Texas Lone Star Chapter

TEXAS LONE STAR CHAPTER 5427 Weston Drive Fulshear, Texas 77441-4127

February 10, 2014

MEETING: Our next meeting of the Texas Lone Star Chapter, is held on Saturday, February 15, 2014 at the American Legion Post 586, located at 708 E. Parker, Houston, Texas 77076. The meeting will start at 12:30PM. DIRECTIONS: From downtown, go north on I-45 and exit on Parker. Turn right on Parker and the American Legion Post is located on the right about ½ miles down Parker.

From Beltway 8, go south toward town and exit Parker. Turn left on Parker and the American Legion Post is located on the right about ½ miles down Parker.

CHAPTER WEBSITE: Visit the Chapter website: www.texaslonestar82nd.org 82 ND AIRBORNE DIVISION ASSOCIATION WEBSITE: www.82ndassociation.org 82 nd AIRBORNE DIVISION: www.bragg.army.mil/www-82dv

NEW CHAIRMAN AND VICE-CHAIRMAN: As you are aware that George Martinez, our Chairman for many years, removed himself as Chairman for person reasons. Richard Baker, our Vice-Chairman, is now our Chapter Chairman. Richard served with Company D/HHC, 313th MI BN, 82nd Airborne Division from 1991 to 1995. Our new Vice-Chairman is Santos Hernandez. Santos has been a member for many years and has served as the Chapter’s Chairman years ago. Congregations!

PARAGLIDE‘S FALL ISSUE ON INTERNET: You can get the current fall issue of the PARAGLIDE on the internet. With the current postage rate, the Association will not be mailing the PARAGLIDE. Go to www.82ndassocaition.org to get your issue.

31 ST SOUTHWEST MEMORIAL AIRBORNE DAYS: The South Texas Chapter (Corpus Christi, TX) will host the 32th Southwest Memorial Airborne Day Activities on June 5-8 in Corpus Christi, Texas. South Texas Chapter Chairman, Moses Leyba, has sent the Chapter an invitation to attend this year’s activities. This year’s activities will be held at the Emerald Beach Hotel, located downtown Corpus Christi, Texas. Room rates are $99 for single or double. Parking is free and they have Airport Shuttle to the airport. Registration is $75.00 per person which entitles you the Hospitality Room, door prizes, memorial dinner, Bar-B-Q, museum trip and beer busts. Snacks and refreshments are always available in the CP. The hotel and registration forms are attached. If you have any questions contact Moses Leyba at 361-442-9957 or [email protected]

“American’s Guard of Honor”

AFRICA SICILY ITALY FRANCE THE NEATHERLANDS BLEGIUM GERMANY DOMINICAN REPUBLIC VIETNAM GRENADA APNAMA PERSIAN GULF TAPS: I just received notice that member Dr. A.L. Sperry, MD, of Lake Jackson, Texas passed away on July 11, 2012. He served with the 515th Airborne Infantry Regiment.

ALL AMERICAN WEEK: This year the All American Week (AAW) is May 19-22, 2014. This event is a time we mix with the Division troopers. The grand event is the Division Review on Pike Field. Holiday Inn Fayetteville – Bordeaux, us the host hotel. More information and registration forms and hotel information is available in the fall issue of the “Paraglide” which is published on the web site at www.82ndassociation.org .

2014 ASSOCIATION CONVENTION : Make your plans now to attend the 68th National Convention in Springfield, Missouri, August 20-23, 2014 hosted by the Association and the National Headquarters. The University Plaza Hotel (333 John Q. Hammons Parkway) Springfield, MO 65806 (417) 864-7333 will host our Conventioneers with a room rate of $85 plus tax. This room rate includes complimentary: breakfast buffet for all registered guests, Wi-Fi in all guestrooms/Hotel Atrium, Shuttle service within 5 miles radius of the hotel, Airport shuttle service to Springfield/Branson National Airport, Free parking for all registered guest. Look for the 2014 Convention registration page in the Fall Paraglide issue in November 2013.

