FY05 Annual Report Final - STATES - The National Guard

including base defense, quick reaction force and detention operations
missions under the direct command of the 18th Military Police
Brigade.
Twenty-seven Soldiers also mobilized in October and deployed to
Iraq with the 102nd RAOC under the Command of Lt. Col. Mark
Ray. In Iraq, the unit provided the Garrison Command element and
coordinated uninterrupted security, communications, intelligence,
logistics and sustainment, area management, troop movement,
infrastructure development and host nation support missions at both
Abu Ghraib and Camp Bucca.
Five members of the 1st Battalion, 102nd Field Artillery were cited
for valorous action during an April 2 attack on FOB Abu Ghraib in
Iraq. Sgt. Phillip Rand Jr. and Master Sgt. Joe Young were awarded
Bronze Stars with “V” device for valor. Army Commendation
Medals with “V” device for valor were awarded to Staff Sgt.
Christopher Yarger, Sgt. William Gates and Sgt. Jimmy Lok.
The insurgent attack was a coordinated ground assault involving
multiple attacks by an insurgent force estimated to be more then 60
members strong.
A quick reaction force made up of U.S. Soldiers and Marines
prevented the insurgency from breaching the walls. The five
Massachusetts Guardsmen from the 102nd were a core element of
that force.
Nondeploying elements of the 1st Battalion 102nd Field Artillery
concentrated on artillery training and preparing for the retirement
of the 102nd in fiscal year 2006, as part of the Army transformation.
Annual training for the stay behind personnel was in June at Fort
Photo provided courtesy of the 1st Batttalion 102nd Field Artillery Rear Area Operations Center
Pickett, Va. During annual training, two howitzer sections from the
102nd participated in a combined live-fire exercise with the 1st
Battalion 103rd Field Artillery of Rhode Island and 1st Battalion
101st Field Artillery.
E Battery 101st Field Artillery
E Battery, 101st Field Artillery’s mission is to
determine the trajectory of incoming artillery
or mortar rounds so the supported command
can eliminate the threat through counter
battery fire or air support. As with all National
Guard units, the battery also has a state mission
to support civil agencies in responding to
domestic emergencies within the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
The battery has been deploying radar teams in support of the Global
War on Terrorism since its beginning, deploying members to both
Afghanistan and Iraq. During fiscal year 2005, the unit deployed
53 personnel for various missions in support of operations Enduring
Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.
In December 2004, Echo Battery 101st Field Artillery joined the
116th Brigade Combat Team in its ground assault convoy from
Kuwait to FOB Warrior, becoming the first 42nd Infantry Division
target acquisition battery to occupy the 42 Infantry Division’s area
of operation in Iraq.
Tragically, a radar team deployed near Shkin, Afghanistan, lost Sgt.
Michael J. Kelley during a mortar attack. He was the first combat
casualty of the Massachusetts National Guard during the Global
War on Terrorism.
2005 Annual Report 47