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he he he he he T T T T T Militiaman ANANANANAAAA ETTETTETTETT rrrretureturetureturnsnsnsns frfrfrfromomomom AfghanistanAfghanistanAfghanistanAfghanistan Contents The Iowa Militiaman Summer 2008 4 Iowans serving as ETT trainers in Afghanistan The Adjutant General by Maj. Steve Boesen Maj. Gen. Ron Dardis 6 G-RAP continues as Public Affairs Officer invaluable recruiting aid Lt. Col. Greg Hapgood by Sgt. Chad D. Nelson Commanding Officer Maj. Matt Carver 8 ‘On a wing and a prayer’ chaplain candidates Editor find kindly assistance 1st Sgt. Duff E. McFadden by Spc. Amy Rickelman Staff Capt. Heather Guck M1 Iowa Gold Star Sgt. 1st Class Sara Maniscalco Military Museum insert Staff Sgt. Jerald Phippen Sgt. Gary Theel Retirement ends 30-year Sgt . Matthew McArthur 11 Sgt. Christina Beck training site legacy Sgt. Chad Nelson by Pfc. Brandon Babbitt Spc. Robert Jones Spc. Amy Rickelman 14 Iowa ESGR hosts Spc. Bryan Lloyd Spc. Luis Ohmstede annual employer awards Pfc. Catherine Larson Pfc. Brandon Babbitt 16 Vietnam vet still serves Pvt.2 Cassie Monroe by Tech Sgt. Brian Co The Iowa Militiaman is an unofficial publication authorized under the provisions of AR 360-81. Regular Columns It is published by the Iowa National Guard Public Affairs Office and is printed four times annually. 3 TAG Sends News and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily Through the Ranks 12 those of the Adjutant General of 13 From the Education Office Iowa, or Department of the Army. 15 Chaplain’s Corner Address all submissions to: The Iowa Militiaman Public Affairs Office Maj. Steve Boesen pulls security from an 7105 NW 70th Ave. M1151 uparmored humvee near Orgun-E, Johnston, IA 50131-1824 Afghanistan, during a combat patrol to Forward Operating Base Tillman in Paktika or E-mail [email protected] Province. (Iowa National Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Brian Hill) The Iowa Militiaman2 Summer 2008 2008 Condition of the Guard address (Editor’s Note: The following are excerpts future Soldiers to keep our end of the bargain. from Maj. Gen. Ron Dardis’ speech to the In order to keep this promise, the Army must Iowa Legislature) provide predictable resources to the National I’m honored once again to stand before you Guard. The Army has pledged to boost Army and report on the Condition of the Iowa Na- National Guard spending by $23 billion through tional Guard. Last year I reported the condition 2011 and promised further increases. of the Iowa National Guard was strong – the The Iowa Air National Guard will benefit if strongest it had been in generations. Today, I the Air Force succeeds in acquiring the neces- stand by that assessment. sary funds to rebuild what it calls the “required These are indeed challenging times for the force.” Initial plans call for stationing the KC- one percent of Americans who proudly serve X Tanker at Sioux City and the F35 Joint Strike their nation in uniform. And it is increasingly Fighter at the Des Moines Airport. true for the Soldiers and Airmen of the Iowa The Iowa General Assembly and our Com- National Guard, who make up nearly two per- mander-in-Chief, Gov. Culver, have been ex- cent of our nation’s National Guard. tremely supportive of our legislative proposals Our military is not weak or hollow; it is not to help meet the needs of our Iowa National broken. And I want you and the Guard Soldiers and Airmen, citizens of Iowa to know, the their families and their com- Iowa National Guard stands munities. ready to meet anticipated state We see this in the Iowa Na- and federal missions. tional Guard Education Assis- Iowa is home to the 2nd Bri- tance program, which is help- TAG gade Combat Team, 34th In- ing nearly 1,100 Soldiers and fantry Division; nearly a full Airmen attend college this year. brigade combat team is head- We see it in the state-match- Sends quartered in Boone, with sup- ing dollars leveraging federal Maj. Gen. porting units stationed across military construction and main- Ron Dardis, the state. When the 2nd BCT is tenance funding to maintain and The Adjutant General called to active duty, and that refurbish old armories and time will come, it will be a build future Readiness Centers significant event for the Iowa National Guard in key demographic areas. and the State of Iowa. We see it in legislation that indirectly helps In today’s global security environment, we our servicemembers, like the recently-enacted expect our National Guard Soldiers to mobilize military leave bill and legislation to help return- and deploy for 12 months once every four to ing vets purchase a home, or help family mem- five years, and our Airmen for 45 days every 18 bers care for a loved one injured in battle. months. This means the old mantra of “one You have done, and are