OfficialOfficial Publication Publication of of the the Iowa Iowa National National Guard Guard WinterFall 2011 2012 e Iowa National Guard JCEP = JOB SUCCESS IOWA - KOSOVO PARTNERSHIP GRUELING LEADER TEST Fall 2012 | The Iowa Militiaman | 1 4 Fall 2012 Th e Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Tim Orr Public Aff airs Offi cer Col. Greg Hapgood Building blocks to job success Editor/Designer Master Sgt. Duff McFadden Master Sgt. Duff E. McFadden State Photographer Staff Sgt. Chad D. Nelson Contributing Writers/Photographers: Lt. Col. Travis "Chicken" Acheson Features 8 1st Lt. Brandon Cochran by 2nd Lt. Jeremy McClure Th e Iowa Militiaman is an offi cial publication Iowa-Kosovo collaborate authorized under the provisions of AR 360-1. It is Sgt. 1st Class Jeremy L. Harpold published by the Iowa National Guard State Public Aff airs Offi ce and is printed four times annually. News and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Adjutant General 1100 of Iowa or the Department of Defense. Full color version available online at www.iowanationalguard.com/ 23rd Bataan Death March publicaff airs/militiaman.htm Master Sgt. Duff E. McFadden Follow the Iowa National Guard on Facebook » Ordnance award to Iowans 7 www.facebook.com/IowaNationalGuard Staff Sgt. Chad D. Nelson 14 » A grueling leadership test Address all submissions to: Sgt. Adrian Muehe Th e Iowa National Guard Militiaman Magazine State Public Aff airs Offi ce 19 » Classic A-7 Corsair restored 7105 NW 70th Ave. by Master Sgt. Bill Wiseman Johnston, Iowa 50131-1824 or e-mail: [email protected] 3 TAG Sends Comm: (515) 252-4582 DSN: 431-4582 Maj. Gen. Tim Orr The Adjutant General 13 Family Readiness Shalee Torrence OnOn theth Cover Family Assistance Specialist 18 Education Offi ce PhotoPhoto by Sgt. Chad D. Nelson Maj. Linda Perdue Th e ppresident of the Education Services Offi cer RepRepublicu of Kosovo, AtiAtifetefe Jahjaga, and 22 Through the Ranks MMaj.a Gen. Timothy Command Sgt. Maj. Orr,Orr Adjutant General of thethe Iowa National Guard John Breitsprecker meetm at the Iowa State Joint Senior Enlisted Leader CapitolC during a recent Departments IowaI visit in preparation 23 Chaplain's Corner forf a meeting with Chaplain (Col.) Paul Lippstock Iowa Governor State Chaplain Terry Branstad and Lt. GovernorGovernor Kim Reynolds. 2 | The Iowa Militiaman | Fall 2012 TAG Sends Maj. Gen. Tim Orr, The Adjutant General of Iowa As the 2012 training year comes to a we expect to be out of Afghanistan after close, we have faced many great chal- 2014. Either way, we will be ready for deployed in support of Overseas Contin- lenges. Each of you continues to excel in any mission that comes our way. gency Operations. your mission, even under the most chal- lenging circumstances. Your dedication Th is summer, for the second time in our Th e 132nd Fighter Wing deployed last and support to this organization is greatly history, we conducted a state Annual winter to Afghanistan in support of an appreciated. Training period for all units in the Iowa Air Expeditionary Force rotation and National Guard between three loca- returned in April. Th e 185th Air Refuel- We continue to keep an extremely chal- tions, Camp Ripley, Minn.; Fort McCoy, ing Wing continues to support Opera- lenging pace in the Iowa National Guard, Wisc.; and Camp Dodge. In addition, tion Enduring Freedom with air medical but I feel it’s beginning to level off to I had our state staff and leadership team evacuation of our injured warriors and what I would call the “New Norm.” deployed to Camp Ripley to support this refueling missions across the globe. annual training. We continue to have daily challenges – As the demand for our units drops next in our future overseas deployment With all the deployments over the last year, we currently have only one unit requirements, homeland security prepara- 10 years, many of our Soldiers and Air- to receive possible notifi cation for OEF tions, consistent shrinkage in the federal men reported this was their fi rst annual deployment in Training Year 2014. and state budgets, the potential loss of training since joining the Iowa National the 132nd Fighter Wing aircraft, pend- Guard. Th e pace of our overseas deploy- However, we won’t consider our mission ing sequestration, a continuing resolution ments has peaked with the return of the complete until we bring home all our authority, force structure adjustments, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, and will con- wounded warriors currently rehabilitat- recruiting and retention challenges, tinue to drop, unless something changes ing at various posts. Please remember casualty operations, Soldier and Airmen overseas. in your thoughts and prayers, the 16 wellness – and the list continues to grow. members we still have recovering at these Over this last year we mobilized 250 posts and the 68 others working through Despite these challenges, Iowa’s com- Soldiers and Airmen for overseas con- community-based treatment programs. mands and staff are working extremely tingency operations in Kosovo, Afghani- hard to train our Soldiers and Airmen, stan, Qatar, and Kuwait. We recently As part of our state homeland security increase the already high levels of readi- mobilized Company C, 2-211 General mission, we continue to prepare, plan ness in our deploying units, and con- Support Aviation Battalion (Medevac) in and exercise. Recently, we were sourced tinue to attract and retain talented Iowa July, and the Headquarters and Head- to support the January 2013 Presidential Guardsmen and women across the state. quarters Company, 1034th Combat Inauguration in Washington, D.C. with Sustainment Support Battalion in August 100 personnel. I will tell you, after com- What does the near-term future hold for to the Fort Hood, Texas mobilization ing off the Missouri River fl ood opera- the Iowa National Guard? platform to prepare for their Afghanistan tion which was the longest state disaster Our numbers of deployed Soldiers and deployment later this fall. Airmen continues to drop. We are at TAG Sends In the near future, there will be a few our lowest number of mobilized since other Iowa National Guard units to be continued on page 21 9/11. Based off the President’s guidance, Fall 2012 | The Iowa Militiaman | 3 ast fall, Capt. Tony Chrisoph, Operations Offi cer for the 2nd LBrigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, returned home from Afghanistan. One of more than 2,600 troops, he was part of the Iowa Army Na- tional Guard’s largest deployment since World War II. A full-time Operations Offi cer with the Iowa National Guard, Christoph discov- ered, like many other Americans, that funding cuts had eliminated his job. He found himself thrust into a stagnant job market facing an uncertain future. Building However, thanks to an innovative Na- tional Guard Bureau program – the Job Connection Education Program (JCEP) – Christoph was hired by the City of blocks Ankeny Police Department within a few months of his homecoming. Initially established in Texas as a pilot program in March 2010, JCEP was to specifi cally designed to improve employ- ment and reemployment rates for laid- off , under-employed and unemployed Guardsmen, particularly those returning job from recent deployments. Iowa was the second state to off er this unique program, laying down its roots Nov. 1, 2011. Not coincidentally, Iowa’s search program was established just as members of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry were returning home from a year-long Afghanistan deployment. success Since its Iowa inception, the program assists an average of 120 participants per by Master Sgt. Duff E. McFaddden month, with 86 current hires and a goal of 100 hires within the fi rst year. While other job assistance programs exist, they typically focus on serving Soldiers transitioning from the military to civilian employment and life. JCEP focuses on the specifi c challenges faced by National Guard servicemembers who are deployed away from their employers or other job opportunities for extended periods of time. “I had a great experience with the Iowa JCEP. Coming back from a deployment in which I lost my full-time job at home due to Department of Defense funding 4 | The Iowa Militiaman | Fall 2012 cuts put a lot of stress on me,” said Chris- toph. “Th is program is a wonderful tool for Soldiers who are in need of assistance Sgt. Carlos Puente Morales: in fi nding civilian employment.” A JCEP success story What makes this program such a valu- able commodity in this day and age, is while JCEP primarily assists the Na- tional Guard, it also aids other reservists, spouses, retirees moving to the civilian world, and veterans who seek help. One of the key components of this National Guard Bureau-based program is the ability of JCEP specialists to work closely with both employers and pro- spective National Guard employees. Th ey ensure employers are aware of, and know how to access, all the resources and benefi ts available in their eff orts to hire Guard men and women. In JCEP, Servicemembers fi nd a distinc- Sgt. Maj. (Ret.)(Ret ) Shawn Hippen Hippen interview. ThThffi e offi cer said I came d out on top tive tool to help them identify aptitudes Although I have never met Sgt. Carlos over all the other applicants.” and abilities honed through the military, Puente Morales in person, the fi rst thing I arrive at a plan transferring them to a noticed talking with him was his infectious One of the things Morales feels that makes civilian job setting, and assist them in confi dence. Th is is a young man with big JCEP successful, is the one-on-one interac- understanding and mastering key job goals and knows how to pursue them.