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National Guard sending helicopters to Florida for hurricane recovery

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Iowa National Guard Chinook helicopters.

Four Iowa National Guard helicopters are heading to Florida today to help with hurricane recovery. Guard spokesman Colonel Greg Hapgood says 19 soldiers will go with the four choppers.

He says two of the helicopters are the CH-47F Chinook helicopters, which are used to lift heavy loads of supplies and people. The other two are LUH-72 Lakota helicopters and are smaller than the Chinooks.

“Which can provide capabilities to show the planners and others what is going in an areas. It’s got sophisticated optics and cameras. It can also help move a few things and people as well. But again, it is a light helicopter,” according to Hapgood.

Chinooks taking off.

Hapgood says they do not know how long the soldiers from Waterloo, Davenport, Iowa City and Boone may be on hurricane duty. “We did have two helicopters and 11 crewmembers go to Hurricane Harvey, and we expected about two weeks and they were back in 10 days,” Hapgood says. “So we’re hopeful that the situation will be quickly under control on the response part of the hurricane, and our members can come back relatively soon.”

He says each storm is different when it comes to the recovery. “Certainly there is some amount of time that we really don’t know what it till take to get this mission done,” Hapgood says. “What I can tell you from past experience is the State of Florida does a terrific job for hurricanes. They are very efficient at it, very experienced in their response. So we are hopeful that everything will got their way and we can get our crews back here in no time.”

The state of Florida has requested support from Iowa under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, which is a national, mutual aid and partnership agreement that allows state-to-state assistance during governor-declared or federally-declared emergencies.

The soldiers heading to Florida are from the following units:
Company A, 1st Battalion, 376th Aviation, Security and Support (Waterloo); Company B, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion (Davenport); Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 67th Troop Command (Iowa City); Company C, 2-147th Aviation (Boone); Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division (Boone); Company D, 2-211th General Aviation Support Battalion (Davenport).

Photo courtesy of the Iowa National Guard.

Ernst thankful Trump shifting more authority to military

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Senator Joni Ernst. (file photo)

On this, the 16th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, Senator Joni Ernst said she is “thankful” for a new direction in the “overall War on Terror.”

“We finally do have a president that is very focused on really destroying ISIS, destroying al Qaeda, putting the Taliban back in its place instead of just trying to contain these different issues,” Ernst said during an interview with Radio Iowa.

Ernst retired from the Iowa National Guard after a 23 year career which included a tour of duty in Iraq. Ernst said the military has greater flexibility now in pursuing the “types of folks who put together the 9/11 attacks.”

“I see that as a developing issue with this president, allowing our military leaders to determine the course that we take to destroying the enemy and I’m thankful for that,” Ernst said. “I don’t like to see us tying the hands of our military leaders.”

President Trump has been steadily transferring war-fighting authority he and previous presidents have had to the Pentagon. Ernst and other supporters of these moves say it gives commanders authority to make quick tactical decisions, rather than wait for a go-ahead that might come when conditions have changed. Critics suggest Trump may be trying insulate himself from criticism when military operations go wrong.

Ernst was the commander of the Iowa National Guard’s largest batallion until September of 2014, shortly before she was elected to the U.S. Senate. Ernst was the Iowa National Guard’s deputy chief of staff when she retired on November 30, 2015.

 

Sioux City Air Guard tankers getting new technology

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New digital screens in the KC-135.

Sioux City’s 185th Air Refueling Wing has gotten back the first tanker aircraft that has been upgraded with the latest digital cockpit instruments.

Lieutenant Colonel Shawn Streck, 185th Maintenance Commander, says the instrument panel replacement program known as the “block 45” replaces most of the remaining analog gauges in the cockpit of the aging KC-135 with new instrumentation and LCD displays.

He says the jet was built in 1958 and most of the instruments were original to aircraft, so this upgrade puts them on par with the current civilian aircraft. The block 45 program replaces the radio altimeter, autopilot, digital flight director and other gages with computer module updates. Streck says during the next 12 months the 185th expects to have five of its KC-135’s have the new cockpit instruments installed. That should keep the 1950’s era aircraft viable for years to come.

“Our maintainers take amazingly good care of these aircraft. And they’re maintaining them at a level that they will be able to fly until 2040-2050,” Streck says. “So block 45 is a good fit to modernize them to make sure that they can stay at the standard that we want to keep them.” Streck says the new technology means the planes will likely be flying long after he retires.

He says he is 43 and plans to retire sometime between when he is 53 and 57. “Unless we get different airplanes, we very well could be flying these same planes 15 years form now. And there could be another generation that takes them 10 or 15 years past that. I would not be surprised to be seeing these tails on this ramp 30 years from now,” Streck says.

The midair refueler returned to Sioux City after 60 days at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma where the new systems were installed.

(Reporting by Woody Gottburg, KSCJ,Sioux City/Photos courtesy of the 185th)

Iowa National Guard Chinooks and crews headed to Houston

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Eleven Iowa National Guard soldiers and two helicopters are heading to Houston today to aide in hurricane recovery efforts.

