The Bayonet - September 2014

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Changes to Tuition Assistance There are a couple of very important GoArmyEd TA policy changes that are taking effect on 5 September 2014 that you must be made aware of:

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What’s Inside The Bayonet is produced for personnel of the Maine Army National Guard, and is an authorized publication for members of the Department of Defense.

Contents of the publication are not necessarily the official views of the U.S. government, the Department of the Army, or the Maine Army National Guard.

Adjutant General of Maine Brig. Gen. James D. Campbell Command Sergeant Major Command Sgt. Maj. Richard Hannibal Public Affairs Officer Capt. Norman Stickney 121st Public Affairs Detachment Sgt. 1st Class Pete Morrison, NCOIC Managing Editor Sgt. Angela Parady, Photojournalist Layout & Design Spc. Adam Simmler, Photojournalist Contributing Journalist

Changes to Tuition Assistance Maine Veterans Community Service Projects Chaplain’s Corner Maine Government Helps Veterans Secure Jobs 120th Change of Command Ceremony Maine Units Compete for Supply Excellence Award Small Print Shop Makes Big Impression Pearl Harbor Survivor Shares Stories, Wisdom Maine’s Military History Two Maine Families Share Long Military Tradition Maine Aviation Companies Shine During Annual Training 251st Sappers Sharpen Skills 488th Awarded for Service Playing for a Cause Your Money Matters Transition Assistance

1)Soldiers must submit TA request(s) and be APPROVED PRIOR to the class start date. This is a change from the previous 7 days you were allowed after the start date.

Ideally, you should have your requests submitted at least 10-60 days prior to your start date. That gives time for processing and notification if any documents need to be resubmitted. Any requests submitted after the start date will be rejected. There will be no exceptions!

2)The grade requirement for

recoupment of TA costs will change.

Recoupment will be required from the Service member if a successful course completion is not obtained. For the purpose of recoupment, a successful course completion is defined as a grade of “C” or higher for undergraduate

courses, a “B” or higher for graduate courses, and a “Pass” for “Pass/Fail” grades.

Recoupment will also be required from the

Servicemember if he or she fails to make up a grade of “I” for incomplete within the time limits stipulated by the educational institution or 6 months after the completion of the class, whichever comes first.

3) Tuition Assistance will no longer cover any course fees (including lab fees, online fees, etc..) Only the cost of tuition up to $250 per semester hour will be covered.

If you have any questions feel free to contact, SFC Bradley Merrill, ESO at 207-430-5922, Bradley.w.merrill.mil@mail.mil or Mrs. Rachel M. Gauthier, ESS for ME ARNG at 207-430-6220 or email Rachel.m.gauthier.civ@ mail.mil.

Maine Veterans Community Service Projects WHO WE ARE: We honor. We inspire. We recognize. We continue to serve.

MISSION: (1) To recognize veterans who make a difference in Maine. (2) To inspire veterans to engage in community service, education and advocacy. (3) To build a community that honors the sacrifice & service of the American military.

GOALS: (1) Act as a support network. (2) To serve as a living memorial. (3) Bridge the gap between military and civilian communities. (4) To inspire others to continue serving.

COMMUNITY: MVCSP is a powerful network of American active duty military, reserve military, their families,

veterans, wounded warriors, Gold Star families, friends and supportive community members.

FACEBOOK PAGE: We welcome you to post pictures and activities of the projects you are working on & impact stories.

Alley Smith Healthy Androscoggin Email: 130 East Ave. Lower Level maineveteransCSP@gmail. com Lewiston, ME 04240 Day or night Tel: (619) 937-5535 Founder Biography: Alley Smith – Veterans Prevention Coordinator at Healthy Androscoggin * AmeriCorps * VetCorps * CADCA: Community AntiDrug Coalitions of America * VISTA: Volunteer in Service

to America. Member: Team Red White & Blue, Team Rubicon, Cross Fit Lewiston, American Red Cross Volunteer. United States Marine Corps Veteran. Serves in the US Navy Reserve.

Served in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) Afghanistan. www.facebook.com/ MaineveteransCSP

Maine government works to return the favor, help veterans secure jobs

Chaplain’s Corner

service and sacrifice of veterans more than an occasional or momentary occurrence. Like other commissioners, I join Gov. Paul LePage and first lady Ann LePage in being passionate about helping veterans. This includes assisting their efforts to secure good jobs.

