The <strong>Arkansas</strong> Minutemanof interestChastain named new Adjutant General of <strong>Arkansas</strong> <strong>National</strong> <strong>Guard</strong>Governor Mike Huckabee namedMaj. Gen. Ron Chastain as the new adjutantgeneral of <strong>Arkansas</strong> Wednesday,May 31. Maj. Gen. Don C. Morrow,the current adjutant general, announcedhis retirement after 43 years of servicewith the <strong>National</strong> <strong>Guard</strong>.Chastain has accumulated over 34ytears of military experience, includingtwo tours of command in Iraq. He iscurrently assigned as the wartime chiefof staff for the U.S. Forces, Korea.During Operation Desert Storm,Chastain commanded the <strong>Arkansas</strong><strong>National</strong> <strong>Guard</strong>’s 25th REar OperationsCenter. One of the most notable highlightsof his career was leading 4,200men and women into combat as thecommander of the 39th Brigade CombatTeam during the brigade’s 18 monthmobilization in support of OperationIraqi Freedom.“I feel honored to be able to succeedMaj. Gen. Don Morrow as yournext adjutant general,” said Chastain.“And as adjutant general, I pledge tocontinue to improve the readiness of the<strong>Arkansas</strong> <strong>National</strong> <strong>Guard</strong> units. At thesame time, I’ve got a goal of lookingout after our Airmen and Soldiers, andall of their families here in <strong>Arkansas</strong>,”he said.<strong>Arkansas</strong> <strong>Guard</strong> Soldier reports on life in Iraq– Long days, hot sun, good food selection are part of deploymentBy Spc. Trevor McIntyre, Battery C, 1-142nd Fires Brigadelife, and the days are not too hot--butI am currently deployed with Charlie they’re getting there.Battery, 1st Battalion of the 142nd Fires The living conditions are prettyBrigade, out of Rogers, Ark., in support good, as far as I’m concerned. We liveof Operation Iraqi Freedom. Although in barracks that were just constructed.we are a field artillery unit we have been They have running water, indoor plumbingand three-man rooms. This makestasked with the duties of a security force.Life in Iraq is not quite what I life a little easier after coming off a 12-expected. I had expected to come over hour shift. That’s my only complaint, sohere to blazing hot days and sand as far far. Twelve hour shifts make for a longas the eye could see. Instead, there is day, especially in the desert sun. Butmore mud than I’ve seen in my entire that’s all part of being in Iraq.Spc. Trevor McIntyre, Battery C, 1-142nd Fires Brigade, on night patrol in Iraq.Morrow was appointed as the adjutantgeneral by Governor Huckabee in1996 and has witnessed the role of the<strong>Guard</strong> shift during his tenure. He ledthe <strong>Arkansas</strong> <strong>National</strong> <strong>Guard</strong> throughthe transition and the strongest operatingtempo <strong>Arkansas</strong> <strong>Guard</strong> membershave ever seen. Since the global waron terror began, 8,000 have answeredcountless calls for stateside support aswell.“It ahs truly been an outstandinghonor for me to have had the opportunityto work with these men and women,and all of those others out there thatthey represent,” Morrow said.As far as free time goes, we’re a littleshy of that. But we are able to stay intouch with loved ones back home. Thereare facilities such as the Morale, Welfareand Recreation center, and the phonecenter located fairly close to where Ilive and work. We are able to go on-lineand/or call our families and friends backin the states 24 hours a day, which makesit a little easier on us.The food over here is something ofits own. I can’t recall a time when I’vebeen able to eat this much, and have suchgreat selection in an Army chow hall.We have the main line, short order (fastfood, hamburgers, hot dogs, etc.), thesalad bar, taco bar, sandwich bar, potatobar and an ice cream bar. You name it,it’s available.We are fairly close to one of thelargest bases in Iraq, so on our days offwe have the opportunity to go and enjoythings like the huge Post Exchange,Popeye’s Chicken, Burger King, Cinnabonand other assorted shops. It makesfor a fun day off and a place to relax.That’s about all I have to say aboutlife in Iraq, thus far. Hopefully it willstay the same for the remainder of thedeployment.Page 8 Summer 2006
The <strong>Arkansas</strong> MinutemanRumsfeld, Blum Support Temporary <strong>Guard</strong>Border Mission – <strong>Arkansas</strong> is prepared to goBy Donna Miles – American Forces Press ServicePresident Bush’s proposal to temporarilyboost the <strong>National</strong> <strong>Guard</strong>’s contributionto U.S. border security stands as atestament to the <strong>Guard</strong>’s flexibility but inno way signals a new, long-term <strong>Guard</strong>mission, Defense Secretary Donald H.Rumsfeld told Congress today.Under Bush’s plan, announced May15, up to 6,000 <strong>National</strong> <strong>Guard</strong> memberswill provide mobile communications,transportation, logistics, training, andconstruction support to the U.S. BorderPatrol, the secretary said in testimony beforethe Senate Appropriations Committee’sdefense subcommittee.Rumsfeld emphasized that the<strong>National</strong> <strong>Guard</strong> will not provide lawenforcement support. “Military forceswill not be involved in apprehension ordetention of illegal immigrants,” he said.To those concerned that the missionwill put too much stress