The two Iowa National Guard helicopters and the crews to run them are being deployed to move supplies, equipment and people around the hurricane zone.

The massive Chinook helicopters have two engines, two sets of rotors and a loading ramp in the back. The helicopters have three hooks on the exterior which can raise and lower cargo and people.

The eleven soldiers who are being deployed with the Chinooks come from Iowa Guard units in Davenport, Johnston and Boone.

 

Waterloo National Guard unit preparing to deploy

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A community sendoff was held today for members of a Waterloo-based Iowa Army National Guard helicopter unit that will be mobilized tomorrow.

National Guard spokesperson Colonel Greg Hapgood says the soldiers will provide aerial medical evacuations and transportation of patients to combat hospitals.

“The unit has 35 members that have been selected for this particular mission, They’ll take a handful of aircraft with them when they go,” Hapgood says. “They’ll head to Fort Hood, Texas to do some training for about six to eight weeks and then they’ll head to the Middle East.”

Hapgood says this assignment will be familiar for many of the 35 soldiers who are part of the group.”This particular unit has been mobilized multiple times. The last time was in 2012, so it’s only been approximately four to five years since the last time they went. It’s a well-trained unit, highly specialized, very much qualified and ready to go and do this job,” Hapgood says.

Hapgood says the mission is expected to last about one year. He says it was planned well in advance of President Trump’s speech this week about increasing U.S. troop numbers in Afghanistan.

Thanks to Pat Blank, Iowa Public Radio.

Traveling ‘Spirit of Iowa Tribute Bell’ unveiled at State Fair

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There was a ceremony at the Iowa State Fair this morning to unveil a newly-formed 255-pound bell created to honor Iowa veterans and those currently serving in the military.

The “Spirit of Iowa Tribute Bell” was made this weekend by a mobile foundry on the fairgrounds. Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs director Jodi Tymeson stood near the bell, which is mounted on a trailer and pulled by a Jeep.

“One of the most asked questions is: ‘Where is the bell going to be?'” Tymeson said. “…The bell will travel on this trailer across this state to communities that will ask to have it to honor their veterans.”

Tymeson’s been getting requests, before the bell was even made. The process started this past weekend, as the nation’s only “foundry on wheels” set out from the Iowa Speedway in Newton with a motorcycle escort by the “Patriot Guard Riders.”

“Saturday, Gold Star and military survivor families along with other Iowans placed bronze ingots into the foundry for melting to form the bell,” Tymeson said. “The bell was cast and hundreds of Iowans watched the pouring ceremony.”

General Orr rings the bell.

On Sunday, the mold around the bell was broken by fairgoers, then the bell was hidden from the public as it was polished for today’s unveiling.

Governor Kim Reynolds was at the head of a long “rope line” of people who got to ring the bell for the first time. Reynolds said the bell will keep the spirit of Iowa veterans alive as it travels the state in the decades to come.

“Not only is this bell stunning to behold, the meaning behind it is even more significant,” Reynolds said.

After a few teams of bell-ringers had their turn, Iowa National Guard Adjutant General Timothy Orr got a turn by himself. As the clapper struck the bronze, the peal Orr produced was the loudest of the day. Orr told Radio Iowa it was an honor to represent all veterans from all services.

“When you ring that thing, you ring it with a sense of purpose and heart knowing that there are soldiers, airmen, Marines, Coast Guard — all service members behind that,” Orr said.

Orr said “a part of my soul” is in the bell. He threw a bronze coin into the melting pot that was used to produce the liquid metal poured into the bell’s mold. The now-finished two-foot-tall bell was the lead-off entry in today’s Veterans parade on the Iowa State Fair’s Grand Concourse.

Sioux City Air Guard refueling unit gets call to deploy

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Refueling boom of the 185th in Sioux City.

Nearly 300 members of Sioux City’s Iowa Air National Guard 185th Air Refueling Wing will be deployed overseas beginning in October.

Colonel Larry Christensen, the base commander, says it’s one of the largest deployments in recent history of the unit and involves two separate entities.

He says they usually deploy the airplanes, crews and maintenance, but this time they are also deploying a lot of the support staff that deal with food service, communication, supply and security that don’t deal directly with the airplanes.

Senior Master Sergeant Ron Bennett says they will start leaving in September and be stationed in countries like Qatar , the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.

“By the time January of 2018 comes, all 200 will be in their deployed location to do their job for about six months deployed. And then they’ll start cycling them back,” Bennett says.

Members from of the 133rd Test Squadron in Fort Dodge are also part of the deployment. Sergeant Bennett says another 100 airmen from the 185th Operations and Maintenance groups will deploy for 30 to 120 day deployments to similar locations in the Persian Gulf and to support the continuous bomber presence in the Pacific at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam.

He says they will be doing the same job that they do in their weekend training as the Air Force requires them to drop in amongst active duty members and to their standard job.

Colonel Christensen says he greatly appreciates the Siouxland community who employ and support the guard members.