Maine is very special. Natural beauty, close-knit communities, the generosity of neighbors and the work ethic of our people are highlights on a long list of qualities that make our state truly remarkable.

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear! To what can I [Jesus] compare this generation?

They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ For John [the Baptist] came neither eating nor drinking and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her actions.

(Matt 11:15-19)

conclusion and published it in and international science journal. The article was entitled: “When You Pull a Fly’s Wings Off, It Looses the Ability to Hear.”

A group of world renowned scientists got together to study the common house fly. They placed a fly on a table and one by one, they came up to the fly, slapped the table and shouted, “FLY!”. Each time the fly would spring into the air and fly away.

After establishing this base, they proceeded to change the experiment. A fly was placed on the table and its wings were removed. Now, as each scientist came forward and slapped the table and yelled, “FLY!”, the fly did not budge. No matter how much they yelled or slapped the table, the fly stayed right there. Finally, they came to a

There’s just no pleasing some. Wisdom is the ability to choose the good – not the perfect.

Wisdom is using what we hear and putting into action, for the good of others as well as ourselves.

Look to yourselves and what you have been given, not what you have been deprived of. You are a very special person and only you can provide what has been given you. Hear and act. Receive and share. Wisdom is proved by your actions!

There are those who can hear, but cannot act.

There are those who can hear, but refuse to act.

There are those who can hear and do act. Which one are you? As Jesus points out above, though we often get exactly what we need from God, we are not satisfied. When the Baptist came refusing to drink wine, fasting and living alone, the people said, in essence, “Why does God send us this man?

Obviously, he’s crazy.” When Jesus came sharing in drinking (at the wedding at Cana) eating (even on the Sabbath), and hanging around with sinners (tax collectors, but really everybody as well) they said, in essence, “Why does God send us this man. He acts just like us.”

CH Andy Gibson JFHQ-ME, CH

Not everyone is aware, however, that Maine is also special because it’s home to many veterans. In fact, we’re among the states with the largest percentage of veterans. Approximately 12 percent of Maine’s adult population has served in the armed forces. Such a large number of heroes in our midst should always be near the top of any list of reasons why we’re fortunate to live in Maine.

Though few veterans would admit it, virtually all have sacrificed something — time with family and friends, special occasions at home, the first word or step of a child, or possibly the opportunity to earn a better income. Their sacrifices are recalled at specific moments throughout the year.

We applaud those who served as they march in parades on Veterans Day and Memorial Day, and we remember the service of veterans when we encounter someone in uniform at the airport or elsewhere.

As commissioner of Maine’s Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, I’m proud state government has an initiative aimed at doing more than ever to make recalling the

At the governor’s request, legislation was passed last year requiring state agencies to take a proactive role in working with veterans and their families to obtain occupational licenses quickly and efficiently, so they can apply for jobs in the public sector.

As many employers know, veterans offer meaningful attributes, including loyalty and a commitment to team-building.

Companies are typically wellserved when they hire veterans.

Gov. LePage and my colleagues at other departments believe it’s important to share that message frequently and to do whatever we can to honor those who have defended our nation.

In addition to loyalty, determination and dependability, many veterans have extraordinary military training and experience. Unfortunately, a significant number are not aware that state government is eager to apply that experience toward the requirements for an occupational license to use in the civilian workforce. This is where my Department’s Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation comes in.

Veterans have skills that can benefit businesses and strengthen our economy, but many do not realize they may already be well on their way to earning a state license — a key tool for gaining quality employment. Licensing staff recently encountered this with a

veteran of the Air Force. After a review of his military documents, the plumber trainee license being sought was issued within one day, and he immediately was approved to take the journeyman exam — substantially accelerating the timeframe for getting work or even starting a small business.

Through participation in Maine Department of Labor job fairs and other outreach events and in meetings with military and veterans organizations, my agency is seeking to spread the word that we’re available to personally assist any veteran who wants to determine how his or her experience might be applied toward a license as an electrician, plumber, boiler operator, fuel technician or other occupation.

But we’re doing more. We’re expediting the processing of applications and waiving some fees.

During a recent visit with a military unit in Waterville, it was evident that those who serve have tremendous practical experience that should eventually be put to use in our local businesses. We can’t afford to lose that knowledge and know-how. As a state, we are committed to lending a hand to these outstanding citizens as they integrate into the civilian workforce.

