TNSG Newsletter Coming Soon! Message from the Commander The State of Tennessee is blessed to have selfless servants SDF Nationwide COMEX June 25 such as yourself willing to serve others when needed. We are truly blessed for the support of our families; for their Lancaster Parade sacrifice allows us to serve. July 3 (HHC, 2nd BST, 61st) The Tennessee State Guard remains strong as the numbers within our ranks grows; our readiness improves as we continue to enhance our SGAUG Annual Conf. skills in disaster mitigation, preparedness and response. I encourage you to con- September 16-18 tinue improve your skills; When needed, we will be there ... ready to serve. SGAUS Chaplain Thank you for spreading the word about the mission of the Tennessee State Training Guard. Your efforts are working as Tennessee patriots join our organization. September 16-17 When people understand what the Tennessee State Guard is, they like you, are SGAUS JAG Training willing to serve. After all, we are the Volunteer State. September 16-17 May 2016 marks 150 years of honoring Memorial Day. It is an especially ideal TNSG Annual Christmas Banquet time to remember all the Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice over the December 3 past 241 years. Pause and remember the men and women who served our na- tion and selflessly surrendered the precious gift of life so that others could live free. We are united in remembrance because we know that Freedom is not free. We owe a great debt and repay that debt through our service as State Guards- men serving with honor and dignity to help others besides ourselves. We can only encourage neighbors, acquaintances and co-workers to do the same. God Bless our fallen, their families, and you. Kenneth Takasaki BG(TN) Tennessee State Guard Commanding Page # 2 Retirement of Brigadier General Jerrold C. Pigg Deputy Commanding General-East Brigadier General Jerrold C. Pigg is scheduled for retire- ment on 3 December 2016. He is the Deputy Command- ing General-East. Previous assignments of BG Pigg were the Headquarters Chief of Staff and Commander of the 3rd Regiment. Prior to joining the Tennessee State Guard in 2001, BG Pigg retired as a Major from the United States Army having served on active duty with the Army and Tennessee Army National Guard, with the 278th Armored Cavalry Regi- ment, commanding two armored cavalry troops and his final assignment was as the OIC of the Catoosa Training Center. During his years on active duty, General Pigg served at the Army’s Infantry School and in the 197th Infantry Brigade. BG Pigg enlisted in the US Army, 15 September 1969 and completed Infantry (11B) training. He is an Infantry veteran of both the Vietnam and Cold Wars. As an E-5, he received a direct commission to Infantry Lieutenant. He was proficient on tactics and every infantry weapon. BG Pigg completed the Infantry Officer Basic Course, Armor Officer Advanced Course, M-60 Tank Commander Certifica- tion Course, -M 1 Tank Commander Certification Course, and Command and Gen- eral Staff College. He excelled in tank weapons and armored cavalry tactics. His Federal awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal (2nd award), Army Achievement Medal. Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal (2nd award), Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal (1 silver oak leaf cluster), Armed Forces Reserve Medal (with silver hour glass device), Army Service Ribbon, Army Reserve Components Overseas Training Ribbon, Expert Rifle Badge, Sharpshooter Pistol Badge, Sharpshooter Machinegun Badge. Tennessee Army National Guard Awards and Badges-The Adjutant General’s Rib- bon for Valor, Tennessee Commendation Ribbon ( 2nd award), Tennessee Service Ribbon (4th award) Tennessee Volunteer Ribbon, Senior Recruiter Badge (Gold), and Governor’s Award for Outstanding Achievement, and the NGAT “Minuteman Award”. BG Pigg retired from the Tennessee Army National Guard as a Cavalry Major. In the TNSG, he earned the Distinguished Service, Meritorious Service, Officer Achievement, and Commendation Ribbons, Tennessee Defense Service Ribbon, Military Readiness Ribbon, 2nd award, Community Volunteer Service Rib- bon, the Senior MEMS Badge, SGAUS Meritorious Service Medal, and has a FCC General radio license. Page # 3 Retirement of Brigadier General Jerrold C. Pigg Deputy Commanding General-East Cont. He also has the US President’s Volunteer Service Award. “No greater sacrifice can anyone offer than to serve his country and his state. No higher honor can I have than to have served alongside you, my military brothers and sisters. The bond we have in the TNSG needs no explanation. To others, no explanation will ever be adequate.” He and his wife Frances live in Kingsport and have a son and daughter and four granddaughters. Conference Registration Link Page # 4 Cyber Shield by LTC Froggatt Cyber Shield 16 was held at CAMP ATTERBURY, IN from 18 – 29 April 2016. Cyber warriors from across the country gathered to kick off Cyber Shield 2016 (CS16), a defensively focused U.S. Army Na- tional Guard cyber training exercise designed to educate and enhance cyber-capable forces. CS16 was a two-week training exercise; the first week consisted of training classes, which participants can attend to enhance their skills, for recertification, or continuing education credits used to maintain their existing credentials. The second week consisted of an actual training exer- cise where teams used their technical skills to defend the network in all out cyber war. “Train as you fight,” said LTC(US) Henry Capello, CS16 Exercise Commander/ Lead Planner and Louisiana Army National Guard Information Operations and Cyber Planner. “Cyber Shield is a premiere exercise the National Guard Bureau hosts for all 50 states and four territories to bring in their cyber defense opera- tion elements, which helps us protect both the Guard-Net and the state’s or ter- ritories’ critical infrastructure and networks.” LTC(TN) Rick Froggatt and SFC(TN) David Gatewood of the Tennessee State Guard were in attendance participating on the combined Tennessee – Alabama National Guard team. CS16 included participants from Army and Air National guardsmen, Army Reserve soldiers, Marines and civilians from state government agencies, federal agencies, industry partners, and academia. After a week of intense training that ranged from bit level reverse engineering malware to collecting and monitoring logs from across a network; attendees gathered with their teams over the weekend to prepare and test their systems for the coming cyber war. The cyber war utilized a real world scenario with the blue team defending, red team (OPFOR) attacking, and white cell overseeing the battlefield. At the conclusion of each day throughout week two, a debrief of the day’s events was held with all three components in attendance to enhance learning. The training concluded with all components going over the week’s events on Friday morning after which attendees departed for home. Page # 5 Tennessee State Guard Completes Annual Training by 2LT Estes, PAO SMYRNA, TENNESSEE – On March 11-13, 2016 the Tennessee State Guard (TNSG) held its Annual Training at the Tennessee National Guard Volunteer Training Cen- ter in Smyrna, Tennessee. 72 soldiers, officers, and cadre from all four TNSG regi- ments, 62nd Medical, and Headquarters, Headquarters Command (HHC) partici- pated in the training, one of the largest and most complex training scenarios in Check out the recent memory. 18 OBC/WOBC officers and warrant officers completed the sec- Tennessee state ond consecutive on-site course, 17 Advanced Leader Course (ALC) noncommis- sioned officers completed that course, and 4 new soldiers completed Initial Entry Guard Facebook Training (IET). 29 cadre were in attendance and provided training and instruc- page. tion. The intent of Annual Training (AT) is to bring together the soldiers of the TNSG to prepare for deployment in the event of emergency in the State of Tennessee. Sing into your The TNSG, as part of the Military Department of Tennessee, is charged with the following: Facebook The purpose of the Tennessee State Guard is to provide a professional comple- account and in ment of personnel to support the State mission of the Tennessee National Guard, by assisting the Tennessee Army National Guard as a force multiplier, and at the search bar type direction of the Adjutant General, to assist civil authorities with disaster relief, Tennessee State humanitarian causes, ceremonial service, religious and medical support for the well being and safety of the citizenry of Tennessee. Guard AT is the preparation for the fulfillment of this mission. It has been held annually since 1987 when the TNSG was reactivated, and the task is to continually im- prove the quality of AT in preparation for deployment. The 2016 AT clearly achieved this goal, and then some. BG Kenneth Takasaki, CG of the TNSG, com- mented on the 2016 Annual Training (AT): The performance of TNSG represents the finest that Tennessee has to offer. These soldiers are selfless servants caring for others over self, and TNSG soldiers are dedicated professionals training to be prepared to help the citizens of Ten- nessee should events call for TNSG’s service. I expect nothing less than excellent performance, and I challenge all soldiers to do their very best. It is an honor to serve with, and be a part of, the Tennessee Volunteers. In addition to AT four classes were held: Initial Entry Training (IET), Advanced Leader Course (ALC), Officer Basic Course (OBC), and Warrant Officer Basic Course (WOBC). In addition to the online training for National Incident Manage- ment System (NIMS), much of the training in TNSG is done online. The 2016 OBC/ WOBC was the second consecutive on-site instruction, and consensus is that the real-time on-site training is an improvement over the online instruction. Online training will continue in support of all TNSG training, and will be available when on-site instruction is not available.