“This actually affects the whole entire community and their families,” Christensen says. “We are just extremely lucky to have the support that the Siouxland community and the family gives us, and they’ve done that for many, many years.” The 185th will continue to fly domestic missions as well involving refueling, medical missions and troop transports while their contingent is serving overseas.

(By Woody Gottburg, KSCJ, Sioux City)

Top general in the Iowa National Guard is retiring

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Deputy Adj. General Steven Altman.

A top leader in the Iowa National Guard is going to retire in September.

Guard spokesman, Colonel Greg Hapgood, says Deputy Adjutant General Steven Altman is retiring. “General Altman grew up in Crescent, Iowa and he got his commission as an officer from Creighton University Reserve Officer Training Program, also known as ROTC, in May of 1983. He’s been in the Iowa National Guard since September 1979, so he’ll reach just at 38 years of service at the time of his retirement,” Hapgood says.

Altman’s position is second only to the commander of the Iowa National Guard. Hapgood says there are two Deputy Adjutant Generals, one for the Army National Guard and one for the Air National Guard, “So essentially its kind of a tie for the number two position in the state of Iowa.”

Hapgood says time of service is one of the factors that goes into retirements for this position. “The other piece about Deputy Adjutants General is that they’re actually appointed by the governor of Iowa,” Hapgood explains. “And so, it’s very common that when you have a new governor they will have new appointees, whether you are talking about department heads or other appointed positions, this is one of those gubernatorial appointments.”

Brigadier General Ben Corell.

Governor Kim Reynolds has appointed a northeast Iowa native to replace Altman. “Brigadier General Ben Corell has been in the Iowa National Guard over 30 years. He has extensive command experience — whether you are talking about company, battalion or brigade level,” Hapgood says. “And in his particular case, he has mobilized multiple times.”

Corell was born in Manchester and raised in Strawberry Point. He was part of the mobilizations of the First Battalion 133rd Infantry, which was mobilized for 22 months during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

“And then he also commanded the Second Brigade Combat Team of the 34th Infantry Division when they deployed to Afghanistan in 2010-2011, which was the largest single deploy since World War Two. So, he may be fairly well know to Iowans,” according to Hapgood. Corell is currently completing an active duty tour as the Deputy Commander, NATO Multinational Division Southeast in Bucharest, Romania.

Hapgood says the top positions in the Iowa National Guard do not change very often.”It’s not unusual that once you get to a very senior level as a general officer that you’ll stay in that assignment for several years,” Hapgood says. “The important piece also is that you want to be careful not to homestead. You’ve got lots of talented officers and non-commissioned officers coming up and you don’t want to cut off their opportunities. So, there’s a balance.”

Altman will retire on September 1st, and Corell will assume the position at that time.

Protesters target Iowa Air Guard’s drone program

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Protest at the Iowa Air Guard base in Des Moines.

Four protesters blocking a road near the Des Moines airport were arrested today. They were protesting of the Iowa Air National Guard’s drone program.

Each of the protesters who was arrested have been charged with interference with official acts and disorderly conduct. Those are misdemeanors. Alex Cohen was at the protest, but was not arrested. He says the activity is part of an ongoing campaign against the drone program.

“Basically these drones are killing innocent woman and children overseas and furthering waging wars on these other countries,” Cohen says.

A statement from an Iowa National Guard spokesman says most of the drone missions are to acquire intelligence and imagery on enemy combatants. One percent of the flight missions involve artillery.

(Reporting by Iowa Public Radio’s Sarah Boden/Photo courtesy of Frank Cordaro)

Des Moines is Iowa’s 66th Home Base Community

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Iowa’s largest city has just been designated as a “Home Base Iowa Community.” Des Moines is now the 66th community in the state to establish the required framework to entice veterans to move to Iowa.

According to Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie, his city is highlighting life-outside-of-work activities as well as the help veterans can get in landing a job.

“We’ve got a whole package of benefits through the city, everything from the library system to the park system to the golf courses to possibilities to come down and apply for jobs at the city,” Cownie says. “…We’re always looking for people who are ready to serve our city, but also have a history of serving our country.”

Cownie, who did a stint of service himself in the Iowa National Guard in the 1960s and ’70s, says his capitol city is “a great example” of how to support veterans.

“Iowans have always stepped up. They have done what they have needed to do to serve our country, to serve this state,” Cownie says. “…Iowa government, local business and our families are here and willing and supportive of everything that veterans do.”

Former Governor Terry Branstad initiated the “Home Base Iowa” program a few years ago, in hopes of getting soldiers leaving the military to move to Iowa. Governor Kim Reynolds says Iowa communities have come up with “really creative” incentives.

“That’s really the beauty of this initiative is communities have the opportunity across the state, once they reach that designation, to put their own package together,” Reynolds says.

Program organizers say in addition to the other 65 “Home Base Iowa Communities” there are 21 colleges and universities in Iowa offering assistance to veterans. Nearly 1600 Iowa businesses have committed to hiring more veterans. A city or county may only qualify as a “Home Base Community” after at least 10 percent of local businesses pledge to hire more veterans.