ONE OF THE GREATEST SOLDIERS OF THE UNITED STATES................. NOT REGULAR BUT A PART-TIMER

Audie Leon Murphy (June 20, 1925 – May 28, 1971) was one of the most famous and decorated American combat soldiers of World War II. He served in the Mediterranean and European Theater of Operations where he was presented the Medal of Honor and several other decorations for heroism in combat including decorations from France and Belgium"


Kindly click the link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audie_Murphy



Published by the team of TERRITORIALS

The United States National Guard Facts

Did you know the following facts about the United States National Guard which is the part-time military component and accounts to more than half the overall strength of the entire United States Armed Forces?

• The National Guard is the oldest military organization in the United States. It is 139 years older than the U.S. Army.
• The term ‘National Guard’ was first adopted by a New York militia unit in 1825 to honor the Marquis de Lafayette, hero of the American Revolution and former commander of the Guarde Nationale de Paris during the French Revolution.
• The National Guard supports U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM ) with the homeland defense mission. USNORTHCOM ’s job is to conduct necessary operations to prevent threats and acts of aggression against the United States.
• Twenty U.S. presidents have served in the militia or the National Guard.
• The Guard is securing nation’s airports, providing border security-including the presidentially directed Operation Jump Start on the Southwest border-and providing deterrent and counter-terrorism forces. Armed Guard members have been on duty in New York every day throughout the state since 9/11.
• Since the 11 September 2001 attacks, the National Guard has added 45 weapons of mass destruction-civil support teams; 17 chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosive enhanced response force packages; 54 computer emergency response teams; six critical infrastructure protection-mission assurance assessment detachments; 54 rapid reaction forces; 54 24-hour-a-day joint operations centers; and numerous other capabilities.
• The National Guard is integrated into the homeland defense plans of every state. The Guard exercise in communities with the civilian emergency planners and emergency responders.
• Since 1898, 121 recipients of the Medal of Honor have had National Guard service at some point in their career.
• 62,411 Army and 10,456 Air National Guard members were mobilized in 1990-1991 for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
• At the peak of the recovery effort following Hurricane Katrina, more than 51,000 Army and Air Guard members were involved.
• The National Guard helps to meet community needs with its Counter Drug Support Program and the Drug Reduction Demand Programs.
• Sergeant Leigh Anne Hester, a Guardswoman with the 617th Military Police Company, Kentucky National Guard, became the first woman in the U.S. military since World War II to earn a Silver Star Medal.
• 50 percent of the Army’s ground combat units in Iraq in 2005 were from the National Guard.
• Astronaut Charles ‘Pete’ Conrad, Jr., the commander of Apollo XII , was the third man to walk on the moon. He started his military career as a private in the Pennsylvania National Guard.
• The National Guard State Partnership Program (SPP) links U.S. states with a partner country to improve bilateral relationships with the U.S. These partnerships are designed to improve military relations, to assist with the development of democratic institutions, foster open market economies to help develop stability, and project and represent U.S. humanitarian values.
• The National Guard Family Program operates family assistance centers throughout the United States and its territories to provide aid and support for all military family members regardless of military affiliation, whether Guard, Reserve, or active duty.

Source:  Paula Sumrall, Our Sons Our Daughters: The National Guard Parent’s Guidebook to Deployment, National Guard Bureau, 2007

Photograph Source: Google

(Published by the team of TERRITORIALS)

US NATIONAL GUARD TRAINING PROVIDES SOLDIERS WITH THE SKILLS THEY NEED TO SURVIVE

US National Guards is a part-time military component of the US armed forces which along with the US Reserves accounts up to 58 percent of the overall military strength. This article is interesting in a sense that how much emphasis is given to part-time concept in the United States and how effectively they are trained to have been deployed all over the world for international commitments.
"This man is playing the part of an Iraqi sniper, pretending to shoot at National Guard troops who are learning how to protect themselves while on a convoy. As they travel down a road at Camp Shelby in Mississippi, canisters burst with smoke representing mock roadside bombs. For many of these soldiers, it's all new. Lieutenant Anderson, a National Guard platoon leader from Wisconsin says, 'Once the booms start happening, and bullets start flying, the confusion sets in. So this is one of those things that needs to be constantly rehearsed. Army Captain Kevin O'Connell, who trained police in Iraq, knows the danger of roadside bombs first-hand. He's showing these troops how to avoid the bombs, also known as improvised explosive devices or IEDs. 'Now if you stopped anywhere, and you didn't plan on stopping there, something made you stop, whether it's an IED, a truck in the road, anything. That's because that's where the bad guys want you to stop.'
Remote triggering devices such as cell phones and radios are being used to detonate IEDs. In Iraq, they can explode several bombs almost simultaneously. National Guardsman Wayne Winstead says the telltale wires connected to the roadside bombs are well hidden, in garbage, straw, or even animal carcasses. 'Things that are not obvious anymore are the wires hanging off the road, or antennas and things like that.'
Most of the men and women in the National Guard are part-time, and range in age from 17 to 60. They hold a variety of jobs or are students. The National Guard provides help with natural disasters and other emergencies in the U.S., but also serves as a military backup during war.
Currently, the National Guard and other military reserve units make up about 40 percent of the forces in Iraq. At Camp Shelby, National Guard soldiers spend up to six months learning the skills they need to survive.
Army Major Art Sharpe is a public affairs officer at the 70-kilometer square camp. He says of the training, 'We try to create as close as possible, to replicate, the conditions they're likely to face as they go down range.
This also includes searching for insurgents in Iraqi villages, and protecting themselves from snipers hidden in fields. The soldiers also learn how to maintain checkpoints, and handle hostile villagers, which in one training exercise ends with smoke, representing tear gas, which is used to disperse the crowd.
Major Sharpe, who is 47 and a judge in civilian life, spent six months in Iraq, training people for the new Iraqi army. He says this training is meant to make soldiers think before they act. 'For example, there were times when I could have shot someone myself in Iraq. And if I had been a nervous 18-year-old, I probably would have shot the individual. As it were, I paused, I waited, I gave the guy the benefit of the doubt. I analyzed the situation as it developed and I chose not to shoot the person. And it turned out to be the right decision.'
Twenty-year-old Guardsman William Johnson, a jazz musician, is being deployed to Iraq in the next few weeks and thinks the training will help him, 'We learned a lot today. This is very valuable training that we need to do, and I'm glad we made a lot of mistakes.'

Like other soldiers, he says he'd rather make them now, than in life-and-death situations in Iraq."

Source: http://www.voanews.com/english/news/a-13-2005-08-10-voa30-67539412.html

(Published by the team of TERRITORIALS)