on theforce, Rumsfeld noted that the numberof troops proposed represents less than2 percent of the <strong>Guard</strong>’s 400,000-plusmembers. During the mission’s secondyear, <strong>Guard</strong> participation is expected todrop to 3,000 or less, he said.These troops will operate duringtheir two- or three-week active-duty-fortrainingperiods. The <strong>National</strong> <strong>Guard</strong>already operates this way in support ofcounter narcotics missions along theborder, he noted.Rumsfeld said the mission willprovide <strong>Guard</strong> members real-life trainingwithout disrupting other missionsor causing undue personal hardship, hesaid. “This will not only not adverselyaffect America’s ability to conduct thewar on terror or respond to other domesticemergencies,” Rumsfeld said. “It willactually provide useful, real-life trainingfor the members of the <strong>National</strong> <strong>Guard</strong>.“It will be beneficial to the <strong>Guard</strong>because they’ll be doing the very samethings they would be doing if they weretraining their two weeks on an exercisebasis, as opposed to doing somethingthat the country really needs.”California, Arizona, <strong>New</strong> Mexicoand Texas, the four border states involved,would use their own <strong>National</strong><strong>Guard</strong> members to the extent they havethe skill sets the Border Patrol needs, thesecretary said.The <strong>National</strong> <strong>Guard</strong> Bureau willwork with other state governors to providetroops, as needed. No state governorwill be required to commit <strong>Guard</strong> troopsto the mission, Rumsfeld said.The secretary emphasized that thearrangement is not a long-term commitment.Bush’s proposal would commit the<strong>National</strong> <strong>Guard</strong> only “on an interim basisas the Department of Homeland Securityramps up to a greater level of capability,”he said.Army Lt. Gen. H Stephen Blum,chief of the <strong>National</strong> <strong>Guard</strong> Bureau, toldsubcommittee members that the conceptof using the <strong>Guard</strong> temporarily whiledeveloping other, long-term capabilitieshas become “a long-lasting, time-provenmodel.”He noted the days following theSept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, when the<strong>National</strong> <strong>Guard</strong> provided airport securityuntil the Transportation Security Administrationcould recruit and train enoughpeople to take over the mission.“The <strong>Guard</strong> provided that capabilityfor this nation on an interim basis untilthe proper federal agency could standup, train and equip their people, andthen they took over the mission, and the<strong>Guard</strong> left that mission and went back todoing other things,” he said.Similarly, the <strong>National</strong> <strong>Guard</strong> conductedcargo-handling inspections alongthe southwest border for several yearsas the U.S. Customs Service recruited,trained and equipped its own people forthe job, Blum said.“It would be my intent to workthe <strong>National</strong> <strong>Guard</strong> out of this [BorderPatrol support] mission as quickly as theDepartment of Homeland Security canstand up their capabilities,” the generaltold the subcommittee members.“I think the <strong>National</strong> <strong>Guard</strong> issuperbly ready to be the military force ofchoice for this interim mission until theDepartment of Homeland Security canstand up and assume this mission,” Blumsaid.“We are prepared to do our duty,”said Maj. Gen. Don C. Morrow, the adjutantgeneral of <strong>Arkansas</strong>. “If this missioncomes our way, we will send our bestbecause that is what is expected of us.”TRICARE Onlinedebuts on InternetAccess is Power! TRICARE Online.com is the Department of DefenseInternet medical portal that providesTRICARE beneficiaries with secure,interactive, one-stop-shopping accessto a host of unique and exciting service,tools and resources. TRICAREOnline.com allows beneficiaries totake control of their family’s healthcare needs.Features:• Real-time, online militarytreatment facility appointing – forprimary care and certain self-referralappointments.• Rx checker – for drug interactionsand side effects.• TRICARE health care – claims,benefits, enrollment and other entitlementinformation.• Personal Health Journal – usersrecord and update their own medicalinformation, such as immunizations,test results, treatment instructions,medications and more.• Medical library – provides a varietyof databases for the latest informationabout pharmaceuticals, symptoms,illnesses, surgical and diagnosticprocedures.• Health and wellness – links towomen’s, men’s, children’s and teen’shealth; aging and health; food andnutrition; sports and fitness; mentalhealth; sexuality and health; alternativemedicine and health; medications;traveler’s health, articles from the<strong>New</strong> England Journal of Medicine andmore.• Health life style tools – programssuch as smoking cessation and healthcalculators for individual, overallhealth assessments.• Facility and Clinic pages – informationabout each facility, its clinics,hours, driving directions and more.• Provider pages – credentialed providers’individual pages feature theireducation, clinical background, andcare and treatment philosophies.For more information visit www.tricareonline.com, or call statesidecustomer service at 1-800-600-9332 or(210) 767-5250 (direct).Summer 2006 Page 9