doing, all we have weekend a month and two weeks a year” no asked of you. What our Soldiers and Airmen longer applies to these citizen-warriors. want more than anything else is your continued Not including a BCT mobilization, we be- support. They will endure any hardship and lieve, on average, the Iowa National Guard will sacrifice if they believe you still have faith in deploy between 800-1,200 Soldiers annually, them. These men and women have devoted as well as approximately 600 Airmen every 18 their lives to serving others. months. Given the current environment, we I want to introduce you to some ordinary believe, these are sustainable taskings. Iowans that serve their state and nation in ex- Investments in training and equipment are traordinary ways. These men and women live meaningless if we turn our backs on the needs throughout our state; they represent more than of Citizen-Soldiers and Airmen when the de- 9,500 Soldiers and Airmen. These individuals ployment is over. Not only is this a readiness are making a difference in communities, for the issue for the National Guard, more importantly, nation and for people around the world. it’s the right and honorable thing to do. Let me give you an example of one such man. They have sacrificed for our state and nation; they have proven their ability to accomplish Condition of the Guard their missions; and they have kept faith with the continued on page 18 American people. Now, we owe it to them and The Iowa Militiaman3 Summer 2008 Iowans serving Afghans as ETT combat advisors by Maj. Steve Boesen focus because the ANA was the main effort the (CAMP CLARK, Afghanistan) – On a cold, preceding five years.. snowy morning in February 2007, 50 Iowa and Sgt. Maj. Rick Ernst, of Bellevue, Iowa, has two Minnesota Army National Guard Soldiers worked with the ANP in Khowst Province and left the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infan- started the PMT program there. try Division Headquarters at Boone and em- “We’ve come a long way in getting the ANA barked upon a long journey in support of the and ANP to do joint operations. When we first Global War on Terrorism. started, ANA commanders would not let the These combat advisors, known as Embedded ANP onto their installations due to their Tactical Trainers, or ETTs, have been conduct- unprofessionalism. Now, ANP are starting to ing combat and counterinsurgency operations train on ANA Forward Operating Bases.” with the Afghan National Security Forces In order to build up the ANA and ANP, the (ANSF). advisors formed ANA Embedded Training Initially formed into three, 16-man teams for Teams, or Police Mentor Teams , living with the the three months of training at Fort Riley, Kan., Afghans they mentor in Combat Outposts or they were reorganized according to the needs of FOBs. One such FOB, Camp Clark, based in the Task Force Phoenix Six, their higher headquar- Nadr Shi Kot District of the Khowst Province, ters in Afghanistan. These teams were broken has been in existence for almost two years. into a Brigade Training Team, Infantry Train- Iowa combat advisors are conducting a mis- ing Team and a Combat Service Training Team sion that traditionally belonged to Special while at Ft Riley. Forces. The ANSF also conduct partnered op- The Brigade Embedded Training Team was erations with coalition forces along the eastern sent to the Afghan Regional Security Integra- border of Afghanistan, designed for three pri- tion Command (ARSIC)-West in western Af- mary tasks: separate the enemy from the popu- ghanistan, while both the Infantry and Combat lation so they can be captured or killed; achieve Service Training Teams were sent to ARSIC- effects with the local national population; and East, along the Pakistan border. ARSIC- East is conduct reconstruction. also known as the 203rd Afghan National Army These are classic counterinsurgency doctrines (ANA) “Thunder” Corps. effective against Anti-Coalition Militia, or Maj. Steve Boesen con- Their primary mission is to build the capacity ACM. ACM is used to describe all those fight- ducts a humanitarian as- of both the ANA and Afghan National Police ing against the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan sistance drop with ANA (ANP), so they’ll be able to conduct indepen- (IRoA) government, ranging from Al Qaeda, to in Wazi Zadran District near Gerde Serai, dent counterinsurgency operations when US drug smugglers. Afghanistan.(Contributed forces depart. The ANP is receiving the primary Conducting operations in Afghanistan is photo) fraught with danger. In addition to fighting insurgents, the weather and terrain are inhospi- table for more than half of the year. Winter brings several feet of snow and tem- peratures that dip under 30 degrees below zero in the elevations above 5,000-feet that border Khowst.