37 th ANNUAL ALL AIRBORNE AWARDS FESTIVAL, ATLANTA, GA: The All Airborne Awards Festival known as the STATIC LINE AWARDS HOSTED BY Don Lassen and the Atlanta All Airborne Chapter will be held on April 2-5, 2014 in Atlanta, GA. Cost various depending on activities attending. The event hotel is the Marriott Atlanta Airport, 4711 Best Road, College Park, GA. Room cost is $89.00. For more information on the hotel contact Brenda Thomas at 404-209-6838. For more information on registration contact Troy Gilleland at 770-289-0229.

ANNUAL RENEWAL: If you are an annual member and not an All American Member (Paid for life) you need to pay your dues now. See the application on the last page of this newsletter.

NATIONAL DIRECTOR NOMINATIONS: Chapter nominations for National Directors are now due into National Office. Does the Chapter have anyone interested in becoming a Director of our Association? You must attend the National Convention this year in Springfield, MO.

WITHIN THE DIVISION: Elements of the 2-508 Parachute Infantry Regiment, realigned under the 2nd Brigade Combat Team (325 AIR Falcons) deployed to Afghanistan on January 19.

ARMY DROPPING NUMBER OF PARATROOPER UNITS: Paratrooper units are closing out long histories as a result of the U.S. Army’s reconfiguration and budget cutting. The military is capping parachute positions at 49,000 as part of the 2012 Defense Strategic Guidance Plan. 24 units accounting for 2,600 soldiers across the country were removed from jump status. That includes 12 units with the 18th Airborne Corps and the 82nd Airborne Division, Company F(Pathfinder), 4th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, and the 159th Aviation Brigade at Fort Campbell.

MRE MAKEOVER: The 2014 Army’s annual MRE menu makeover is set to include barbecue shredded beef, vegetarian taco pasta, and seasoned black beans. The Army is testing six new flavors pocket sandwiches. The most popular is the pepperoni sandwich. What is out for 2014 MRE menu is chicken fajitas, vegetable lasagna, refried beans and potato cheddar soup. None of this sounds very good. MRE’s menus consist of an entrée and other food items as crackers with cheese spread, fruit and pound cake. 110,000 MORE SOLDIERS COULD GET THE AX : The army could lose 110,000 soldiers, nearly one in four on active duty, as well as new gear and weaponry as the Defense Department makes sweeping cuts to balance its budget. Army leadership recently settled on an active-to-reserve ratio in which the reserve forces will comprise roughly 52% of the active force. If that ratio is employed, the reserves could drop from 555,000 to as low as 410,000 troops. Army Chief of Staff General Ray Odiero said that if he were asked to deploy 20,000 troops today, he could not guarantee they would be trained to the level they should be , and the result would be more casualties. No decision on actual cuts has been made yet as the service emerges from a decade- plus of war and transitions to protracted, large scale counterinsurgency operations.

ARMY ADMITS WAR RECORDS ARE MISSING: The Army has conceded a significant loss of records documenting battlefield action and other operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and has launched a global search to recover and consolidate field records from the wars. The Army Secretary, John McHugh, is taking steps to clarify responsibility for wartime record keeping. Dozens of Army and National Guard units had lost or failed to keep required field records, in some cases impeding the ability of veterans to obtain disability benefits. The problem primarily affected the Army but also extended to U.S. Central Command in Iraq. Army Secretary, John McHugh, confirmed that among the missing records are nearly all those from the 82nd Airborne Division, which deployed multiple times during the wars.

Army units are required under federal law to keep field records, including “daily staff journals, situation reports, tactical operations center logs, command reports, and operational plans. In addition to providing support for health related compensation claims, these documents will help capture this important period in Army history. The reason for the missing records was that units lacked adequate records training and confusion about whether classifies materials could be transferred home so they had the records wiped off their computers hard drives.

The missing records do not include personnel files and medical records, which are stored separately from the field records that detail day-to-day activities. The 82nd Airborne Division, with two deployments to Iraq and several more to Afghanistan, it appears that few records exist and there is low likelihood more will surface. Some records were pick-up but since the 82nd Airborne Division redeployment to their home station were largely unsuccessful.

REVIEW OF MILITARY MEDALS AND AWARDS: Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has ordered a review of the complete array of military medals and awards, which has changed very little since World War II. The top-level review will expand on an existing effort that began last year amid an internal Pentagon debate over how recognize drone pilots, cyberwarriors and other high-tech warriors who may have a direct, even decisive impact on the battlefield without ever putting themselves at risk of physical harm.

The review will be conducted by the Pentagon’s Personnel Division and the review is expected to be completed by late this year or early 2015. The fuse for the review was lit by the controversy over the so-called Distinguished Warfare Medal that confronted Defense Secretary Hagel shortly after he took office. His predecessor, Leon Panetta, had signed off on the creation of the medal. The DWF was the first new combat medal since World War II, intended to honor those who fight remotely yet nevertheless impact the ground level battlefield. Honoring drone pilots was a fitting issue. This award recognizes the reality of the kind of technological warfare we are engaged in the 21st century. The medal took incoming fire almost immediately. Many combat veterans derided the idea of rear echelon troops who flight wars on computer screens qualifying for a medal that in the official “order of precedence” would outrank the Bronze Star, which honors ground troops for specific acts of heroism performed under direct enemy fire. New Members MUST Complete All Parts of Application MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION 82nd AIRBORNE DIVISION ASSOCIATION, INC

FORMAL NAME (No Nicknames)______DATE OF BIRTH ______

STREET______CITY______STATE______

9‐DIGIT Zip______ASN______SSN______(MIN LAST 4)

MARITAL STATUS______SPOUSE’S NAME ______NUMBER OF CHILDREN______

_____ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP FOR YR $35.00_____ OR $36.00____ (= $1.00 DONATION TO ED FUND)

____REINSTATE ____ NEW MEMBER ____TRANSFER FORM ____NEW CARD ($1) ____ UPDATE (No Fee)

____LIFE ALL AMERICAN MEMBERSHIP ($250.00 FOR 49 YEARS AND UNDERNATIONAL, OR $175.00 FOR 50 YEARS PLUS)

CURRENT VETERAN / MILITARY STATUS (Check Status below and complete the rank and date entries) ____ACTIVE DUTY/RESERVE OR NATIONAL GUARD – Rank and Date of Rank: ______

____RETIRED MILITARY/MILITARY VETERAN – Rank and Date Departed Military Service______

LIST AIRBORNE UNIT(S) . . . . . (Most Recent to Earliest, be complete, Include from Month/Year to Month/Year ) ‐‐UNIT #1______from MO/YR______to MO/YR______Combat Tour/Location: ______from MO/YR______to MO/YR______

‐‐UNIT #2______from MO/YR______to MO/YR______Combat Tour/Location: ______from MO/YR______to MO/YR______

NEW MEMBERS MUST INCLUDE PROOF OF AIRBORNE QUALIFICATIONS OR SERVICE WITH THE 82ND AIRBORNE DIVISION OCCUPATION______HOME #: (_____) ______CELL #: (______) ______

EMAIL______

SIGNATURE______DATE______

MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO: Texas Lone Star Chapter, 82nd Airborne Division Association. MAIL TO: Texas Lone Star Chapter, 82d Airborne Division Association; 5427 Weston Drive; Fulshear, TX 77441-4127.

NOTE: New Members MUST include proof of glider/airborne qualification or service with the 82nd Airborne Division (Example copy of DD214, Jump School Certificate or Discharge Papers). For more information, call George Martinez at (713) 691-3711 or Allen Schoppe at (281) 346-2546.