Veterans are encouraged to contact the Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation for more information. Details are available at www.maine.gov/pfr or by calling 624-8605. We want to return the favor and serve those who have given so much.

Anne Head is commissioner of the Maine Department of Professional and Financial Regulation.

Historic Change of Command Ceremony for MainePhotos Army National Guard

by CW4 Jon Campbell

Maine Units Compete for Supply Excellence Award Story by Sgt. Angela Parady

A change of command ceremony was held Sunday, August 3rd at the Maine Army Aviation Support Facility in Bangor. For the first time in Maine Army National Guard history, a female colonel assumed command of a brigade. Col. Diane Dunn of Newburgj, will officially take over for the 120th Regional Support Battalion, after serving as the Deputy Commander since December.

Dunn replaces Col. Hamilton Richards who will continue to serve the Maine Army National Guard as the Deputy Chief of StaffLogistics.

Brig. Gen. James D. Campbell, hhe Adjutant General of Maine, said Sunday’s ceremony will be an important historical event for Maine.

“Today’s Change of Command between Col. Hamilton Richards and Col. Dianne Dunn, represents a significant turning point in the history of the Maine Army National Guard.

The 120th Regional Support Group has just returned from a major national training event and performed exceptionally well” said Campbell. “Col. Dunn has some big shoes to fill but I am confident she will lead the unit to new heights and further solidify its reputation of excellence”

The Supply Excellence Award was established in 1984 by the U.S. Army Quartermaster School at the request of the Army Chief of Staff to recognize supply excellence at the various unit and organizational levels. This year, two units won at the state level, and will now be judged for regional consideration.

On August 1st, both the 286th Combat Support Sustainment Brigade and Charlie Company, 1st of the 126th Aviation Regiment, Maine Army National Guard will submit digital copies of their supply binders to the National Guard Bureau for consideration to be selected as regional winners.

It’s really an exciting time, said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Max McLaughlin, a supply systems analyst for the Maine Army National Guard.

“It is taking something that is the standard, and making it fun. By creating a competition, you are challenging individuals and groups to work together to make sure that the standards are being met, and to increase the effectiveness overall of our supply systems.”

The purpose of the program is exactly that, to enhance the readiness of all Army units, enhance supply discipline, provide a structure for recognition of soldiers, perpetuate group competition, and increase the public awareness of supply excellence in the Army. “ In effect, the program is doing all of that,”

said Sgt. Maj. Dee Hunt, the Logistics Sergeant Major, Maine Army National Guard.

“SEA has made it so that units within the states want to be competitive. There is that ‘I want to be better than the next guy’ thing going on, which makes it sound terrible, but that’s really what it is. It forces everyone to be more effective in their supply operations. Competition fosters pride in what you do, and there is a willingness to share knowledge with someone else. It challenges the units to do well, and it’s a great thing.”

According to Hunt, who was recently named the Region One Coordinator for the SEA Competition, there are five entrants from Region One this year. The first step was to be selected at the state level. After the state level, digital packages are submitted to NGB, and finally the reviewing panel decides which units to conduct on site visits to before selecting the national level winner. Maine won in 2010, and 2011.

“Preparing a package for the regional level is very time consuming and very detail orientated,” said Hunt. “You need to have endorsements, a current copy of your standard operating procedure that is up to date, relevant and signed by the commander. A layout of your supply room, how many people you work with, trainings you have conducted. Innovative ideas and things you have done to better the organization or unit you are assigned to must also be included in the package. There is a lot of information that goes into it. It is very detail-orientated. You get points for creativity with it. The more creative you get, the more points you will get. The generic

black and white, doesn’t grab you.”

For the states that get selected for visits, the units spend a lot of time preparing for that assessment.

When Hunt’s team won in 2010, they went through and cleaned the entire supply room, and then laid out as much as they could on a table in the room to make it easier for the evaluators to go through.

“The evaluators will go through your files and pull random stuff, just to justify that you are doing the right thing,” said Hunt. “They don’t ask you for anything, they go and get it. It’s getting into the nitty gritty. Once they have completed all of the site evaluations, they report their winners to the Department of the Army, who makes the final decision.”

