Summer 2010 - STATES - The National Guard

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Activated Chemical Troops Get Visit from Top State Leaders Soldiers Called Up for Emergency Relief Receive Thanks from State Governor, Senator U.S. Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts pulls a filled sandbag from an automated sandbagging machine March 30, 2010, at the Lexington Department of Transportation site while visiting troops from the 272nd Chemical Company, Massachusetts Army National Guard, supporting Operation Rising Water. Massachusetts Guard members from across the commonwealth have been activated in an emergency response to flooding occurring all over the state (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jerome Bishop). 8 Minuteman Summer 2010 By Spc. Nicholas Michaud 65th Public Affairs Operations Center LEXINGTON, Mass. – Soldiers of the 272nd Chemical Company of the Massachusetts Army National Guard, tasked with filling sandbags in support of Operation Rising Water, were surprised March 30, 2010, by visits from top Massachusetts officials. Gov. Deval Patrick and U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, on site at the Lexington Department of Transportation to receive briefings on the operation, also checked on the Soldiers’ well-being and offered words of support. Upon arrival, Patrick was briefed by the commander of the 79th Troop Command, Lt. Col. Paul Landry. Following the briefing, Patrick inspected the sandbagging operations and provided a briefing to the media. “As usual, the National Guard has stepped right up,” said Patrick to members of the media, “and been total professionals from the beginning.” Throughout his visit, Patrick walked among the troops and offered his thanks to the Soldiers. The members of the National Guard are doing a fabulous job, said Patrick in an interview he provided to members of the 65th Public Affairs Headquarters. “I want to make sure everyone is adequately supplied and getting the food and rest they need,” said Patrick during the interview. Brown, recently elected to the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts, stopped by to offer his support to the troops. Brown, also a Lt. Col. in the Massachusetts National Guard, lent a hand in the production of the sandbags by personally stepping in and making a few. “When I was younger we used to make them by hand and now they have the machine from Range Control at Edwards,” said Brown. As a morale booster, Brown provided coffee and doughnuts to the tired troops. Before, during and after his briefing with the media, Brown took the time to personally thank every member of the Massachusetts National Guard working at the Lexington DOT site. ✯ Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, second from right, and Secretary Mary Elizabeth Heffernan, Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, meet with Soldiers from the 272nd Chemical Company, Massachusetts Army National Guard, at the Lexington Department of Transportation during a visit to the site March 30, 2010. Soldiers from the 272nd were activated, along with other Massachusetts Guard members, in support of Operation Rising Water, the commonwealth’s response to the continuing flood emergency (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jerome Bishop).
Story and photos by Air Force Capt. Evan C. Lagasse 102nd Intelligence Wing Public Affairs OTIS AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Mass. – Five members of the Royal Jordanian air force visited Otis Air National Guard Base for three weeks, Jan. 25 to Feb. 12, to train with the Precision Measurement Equipment Laboratory team here. The main focus of the training was on measuring and calibrating various bore sight fixtures for the F-16 Fighting Falcon. “We’re getting hands-on training on the calibration of bore sight fixtures which are done for the alignment of the F-16. We had difficulty understanding the complicated measurement procedures, so we came over to Otis Air National Guard Base to get training, and then we’ll be able to do these complicated measurements by ourselves,” said Royal Jordanian air force Lt. Col. Nalby Lbzo, RJAF calibration laboratories officer in charge. The Otis PMEL facility supports various airframes, more than 15,000 items, and provides calibration, repairs, research and development to the field. It is the only Type II C lab in the Air National Guard, which means the lab has a room maintained at a constant 68 degrees Fahrenheit, plus or minus one degree, but the facility wasn’t the only reason they were selected to train the Royal Jordanian air force. “We were asked by the Air Force to help train the Jordanians on the F-16 bore sights not only because we are the only Type II C lab in the Air National Guard, but because we have the expertise,” said Todd Morey, PMEL lab supervisor. Much of that expertise comes in the form of PMEL Technician Timothy Yousey. He used to be an instructor at the U.S. Air Force’s PMEL school house located at Keesler AFB, Miss., and was assigned to teaching the RJAF members how to calibrate the bore sight fixtures. “When you’re calibrating the bore sights, a lot of it is about feel, so it helps to have someone with more than 20 years of experience [Yousey] Timothy Yousey, top right, Precision Measurement Equipment Laboratory technician, watches Royal Jordanian air force Lt. Col. Nalby Lbzo calibrate an F-16 Fighting Falcon bore sight, Feb. 9, 2010, using techniques learned from Yousey during the Royal Jordanian air force members’ three-week training visit to Otis Air National Guard Base, Mass. Top photo: Royal Jordanian air force Lt. Col. Nalby Lbzo calibrates an F-16 Fighting Falcon bore sight at Otis Air National Guard Base’s Precision Measurement Equipment Laboratory Feb. 9, 2010. showing you how to approach the measurement rather than just pushing your way to the measurement,” said Morey. The main goal of the training was to assist the RJAF in becoming self sufficient with bore sight fixture calibration so they can accomplish the work “in house” and eliminate the need to send parts to the United States. “This will tremendously affect our air force because right now we don’t have the capability of training or the capability to calibrate these fixtures by ourselves. Now we should be able to do these measurements by ourselves in Jordan,” said Lbzo. As with most military endeavors, detailed coordination, planning and support from senior leadership were essential to make this training partnership a reality, a fact not lost on the participants. “The support of our leadership and proper funding is imperative to make these types of training partnerships a reality. We would like the spirit of cooperation to continue between the two countries,” said Rick Lawrence, PMEL superintendent. ✯ The Nation’s First 9
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Summer 2010 - STATES - The National Guard

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