The Journal of the Adjutant General’s Corps Regimental Association FALL 2015 Heart of the AG Corps CSM Edwards assumes AG Corps Regimental Sergeant Major Responsibilities from SGM Shirley FORT JACKSON – On 27 August 2015, COL Jack L. Usrey, Chief of the Adjutant General’s Corps, conducted a change of responsibility ceremony as CSM Nyeedra Edwards assumed duties as the AG Corps Regimental Sergeant Major from SGM Todd Shirley. CSM Edwards was previously assigned as the Command Sergeant Major, 30th Adjutant General Reception Battalion, Fort Benning, GA, where she served as the Senior Enlisted Advisor for Soldiers arriving at Fort Benning for basic training. She also served as G1 Sergeant Major, 32d AAMDC, Fort Bliss, TX, where she managed the AAMDC’s junior Soldiers and NCO Corps. See CSM Edwards’ complete biography within Section I of this edition of 1775. SGM Shirley assumed duties as the 8th Adjutant General’s Corps Regimental Sergeant Major on 16 July 2014. Prior to becoming the Regimental Sergeant Major, SGM Shirley was assigned to the XVIII Airborne Corps G1 where he also served with the USFOR-A J1 in Afghanistan. SGM Shirley’s next assignment is the Command Sergeant Major for the 18th CSSB in Grafenwoehr, Germany. He will be accompanied by his wife April and their two daughters, Maddie and Sophia. SGM Todd Shirley affixes the coveted Regimental Sergeant Major streamer in his name to the AG Corps spontoon as the 8th Regimental SGM. CSM Nyeedra Edwards (right) accepts responsibility as the 9th AG Corps Regimental CSM from COL Jack L. Usrey (Center), Chief of the AG Corps. SGM Todd Shirley (left), outgoing SGM Todd Shirley and Mrs. April Shirley bid AG Regimental SGM looks on. School personnel farewell as the 8th Regimental SGM. SGM Shirley’s next assignment is CSM, 18th CSSB, Grafenwoehr, Germany. 03 THE ADJUTANT GENERAL’S CORPS SECTION III Around the Corps REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATION OFFICERS 03 FROM THE EDITOR 36 MG SEAMANDS TAKES COMMAND OF US ARMY HUMAN RESOURCES COMMAND (HRC) SECTION I Regimental Leadership 37 HRC CHANGE OF RESPONSIBILITY 38 1ST CORPS AG WEEK 05 NOTES FROM The Chief of the Corps 40 1ST ANNUAL ALOHA CHAPTER ADJUTANT GENERAL WEEK 06 NOTES FROM The Chief Warrant Officer of the Corps 43 1ST HRSC: CONTINGENCY POSTAL SUPPORT FOR ATLANTIC RESOLVE 07 BIOGRAPHY OF CW5 DAVID G. BETANCOURT 44 THE ARMY’S FUTURE PROMOTION PROCESS: SELECT-TRAIN-EDUCATE-PROMOTE 08 NOTES FROM The Regimental SGM 45 GOING POSTAL: 5 WAYS POSTAL OPERATIONS ARE BECOMING MORE 09 BIOGRAPHY OF CSM NYEEDRA T. EFFICIENT IN AFGHANISTAN EDWARDS 47 VOTING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM AND YOUR SECTION II Army & HR Professional Reading RIGHT TO VOTE 48 SPONSORSHIP - AN HR FUNDAMENTAL 10 AG OFFICER BRANCH UPDATE 13 AG WARRANT OFFICER BRANCH UPDATE 50 COMBAT TO CORPORATE 14 AG ENLISTED BRANCH UPDATE 52 HUMAN RESOURCES AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT WARFIGHTER TRAINING 16 INTERVIEW WITH SGM LINDA KESSINGER, SUPPORT PACKAGES (WTSPs) SGM, HRC ENLISTED PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT DIRECTORATE SECTION IV Army Bands 17 HEART OF THE AG CORPS - AN AG SOLDIER’S 53 ARMY MUSIC - SPEAKING TO THE HEART CONTENT INSIGHT 25 THE 369TH ADJUTANT GENERAL BATTALION 55 LONGEST SERVING FEMALE WARRANT HONORS MAJ DWAYNE WILLIAMS RETIRES AFTER 43 YEARS OF HONORABLE SERVICE 27 STOP THE 22 A DAY! 56 DEPLOYING ARMY BANDS - MODELS OF 28 300 MILES IN THEIR HONOR - SUPPORTING DEPLOYMENT AND THE WAY AHEAD OUR WOUNDED WARRIORS 60 US ARMY BAND PICTURE-GRAMS 29 THE HEART OF AN OLD MUSTANG (REMEMBERING LTC FRED K. “BUD” SECTION V AGCRA BUDZYNA, 1938-2013) 62 RELEVANCE AGCRA EUROPEAN CHAPTER 31 AN S-1 VOLUNTEER 64 PATTON’S GATEWAY CHAPTER RACES INTO 32 A HEART JOB: ATTENDING TO ARMY HISTORY CASUALTIES AND SURVIVORS 65 2015 AGCRA THIRD ANNUAL 34 ARMY AWARDS - THE HEART OF THE SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS MATTER 66 AGCRA AWARD WINNERS 35 ARMY POSTAL OPERATIONS - THE 69 COLONEL ROBERT L. MANNING HEARTBEAT OF THE AG CORPS ACHIEVEMENT MEDAL PRESENTATIONS 70 SUTLER STORE ITEMS 72 NOT GETTING YOUR MAILED COPY OF 1775? 1775, The Journal of the Adjutant General’s Corps Regimental Association, (ISSN 1551-8205) is published by the Adjutant General’s Corps Regimental Association, a non-profit organization, headquartered at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and is devoted to the advancement and professionalism of the Adjutant General’s Corps Regiment members. Articles appearing in the journal do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the officers and members of the Regimental Association, nor the Army’s HR leadership. Articles submitted by AGCRA members, Soldiers, other service members or civilian employees of the US military services are expressions of personal opinion, unless otherwise stated, and should not be interpreted as reflecting the official opinion of the Department of Defense. 1775 is scheduled to be published three times a year. Articles for submission are welcomed and should be sent to the address provided below. The editor reserves the right to reject any articles and/or to modify articles for clarity or space limitations. The editor also encourages the submission of photographs and illustrations to accompany articles. By submitting your photograph or illustration, you will release publishing rights of the image to The Adjutant General’s Corps Regimental Association, heretofore known as the AGCRA. If other people appear in your photo, you must have sufficient permission of any recognizable figure, model or person or persons appearing in the photograph to be able to submit the photograph to the AGCRA and to be able to release the publishing rights of the photograph. The AGCRA claims all rights to the usage of your photograph for use within 1775 and on printed and/or digital material. Important - By submitting your photograph to the AGCRA, you agree to all of the terms written above. Requests for authorization to reprint 1775 articles should be sent to the address below. VP, Publications, AGCRA PO Box 10026 Fort Jackson, SC 29207 EMAIL [email protected] WEBSITE www.AGCRA.com The Journal of the Adjutant General’s Corps Regimental Association | Fall I 2015 | www.AGCRA.com 1st Corps AG Week 30 Lisa Hallett, co-founder 17 of the “Wear Blue to Remember” Program in honor of our fallen Soldiers and SGM Todd Shirley, former Regimental SGM, pose for a picture after the AG Espirit de Corps Run at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The 369th Adjutant General Battalion Honors MAJ Dwayne Williams - COL (Ret) Brent Johnson, former 369th AG Battalion Commander and the 25th Chief of the Adjutant General’s Corps, provides remarks to dedicate the 369th AG Battalion Headquarters building and memorial garden in honor of MAJ Dwayne Williams. I Corps NCOs and Soldiers attend the HRC Road Show to hear a presentation by CSM Charles Smith, HRC CSM. 33 20 300 Miles in their Honor Supporting Our Wounded Warriors In May 2015, COL Jack L. Usrey, Chief of the AG Corps organized and led AG School personnel and Family members on a 300 mile cycling trip to raise awareness for the Wounded Warrior Program. The Adjutant General’s Corps Regimental Association Officers OFFICERS PRESIDENT COL Jack L. Usrey SENIOR VP COL (Ret) Michael R. Molosso REGIMENTAL WARRANT OFFICER CW5 David G. Betancourt REGIMENTAL SERGEANT MAJOR CSM Nyeedra T. Edwards VP, AWARDS CW5 (Ret) David A. Ratliff VP, MEMBERSHIP SFC (Ret) Kenneth M. Fidler, Jr. VP, PLANS AND PROGRAMS COL (Ret) William (Al) Whatley VP, SALES AND SUTLER STORE CPT Timothy S. Hughes VP, COMMUNITY AND CORPORATE AFFAIRS LTC (Ret) Ward D. Ward VP, INFO TECH AND STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS LTC David C. Welch VP, PUBLICATIONS & ADJUTANT COL (Ret) Robert Ortiz-Abreu, Jr. SECRETARY MAJ (Ret) William C. Villnow TREASURER LTC (Ret) David A. Smoot WEBMASTER MAJ Michael Skiff WEBMASTER SFC (Ret) Paul C. Hessert HONORARY OFFICERS 1775 STAFF AND SUPPORT HONORARY COLONEL BG (Ret) Earl M. Simms EDITOR COL (Ret) Robert Ortiz-Abreu, Jr. HONORARY WARRANT OFFICER CW5 (Ret) Gerald I. Sims, Sr. ASSISTANT EDITOR LTC (Ret) Ward D. Ward HONORARY SERGEANT MAJOR CSM (Ret) Freddie Lash ASSISTANT EDITOR MAJ (Ret) William C. Villnow COMMITTEE CHAIRS DESIGN, LAYOUT & PRINTING SERVICES Colonial Printing, Columbia, SC AG CORPS PRINT & GICLEE SALES CSM (Ret) Teresa Meagher SUTLER STORE SALES SSG (Ret) Barbara Bishop HR CERTIFICATION LTC (Ret) James J. Galluzzo hardship, earned the right to become a Additionally, we wanted to hear personal FROMthe US citizen, and today is an outstanding stories of sacrifice, commitment and AG officer and Army HR Professional. endurance to become an AG Soldier EDITOR Hearing of this CPT’s courageous story, and Civilian HR Professional. This edition of 1775 is dedicated we put out a call for similar accounts We hope you enjoy this edition of to the Heart of the AG Corps. COL to support this edition’s theme. As a 1775 and we welcome your feedback Jack L. Usrey, Chief of the AG Corps, Corps, enabling Commanders and by e-mailing comments to magazine@ approached me as Editor and told me supporting Soldiers and their Families agcra.com. of a career counseling session he gave is indeed at the heart of what we do an AG CPT who is a naturalized US on a daily basis. For this edition we citizen from Sudan. This CPT endured wanted to hear from AG Soldiers and Bob Ortiz horrific heartache with the loss of Civilian HR Professionals regarding AGCRA VP Publications & Editor, 1775 Family members trying to flee war torn compassionate articles that truly [email protected] Sudan. Through determination and touch the lives and make a difference Colonel (Retired), US Army heartfelt effort, this CPT truly overcame for the Army-wide clientele we support. AG Corps Hall of Fame Class of 2013 COL JACK L. USREY Chief of the AG Corps, AG School Commandant, and Chief Army Music 4 The Journal of the Adjutant General’s Corps Regimental Association | www.AGCRA.com SECTION I Regimental Leadership • NOTES FROM THE CHIEF OF THE CORPS By COL Jack L.