McLaughlin further highlighted the competitions ability to help bring units together. The 1/126th and 286th will be waiting to hear if they get selected for a site visit.

If they are, they will all have to have a hand in preparing for the visit.

“It takes a whole team to win this,” he said. “A supply sergeant can win on their own at regional level, but to win at the national level, it means everyone in the community is getting on board, and working together for a common goal. It’s about teamwork, and dedication.

Not just meeting the standard, but exceeding the standard.”

Small Print Shop Makes Big Impressions Photos and Story by Sgt. Angela Parady

The Printing Press

In a building located slightly behind the United States Property and Fiscal Office with the same worn down brick façade, stands the largely unknown print plant, with a small team of dedicated civilians and soldiers who work together to produce documents for the entire National Guard.

The National Guard Bureau Duplicating and Forms Center, or ‘print plant’ as it is more widely known, was established at Camp Keyes in June 1953, as a printing plant for checklists and other component forms exclusively.

Over the years the plant has grown and shifted responsibilities.

It now prints all of the forms and duplication requests for the entire National Guard, consisting of all 54 states and territories.

Rachel Dufour is the civilian print specialist at the plant. She has been working at the plant for the last 27 years, and has seen many of the changes and shifts as the plant has developed.

“At first we produced the component lists for the National Guard. In 1982 the plant was approved for operation as a duplicating facility, and later that year the field printing plant was re-designated as the NGB duplicating and forms center.”

Dufour said that the print plant used to just service NGB, but now they also print for the states when it comes to the states’ federal mission.

“We print between one and two million impressions per month.

An impression is a print on one side. Print on two sides is two impressions.”

Staff Sgt. Daniel Trojecki is another familiar face at the plant.

The National Guardsmen spends

take their project and see what we can do for a final product.”

his weekends with 1st Platoon, 1136th Transportation Company in Bangor, but Monday through Friday he works at the plant as a Digital Productions Systems Technician.

He said that as the individual responsible for preparing all of the print requests, he helps make sure that the jobs are delivered on time.

“I digitally prepare all of the print requests,” Trojecki said. “First I get them sized. Then I see if it will print in booklet format, or flipbook format. The binding that they want, if they need laminations, holes, etcetera. The tactical operation books are the worst.

You should see what goes into make one! Then I take it through production, then to shipping. I make sure it goes out on time, but I have a whole warehouse of people who help.”

Both Dufour and Trojecki enjoy the hands on aspect of their jobs.

Trojecki said his favorite part of being in the print plant was seeing everything that comes through.

“Sometimes you get a job order

that is a little bit different,” he said. “I was handed a book of papers that was an old unit ministry book that someone wanted duplicated, I mean old. I had to scan all of the pages and review all of the digital images.

I made some changes here and there, print it off and make it look like new. I think that is the coolest part sometimes. We have this responsibility. People need these materials and we are providing it for them. Its people I will never meet, or see, but will be happy when they get this product, on time.”

Dufour also said that even though the job could appear to be mundane, it is anything but.

“There is always something new,” she said. “My favorite is when someone calls me about a printing project they have in mind, but aren’t exactly sure how they want to do it. I can help give them ideas on how to print it, how to bind it. I can tell them what I have for equipment, what we have done in the past. It really gives me a sense of accomplishment, to advise these people who have never worked with us before, and

The print shop is divided into three sections. There is the front of house section, where forms are digitally transferred and the specialists work with clients to help them get the product they want.

That’s where Dufour and Trojecki work. Then there is the production side, where they do all of the printing and the binding.

Then lastly, the warehouse where the package all of the jobs and prepare them for shipping.

“People don’t always realize how labor intensive these jobs are, and how many hands actually touch their documents,” said Trojecki. “They will order 4000 copies of something, and from form feeding the paper to the printer, to the binding, to reviewing the documents, everyone here touches every document at least once, if not twice.”

Dufour agreed, commenting on the teamwork and cooperation the plant puts in to get products ready for the customer.

“I get a lot of calls from people calling to thank me for our help,” she said.

“I always have to tell them it’s not me; it’s the whole staff here. There is the person setting up the job, the person printing, someone binding, the people out in shipping who actually package and ship the job, the whole facility is involved in getting the order completed. Our teamwork divides the task and multiples our success.”

The printing press was a very important invention that changed the ways people communicated with each other and shared ideas. