XVIII AIRBORNE CORPS ASSOCIATION SKY DRAGONS Spring 2012 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 82ND DOMINATES XVIII ABN CORPS NCO AND SOLDIER OF YEAR COMPETITION Left to Right – CSM (Ret) Ted Gaweda, Pfc. Jeremy Shivick, Sgt. Jason Thomas, Alan Yeater On 5 April in a ceremony conducted at Sports USA, a huge sports bar at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, two paratroopers of the XVIII Airborne Corps' 82nd Airborne Division were selected as the XVIII Airborne Corps' 2012 NCO and Soldier of the Year. They were Sgt. Jason T. Thomas, 26, and Pfc. Jeremy Shivick, 21. Both Soldiers are assigned to the 1st Platoon, C Company, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, which is part of the division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team (BCT). This is 2 the first time that both winners were from the same unit. The competition was held from 2 to 4 April, and the winners were announced during the ceremony which was presided over by the Ft. Bragg Garrison Command Sergeant Major (CSM) Samuel Campbell and the command sergeant major of XVIII Abn Corps' NCO Academy, CSM Nicolino Parisi. These were four days of grueling, early morning and late night events which included basic Soldier skills, the Army physical fitness test, a written exam, urban map orienteering, M4 rifle qualification, a weapons event, and an interview board. The competition certainly challenged the confidence and motivation of the Soldiers. Twenty-one Soldiers competed, representing each subordinate unit of the XVIII Abn Corps. Spc. Michael C. Lauritzen, from Jackson, Michigan, assigned to the 716th MP Battalion, 16th MP Brigade, Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, was quoted saying, “I'm grateful for being here, glad that my leadership had the confidence in me to compete at this level. I don't have to be a sergeant to encourage my peers and motivate them.” (This quote and most of the information in this article from the “Paraglide,” 4/19/12, Spc. Paul Martin, XVIII Abn Corps PAO) Pfc. Jillian C. Wilson, from San Diego, California, the only female competitor, assigned to the 108th Quartermaster Company, 49th Quartermaster Group, Ft. Lee, Virginia, was quoted saying, “Sometimes you are the only female in the competition, so I got used to it. It's all about what prior training you had before coming here, especially at this level. It didn't matter whether you were male or female, every Soldier is trained the same way.” The winners, Sgt. Thomas and Pfc. Shivick, will go on to compete in the U.S. Forces Command NCO and Soldier of the Year Competition. If they are fortunate to win this competition, they would move on to the Department of the Army competition, whose winners are the Army's NCO and Soldier of the Year. THE ARMY AND THE XVIII ABN CORPS LOSE A GOOD ONE (Most info from the Fayetteville Observer, 5/16/12, Henry Cuningham) On 15 May, at the main parade field at Ft. Bragg, Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick, the commander of the XVIII Abn Corps and Ft. Bragg relinquished command and then retired from the Army after a 32- year career. And what a career it was! Your editor will highlight just a few of his command assignments – Multi-National Security Transition Command – Iraq, Southern European Task Force (Airborne), in Vicenza, Italy, Assistant Division Commander, 101st Abn Div. (Air Assault), Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, Ranger Training Brigade, Ft. Benning, Georgia, and 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR), 82nd Abn Division. Some of his staff assignments were with the 82nd Abn Division, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense, where he was the senior military adviser to the deputy secretary of defense. 3 The main speaker at the ceremony was the Director of the CIA, David Petraeus, as I'm sure all the readers know, a retired 4-star general who is considered to be one the best Army generals since World War II. Helmick served under Petraeus at Ft. Bragg and in Iraq. LTG Frank Helmick and CIA Director David Petraeus (Fayetteville Observer, Staff photos by Paul R. Rubiera) Petraeus called Helmick, “A man who is truly a national treasure.” He praised him for his sheer energy and infectious enthusiasm, his mental and physical toughness, and his ability to give energy to people around him. Petraeus presented awards and letters of appreciation to Helmick and his wife, Melissa, and daughters Jane and Christina. He pointed out that during Helmick's career, she had to move 20 times, and served as “Mrs. Dad,” and a great mother and father. He said she often pitched in to help on projects without making it known she was the wife of the commanding general. Helmick graduated from the Military Academy at West Point in 1976, while Petraeus graduated in 1974. Petraeus said that Helmick's nickname at West