New Mexico Minuteman - Fall 2011

150th Fighter Wing honors their hometown heroes
By Tech. Sgt. Kathee Mullins, 150th Fighter Wing/Public Affairs
The Air National Guard recognized 401 members of the 150th
Fighter Wing during the Hometown Heroes Salute ceremony Saturday,
Aug. 6, 2011, at Kirtland Air Force Base. The HHS is one of the Air
National Guard’s largest Airman Recognition endeavors in history. The
purpose of the campaign is to honor Airmen, their families and others
who do not wear the uniform but sacrifi ce nonetheless for our nation.
“Our entire nation thanks you for your service. To those of you that
own one of these fi ne Guardsmen or women, our nation can’t thank
you enough. My hat goes off to you all for your tenacity and sincerity
of service for your country. It is no small task, personally I give you a
heartfelt thanks,” said Brig. Gen. John D. Bledsoe, Assistant Adjutant
General of the Air National Guard.
Hometown Heroes is a great way to celebrate and commemorate
our veterans, their selfl ess contribution toward the freedom of our
nation, and to let them know how grateful we are for their service.
The Hometown Heroes program recognizes and awards Air National
Guard members who deploy for more than 30 continuous days in
support of contingency operations worldwide.
The program recognized 150th Fighter Wing members who have
been deployed for more than 30 consecutive days from September
2001 to January 2010. Many of the 150th Fighter Wing members have
deployed multiple times in support of contingency operations with the
majority of them completing tours nearer to 365 days.
Warrant offi cers gather to discuss professional development
By Chief Warrant Offi cer 2 Anna Hall, Joint Forces Headquarters Property Book Offi cer
Thanks to a generous invitation from retired
Brig. Gen. Jack R. Fox, the warrant offi cers of
the New Mexico Army National Guard had the
opportunity to get together for a barbecue
luncheon, a Warrant Offi cer Advisory Council
meeting and a tour of the New Mexico National
Guard’s Bataan Memorial Museum.
Joining the warrant offi cers for lunch was
Maj. Gen. Kenny C. Montoya, the Adjutant
General, Brig. Gen. Paul J. Pena, deputy adjutant
general and Col. Brian E. Baca, chief of
staff. Montoya thanked special guests Chief
Warrant Offi cer (Ret.) Salvador Soto and Chief
Warrant Offi cer (Ret.) Kenny M. Fernandez
for their past contributions to the New Mexico
National Guard and for their continued effort in
making the Guard successful.
Addressing the 23 warrant offi cers present,
Montoya spoke openly, stating that “I
don’t think you guys brag about yourselves
enough—you’re really amazing.” He urged
the warrant offi cers to focus on leadership
and to maintain a good attitude.
“I want you to become a more diverse Warrant
Offi cer Corps. I need for you to continue
to build a Guard that is open to everybody
that wants to be great,” Montoya said.
22 NEW MEXICO Minuteman / Fall 2011
Montoya commended several warrant
offi cers for their dedication. After a civilian
aircraft tragedy in May, Montoya, Chief Warrant
Offi cer Jesse Espinoza, Chief Warrant
Offi cer Dominic Esparza, Lt. Col. Raphael
Warren and 1st Lt. Mario Tafoya hiked to
over 11,000 feet in the mountains between
Angel Fire and Taos, N.M. and recovered the
remains of the civilian pilot. It was a diffi cult
trek; however, the chiefs were well prepared
for the mission.
Montoya also commended Chief Warrant
Offi cer Art Buhl, who recently brought
the state to a ranking of fourth in the nation
regarding the timely management of fi nancial
loss investigation for lost property. Montoya
commended the property book offi cer team
for their efforts with the turn-in of excess equipment
across the state. He also applauded
Chief Warrant Offi cer Juan Espinosa for his
recent achievement of attaining the National
Guard Bureau’s coveted Green Plus rating,
the highest rating possible, during the Annual
Statement of Assurance for Internal Controls
Program assessment.
In closing, Montoya reminded the warrant
offi cers that, “It should be deeds before
More than 23 million military veterans live in the U.S. today. They
are our neighbors, parents, co-workers, employees, grandparents,
PTA members, baseball coaches, grocery store workers, teachers,
fi remen, friends. They live, work and play in our hometowns.
The blanket of freedom under which we live was woven by our
veterans, their sacrifi ces and those of their families, friends and for the
Citizen-Soldiers and their employers.
The Air National Guard Hometown Heroes Salute recognition program
began in August 2008 as a way to acknowledge the Airmen,
families and communities answering the call of duty to deploy and
protect the nation. It is a National Guard Bureau funded program. For
more information about the program, go to http://www.goang.com/
HometownHeroes.
words with your Soldiers. Never ask them to
do something that you wouldn’t do yourself.”
Following the lunch provided by the
WOAC, the meeting commenced covering
several topics such as upcoming offi cer
development programs, fund raising events,
newly implemented warrant offi cer committees
and future retirements.
The special event for the afternoon was
a guided tour of the museum, led by Fox,
Soto and Spc. Charles Martinez. Fox told
the group that “Our [Bataan Museum’s] sole
purpose is to preserve your history.”
The warrant offi cers spent the afternoon
revisiting the history of the New Mexico
National Guard from The Minuteman days
to the current areas of operation in Iraq and
Afghanistan. He urged the warrant offi cers to
continue to support the museum and contribute
items of historical value so that the history
of the New Mexico National Guard stays alive
in the hearts and minds of future generations.