Officials Donough at [email protected]. call the college at 469-7536. Huntsville Botanical Gardens,benefiting Association areagroup of officials thatserve the RSAMCC community assistance grants North Alabama. They currentlycontract to Business/government expo Lions Club chapter and merit scholarship awards.For informa- high schools in Huntsville,Madison, Madi- The Business to Government Contracting The Madison Area FamilyLions Club is a tion visit rsamcc.org. son County,Limestone County and Jackson Expo is Oct. 27-28 at the VonBraun Center newlyformed chapter thatcarries out the mis- County.Ifyou areinterested in becoming a in Huntsville.Freeexpo tickets areavailable sion and vision of Lions Club International. Charity car show referee today, visit https://nafoa.net. forDOD/CACholders.This event should They areagroup of volunteers with active Vets with Vettes and Corvette Owners roles in serving the needs of Madison and 16th annual Charity Car ShowisSaturday interest primes,8As,government agencies, from 9a.m. to 1p.m. at the Cabela’spark- Conferences&Meetings military directorates and also buyers,sellers surrounding areas.For membership informa- tion, email [email protected]. ing lot, 7090 Cabela Drive.Events areopen and small and large business.For informa- to all cars,bikes and trucks.Therewill be tion call Phil Kiver(509) 999-8645 or email trophies and plaques along with games Sergeants major association [email protected]. Marine Corps league and prizes,silent auction, food and drinks The Sergeants Major Association is still The Brandon-Wilbourn Marine Corps and a50/50 drawing. Proceeds will ben- meeting every thirdThursdayofthe month Veterans of foreign wars League Detachment 820 conducts amonthly efitveterans’ charities.This is arain-or-shine at 11:30 a.m. They arenot meeting at aphys- VFW Gentry-Isom 2702 meets the third meeting every second Saturdayofthe month showwith aprizepackage from Cabela’s. ical location because of the pandemic but Saturdayofeach month at 10 a.m. in its post at noon at the American Legion Post 237, 2900 they aremeeting virtuallythrough Zoom. home on the corner of Sparkman Drive and DrakeAve.The detachment is open to all ac- Community blooddrive Attendees must download the Zoom appon 2900 North Memorial Parkway. Formore tive,retired and former Marines.The league is Aplanned blood drive wants you: Red- either their home computer,laptop or mo- information, call Bobby LeeJr. (931) 265- aveterans/military service organization formed stone housing residents and anyone else with bile device to participate.Once youget into 5685 or email [email protected]. to promote the interest of the Marine Corps, access to Redstone Arsenal. Hunt Military the Zoom app, youwill see Meeting ID num- to provide camaraderie and assistance to Ma- Communities is sponsoring an American ber.Type in 710 211-4188. Then youwill see Korean Warveterans luncheon rines and preservethe traditions of the Marine RedCross blood drive June 11 from 12:30- the “Join meeting” button. If youhaveprob- Legacy 4Korean WarVeterans Founda- Corps.For information call Commandant 4:30 p.m. outside the post housing office,302 lems getting into Zoom, call retired Sgt. Maj. tion will hold its 15th annual luncheon honor- EarlHokanson 881-2852, Senior Vice Com- Hughes Drive.They will have complimentary Willene Orr 410-533-2685. ing the Korean Warveterans June 24 from 11 mandant Albert Mallory 379-2904 or Adju- refreshments –juice drinks and snacks –out- to 1p.m. at The Summit. The guest speaker is tant Stephen Cecil 829-1839. side the office to help donors replenish after Warrant officer association Gen. Ed Daly, commander of the Army Mate- giving blood. Interested persons should con- The Redstone Arsenal Warrant Officers riel Command. This event is by invitation only. Purple Heartchapter tact David Ugarte,resident service specialist, Association meets on the second Wednes- If interested in attending, email KC Bertling Military Order of the Purple Heart, at [email protected]. For dayofeach month from 11:30 a.m. to 1p.m. at [email protected] or visit www.lega- George A. Rauh Chapter 2201, meets the information call him at 430-1517. Appoint- via zoom. Formoreinformation, call Keith cy4koreanwarveterans.organd send amessage. second Mondayofeach month at 7p.m. at ments areencouraged butnot required as all the American Legion Post 237 at 2900 Drake walk-ins arewelcome fordonors. Ave. All combat-wounded veterans arein- vited. Formoreinformation, call Leonard Exchange job openings Robinson 337-8313. Redstone Exchange HR Recruitment Office will conduct weeklyon-the-spot in- MiscellaneousItems terviews at theMain Storefood court every Tuesdayfrom11a.m. to 1p.m. Formore information, call the Exchange Recruitment Men’sministry Office 650-5928. Men’s Ministry addresses the needs of men and plants seeds forspiritual growth Health department ratings in Christ. Call Harry Hobbs at 783-1793 for The Madison County Health Department moreinformation. released its weeklyfood/lodging establishment ratings forMay 17-21. The highest scores in- Young citizen of month cluded The Fresh MarketInc. (Retail), 4800 Do youknowayoung citizen in grades WhitesburgDrive,100; Publix Super Market 7-12 whohas done something special and 209 (Produce), 12796 Bailey Cove Road, 100; deserves recognition? Rocket City Broad- Lucky’sSupermarket18(Produce), 3423 Pu- casting/Community Awareness forYouth laski Pike, 100;and Walmart 5716 (Fuel Sta- conduct the Yo ung Citizen of the Month tion), 9020 Bailey Cove Road, 100. The lowest awardprogram. Each month’srecipient will scores included JimmyJohn’s Gourmet Sand- meet the Huntsville mayorand City Council wiches,7690 Highway 72 West, Madison, 85; members,receive aHuntsville Human Rela- Sak’sFood Mart, 525 Scott Road, Toney,85; tions Commission certificate and other prize M&M Food Mart, 323 Butler Road, New packages.Sponsors include Rocket City Market, 84; and Dunkin Donuts,103-B Broadcasting, Huntsville Utilities,Hunts- Brookridge Drive,Madison, 82.