Point was “Helmazoid,” and he confessed that his own nickname there was “Peaches.” Lt. Gen. Helmick then addressed the crowd of hundreds of well-wishers, which included Gen. Ret.) James Lindsay, Lt.Gen. John Holland, commander of Army Special Operations Command, LTG Michael Barber, commander of Joint IED Defeat Organization, Maj. Gen. Rodney Anderson, deputy commander of the XVIII Abn Corps and Ft. Bragg, and Association members 4 Gen.Ret.) Dan McNeill, LTG (Ret) William “Buck” Kernan, CSM (Ret.), Tadeusz “Ted” Gaweda and Donna Tabor, XVIII Abn Corps Historian. Two former deputy secretaries of defense, Paul Wolfowitz, and Gordon England, and the mayor of Fayetteville,Tony Chavone, also attended. Helmick said “I do not want to refer to today as a retirement because I am not concluding my professional career, but just diving into another phase.” He added, “You may take this Soldier out of the Army, but you will never take the Soldier out of my heart.” He hailed his wife of 34 years, Melissa, calling her “my sounding board on so many issues.” He said his daughters were the best “Daddy's little girls in the world.” He also remembered his mother and father, saying “ I wish my Mom and Dad were here to see this too.” He added, “ I never had a bad boss or assignment.” LTG Helmick became commander of the XVIII Abn Corps in November, 2009, and during his command the XVIII Abn Corps was heavily involved in relief efforts in Haiti in response to the earthquake on 10 January 2010, Ft. Bragg absorbed Pope Air Force Base, and Ft. Bragg also saw the arrival of U.S. Forces Command and the U.S.Army Reserves Command Headquarters. Certainly the most difficult challenge LTG Helmick faced was serving in Iraq as commander of the XVIII Abn Corps and deputy commander of U.S. forces there during the final phase of Operation New Dawn which involved closing out the U.S. military presence. He had all U.S. military forces, and their equipment, out of Iraq by the end of December, 2011, deadline. As promised, he had them all home for the Christmas holiday. A relinquish of command ceremony was held just before the retirement ceremony, and it was presided over by Gen. David Rodriguez, commander of U.S. Forces Command. Rodriguez was a classmate of Helmick's at West Point. Helmick relinquished command to Maj. Gen. Rodney Anderson who will serve as the acting XVIII Abn Corps and Ft. Bragg commander until the arrival of Maj. Gen. (Promotable) Daniel Allyn, who is scheduled to arrive in June. CORPS' 82ND ABN DIV HQ AND TWO BRIGADES IN AFGHANISTAN (Paraglide, 4/12/12, Sgt. Michael MacClean, 1st BCT, 82nd Abn Div. PAO) In the Winter 2012 newsletter it was reported that the XVIII Abn Corps' 82nd Abn Division had it's headquarters and its commander, Maj. Gen. James Huggins, along with the division's 4th Brigade Combat Team (BCT) in southern Afghanistan. Maj. Gen Huggins is the commander of Regional Command-South. It was also pointed out that the division's Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB) was also there, serving in Regional Command-East These units have now been joined by the 1st BCT which is serving in Regional Command-East. The 1st BCT, commanded by Col. Mark Stock, is serving in Ghazni Province, and officially took over in the province at a transfer of authority ceremony held in April at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Warrior which is located in the southern part of the province. 5 The province is separated from the Pakistan border by the provinces of Paktika and Paktia. It is southwest of Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, but is separated from the city by Logar and Wardak provinces. The main road leading south from Kabul to Kandahar Province, and it's capital, Kandahar City, the second largest city in Afghanistan, goes through the eastern part of the province, and it's capital, Ghazni (City). The province is so important because of this road, and also because the Taliban use the trails leading from Pakistan through Paktika Province, and then into Ghazni, as one their main entries into Afghanistan. During the ceremony at FOB Warrior, the governor of the province, Musa Khan, said he hoped to have the same level of cooperation with the 1st BCT as he had with the Polish forces there because this was the main reason for all the achievements of the last two years. He said the security gains included few civilian casualties and suicide bombers as compared with other provinces, along with successful, unilateral Afghan operations against the enemy. He was quoted saying, “To secure Ghazni, you must secure Andar, both a district in the province and a tribe of Pashtun ethnicity, heavily influenced by the Taliban. If you secure Andar, you have secured Ghazni, and you have secured Afghanistan.” The 1st BCT is not replacing the Polish Soldiers of Polish Task Force Bravo, 15th Mechanized Brigade.