MMaj.aj. WWinin KKellereller iiss DDadsads aandnd ddaughtersaughters ttesterester ooff tthehe yyearear ddanceance tthehe nnightight aawayway — PPageage 3 — PPagesages 44-5-5 ((Four-year-oldFour-year-old AAlyssalyssa NNealeal hhitsits tthehe ddanceance fl oooror SSundayunday wwithith hherer father,father, 11st.st. SSgt.gt. DDennisennis NNealeal aatt tthehe FFather-Daughterather-Daughter ddance.ance. HHee aalsolso eescortedscorted hhisis fi ffth-gradeth-grade ddaughter,aughter, AAlexis.)lexis.) ((PhotoPhoto bbyy MMigig OOwens)wens) Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2005 wwww.smdc.army.mil/KWAJ/Hourglass/hourglass.htmlww.smdc.army.mil/KWAJ /Hourglass/hourglass.html The Kwajalein Hourglass Commentary Band of brothers, company of heroes On Dec. 21, 1861, a bill creating the children. He was from Tampa, Fla. Medal of Honor was signed by President His men said that if not for Smith's ac- Abraham Lincoln. tions, they would have been killed. There were 1,502 recipients during the Smith will be the fi rst servicemember to Civil War, 426 in the Indian Wars, 110 in receive the Medal of Honor since 1993. the Spanish-American War, 86 during ac- Sometimes men wonder what they tions in the Philippines, 59 in China for the would do in certain situations. Would they Boxer War and other engagements, 119 be out front yelling, “Let's give them hell,” in World War I, 464 in World War II, 131 or would they be in back yelling, “Let's get in the Korean War, 245 in Vietnam, two Smith could have ordered his men to with- the hell out of here.” for actions in Somalia in 1993 and various draw. If he had, medics and wounded at Paul Ray Smith was the kind of man other actions for a total of 3, 459 since the a nearby aid station could have been who was out in front. medal was created. overrun. We should remember that he was and How many of the recipient’s names do Smith disregarded his own safety and try our best to honor Sgt. First Class we know? How many of their deeds do climbed on top of an unoccupied armored Smith and all the military men and we remember? personnel carrier in front of his men and women in harm’s way. They are out in So far, there has been one Medal of opened fi re with a 50-caliber machine gun. front everyday. Honor recipient in Iraq. I'll do my best to Pvt. Michael Seaman fed ammunition to Editor’s note: President George W. remember his name and what he did. Smith who killed 20-50 Iraqis and covered Bush will present the Medal to Smith’s On April 4, 2003, Sgt. First Class Paul his men who were being pushed back. widow sometime in March. Ray Smith and his 16 men were attacked As the battle was ending, Smith was For more information on the Medal by 50-100 Iraqis near Baghdad Airport. shot in the head. Medics worked to save of Honor, see the Web site http: The Iraqis fi red RPGs and mortar rounds, his life for 30 minutes but he died. He was //www.cmohs.org/medal/medal_ which wounded several of the Americans. 33 years old. He leaves a wife and two history.html. is a lot of fun, but very stressful. than it is in Minnesota.” I love the special ‘senior treatment.’” Rebekah Ladd Staci Wang the Rev. Rick Funk Marcy Peterson, student Hospital intern Dental Clinic secretary Protestant chaplain The Kwajalein Buckminster and Friends Sabrina Mumma Hourglass Commanding Offi cer..........COL Beverly Stipe Acting Public Affairs Offi cer.........Polli Keller Editor.......................................Nell Drumheller Assistant Editor...............................Mig Owens Graphics Designer.............................Dan Adler Intern......................................Brandon Stevison Circulation..................................Will O’Connell The Hourglass is named for the insignia of the U.S. Army 7th Infantry Division, which liberated the island from the forces of Imperial Japan on Feb 4, 1944. The Kwajalein Hourglass is an authorized publication for military personnel, federal employees, contractor workers and their families assigned to USAKA. Contents of the Hourglass are not necessarily offi cial views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, Department of the Army or USAKA. It is published Wednesdays and Saturdays in accordance with Army Regulation 360-1 and using a network printer by Kwajalein Range Services editorial staff, P.O. Box 23, APO AP 96555. Phone: Autovon 254-3539; local 53539. Printed circulation: 2,000 The Kwajalein Hourglass 2 Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2005 By Nell M. Drumheller vices] Plans and Operations, Claire Wittschiebe in KRS Editor Logistics, and other critical government, contractor, customer team members,” Keller said. Maj. Winfi eld Keller, Range executive offi cer, has Daugherty agreed with Keller, “Tests are team events, been named the U.S. Army Military Tester of the Year not executed by any one person or group. Win suc- by the National Defense Industrial Association. cessfully coordinates