Iowa NationalIowa National Iowa Guard Guard / February / March 2016 HappyHappy 75th75th BirthdayBirthday 132nd132nd WingWing Warrior Ready | March 2016 | 1 4 March 2016 Th e Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Timothy Orr Public Aff airs Offi cer Col. Greg Hapgood FORSCOM commander visits STC Editor/Designer Master Sgt. Duff McFadden Master Sgt. Duff E. McFadden State Photographer Staff Sgt. Chad D. Nelson Command Historian Tech. Sgt. Michael McGhee Th e Warrior Ready is an offi cial publication authorized under the provisions of AR 360-1. It is Features 6 published electronically by the Iowa National Guard State Public Aff airs Offi ce on a monthly basis. News and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those 132nd Wing celebrates 75th of the Adjutant General of Iowa, Master Sgt. Duff E. McFadden the National Guard, or the Department of Defense. Follow the Iowa National Guard on Social Media 8 www.facebook.com/IowaNationalGuard or at @IowaNatGuard on Twitter Address all submissions to: Iowa enlists fi rst woman engineer Th e Iowa National Guard Warrior Ready Magazine Master Sgt. Duff E. McFadden State Public Aff airs Offi ce 7105 NW 70th Ave. Johnston, Iowa 50131-1824 10 » Civil War Greybeard Regiment or contact us at: by Tech Sgt. Michael B. McGhee http://www.iowanationalguard.com/contact_us.htm Far to the east, the Civil War begins its second Comm: (515) 252-4582 year, showing signs of becoming a long, costly DSN: 431-4582 fi ght. In an act to bolster recruitment num- bers, Iowa, in conjunction with the U.S. War Department, mustered the 37th Iowa Infan- try Regiment, nicknamed the “Greybeards. 12 » MEDHAWKS earn national honors by Capt. Brandon Cochran Th e 132nd Wing received the Outstand- On theth Cover ing Achievement in Innovation – Team CuttingCuttin the cake at the 75th an- Category Award for 2015, following niversaryniver of the 132nd Wing are competition against the Air National (left to right) Maj. Gen. Tim Guard Medical Service’s (ANGMS) other Orr, Adjutant General of the 88 Guard Medical Units (GMUs). IowaIow National Guard, Master Sgt.Sgt Don Worrell, Airman 1st ClassCl Justin Hopp, and Col. 15 » Building a positive relationship ShawnSh Ford, 132nd Wing For service members, a loving, resilient commander.co Worrell and marriage is both a matter of personal hap- HoppH continued an age-old piness and family readiness. When family militarym tradition of the relationships are strong and healthy, ser- oldest (Worrell) and young- vice members are free to focus on their mis- est (Hopp) servicemember sion and daily duty requirements. cuttingcutting theirtheir branch’sbra cake. (Iowa National GuardGdhbS photo by Staff Sgt. Chad D. Nelson) 2 | Warrior Ready | March 2016 A view from the Air State Command Chief Master Sgt. Tim Cochran At a glance: The Enlisted Grades Review he Enlisted Grades Review appropriate levels of responsibility for (EGR) process is not a new one, all Airmen. Staff functions were also Tbut it’s signifi cantly different standardized and the entire structure GroupGroup Chiefs were appropriatelyappropriately from previous reviews. Historically, was compared to active duty manning placed in the manning documents prior previous EGRs didn’t account for documents. to release of the EGR, which further differences between unit missions or increases opportunity. enable development opportunities for There were fi ve business rules applied all skill sets. The main driver of top to ensure the end result accomplished 5. The fi nal business rule was to enlisted grade positions was an enforced all the desired objectives. These ensure standardization across units percentage cap on grades based on guidelines also help us frame where and functions with an appropriately a regulatory requirement that didn’t have we been, why it wasn’t working, repeatable enlisted pyramid, regardless actually exist. and the right-sized way ahead. of assigned numbers and missions. Rather than continuing to accept a 1. The fi rst rule concerns fi eld 2015 was the year to apply the mock broken process, a strategic vision involvement. Experts from each career review results to the actual EGR and to right-size the enlisted force was fi eld were solicited for input and provide the Director of the Air National revealed to the Air National Guard the Enlisted Field Advisory Council Guard with the results for his approval Command Chiefs in early 2013. Twenty members were involved throughout the by the end of the calendar year. Results one-plus months of research and entire process. show signifi cant benefi ts to the enlisted collaboration, thousands of man hours, structure with an 11 percent increase 2. Secondly, as mentioned earlier, and a focus on enlisted opportunities or 750+ 9 Levels, and four percent or no preset grade limitations were has resulted in the recently published 1550+ 7 Levels. applied. This rule was very signifi cant EGR. The