with many diverse organizations, “As a test director, I am responsible for our cost, both internal and external to the command, in order performance and schedule in support of a test. The to ensure timely test support. Staying coordinated is RTS [Reagan Test Site] team must conduct missions, a critical task, with the number of players involved in safely and on time; collect all required data and pro- the kinds of tests we support here at RTS. Win enables vide the data to our customer; and do all this within communication within the team to ensure that when budget,” Keller said. requirements change – and they always do – all test Tests can be categorized as, developmental (veri- team members are aware and adjust their support and fying the system design meets desired capability), mission execution plans accordingly,” she said. operational (evaluating operational effectiveness and Recognizing the importance of the mission tests, suitability of a system under realistic operational con- Keller said, “From the USAKA [U.S. Army Kwajalein ditions) or live fi re test- Atoll] commander down, ing (assessment of the regardless of you par- vulnerability/lethality ticular job, ultimately we of a system prior to are all here to conduct or production). In general, support the conduct of a tester could be anyone tests.” involved in testing a new Keller’s Army career system such as the test has spanned more than coordinator, data col- 18 years, and he advises lector, evaluator or test junior offi cers that the se- subject. “I am fortunate cret to a successful career to have been able to is “You have to enjoy what conduct both develop- you are doing. Get chal- mental and operational lenging jobs you want and testing in previous as- will be happy in. It’s a lot signments and here at easier to do well if you are RTS,” Keller said. having fun.” NDIA is a non-profi t Daugherty described organization whose Maj. Win Keller, Range executive offi cer, has been named U.S. the USAKA mission, “The mission is to provide a Army military tester of the year. (Photo by Nell M. Drumheller) Army is obviously a part of legal and ethical forum the Department of Defense, for the interchange of ideas between the government and here at Reagan Test Site we have the opportunity and industry to resolve industrial problems of joint to serve not only the Army directly, but the DoD as concern. well through ballistic missile test support we provide “Maj. Win Keller possesses and continually dem- other Services and DoD agencies. It is very important onstrates outstanding leadership, management and work. Some tests at RTS support improved capabili- problem solving skills. Win is adept at understand- ties for systems the Army either does or will operate, ing complex and interdependent test requirements, including the Patriot and Ground-based MidCourse pulling together the right group of people to address Defense systems. Other tests support performance those requirements, empowering the team to take ac- assessment of ballistic missile systems the Air Force tion to meet requirements, and then following up to or Navy operate. Since we fi ght as a joint force, those ensure all issues have been addressed prior to mission Navy and Air Force systems ultimately serve to protect execution. Win is constantly looking to see what issues or defend all warfi ghters, our soldiers included. Test could arise, and takes early action to resolve or elimi- Directors at Reagan Test Site, through the conduct of nate the potential for such issues to impact a test,” their duties, help make the Department of Defense’s said Lt. Col. Anne Daugherty, Range commander. ballistic missile systems the best they can be, and as Keller identifi ed building a qualifi ed, motivated team such it is truly an honor to serve here,” she said. as most critical to being a successful tester. Keller has been on Kwajalein for two years and “RTS has created Integrated Product Teams sup- plans to be here through the summer of 2006. He porting each mission area. Our ability to conduct tests has been selected for promotion to lieutenant colo- would not be possible without people like Doug Peters nel and is expected to pin on his new rank in early and Merrie Beth Schad in KRS [Kwajalein Range Ser- April. Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2005 3 The Kwajalein Hourglass Father-Daughter Dance irls in their best dresses wearing “halos” made from starred wire and streamers took their fathers’ arms Sunday night to celebrate their magical bond as they gath- “The mission caused a little stress but gra- Second-grader, Melinda (Dee Dee) Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2005 the time supporting the mission. “I didn’t think she was going,” Leines said, “it all came together at 6:30 p.m.” Another substitute dad was Cowboy Galloway, who escorted sixth-grader Carrie West in place of Travis Tikka, who was on off-island temporary duty.