results have a positive as previous EGRs had allowed this readiness impact and have increased Where are we at today? specialty percentage cap to creep recruiting-retention opportunities. into the process without a regulatory Implementation is in the works. A mock review was conducted in 2014 requirement for it. Manning documents have been sent to to review all positions. Data analyzed the Wings and appointments have been 3. The third rule was grades go for every position on the manning scheduled at NGB for Force Support where they were needed. Scope document had to pass several qualifi ers Squadrons to learn the implementation. of responsibility and mission to achieve the end result. Duty skill April 15, 2016 is the offi cial manning requirements, both day to day and levels had to be manned at the correct document release that drives an deployed, were matched appropriately. level to meet all deployable Unit effective date of April 1, 2017. Training Code requirements, plus there 4. Fourth was to build the correct career The hard work has paid off – levels of needed to be standardization of rank path in all specialties and to repair responsibility and the corresponding structures for all occupational series. the pyramid structure so every Air grades will be repeatable regardless Force Specialty Code (AFSC) had a The results of these two data points of mission differences and a path now minimum development opportunity to had to obtain an acceptable pyramid exists to develop all Airmen, regardless E-8. Additively, the Air Force Specialty of development opportunities with the of AFSC, for competitive opportunities Code for Group Supervisors, or 9G, to serve in the top enlisted grades. Warrior Ready | March 2016 | 3 By Master Sgt. Duff E. McFadden simple invitation was all it took for the commander of the U.S. Army Forces Command, the Army’s larg- A est command, to travel to Iowa to observe training and visit with Iowa National Guard Soldiers. According to Maj. Gen. Timothy Orr, the Adjutant Gen- eral of the Iowa National Guard, Gen. Robert Abrams, the FORSCOM commander, “came to the First Army Fall Re- gional TAG (The Adjutants General) huddle meeting and I had the opportunity to invite him to Iowa. I followed that up with a letter of invitation, and he accepted,” Orr said. The U.S. Army Forces Command is the land force provider for combatant commanders – both at home and abroad. Abrams became the 22nd commander of U.S. Army Forces Command at Fort Bragg, N.C., in August 2015. The last time Camp Dodge played host to a U.S. Forces Command commander was in 1993, when Gen. Dennis Re- imer visited the Johnston, Iowa-based facility. ”You have a great capability here in Iowa,” said Abrams, FORSCOM during his Feb. 3-4 visit. “The Iowa National Guard’s got a tremendous history and record of mission accomplishment. It was a pleasure for me to be here.” commander visits Iowa National Guard to observe Total Force training, Gen. Robert Abrams, U.S. Army Forces Command commander, is Center. Abrams was in Des Moines for a two-day visit to observe Soldiers Reserve, and National Guard Soldiers – training at the STC, and t in a one-on-one conversation. (Iowa National Guard photo by Sta 4 | Warrior Ready | March 2016 As soon as his plane landed in Iowa, Joint Fires Observers, Integrated Fire effective Army sustainment training. Abrams was whisked away to the and the Distributed Common Ground Distributed Training Operations Center System-Army, it provides 10-20 events Both the Army's Active Component (DTOC) at the Des Moines Air Nation- daily. The DTOC provides simulation and Reserve Component forces have al Guard Base. Lt. Col. Troy Havener, platforms for aircraft as diverse as the become more closely integrated due to the Air National Guard’s Live Virtual McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle and The Army Total Force Policy, signed by Constructive Liaison, and Lt. Col. F/A-18 Hornet, Boeing P-8 Poseidon, Secretary of the Army John McHugh on Todd Pierce, DTOC Commander, pro- Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit, General Sept. 4, 2012. As Reserve Component vided a brief and tour of this one-of-its Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon and forces comprise more than half of the kind facility. Remotely Piloted Aircraft. Army's total force, it became important to integrate these components as a Total Operated by the Iowa Air National Abrams then moved from the “virtual” Force, since both are vital to fulfi lling Guard’s 132nd Wing, this global world to one of sustainment, as he trav- national military needs. training center provides optimal cost- eled the 14 miles from the Des Moines savings through a virtual battlespace Airbase to the Sustainment Training Abrams said he had heard a lot about linking a wide array of fl ight and mis- Center (STC) at the 4,500-acre Camp the Sustainment Training Center and sion crew simulators.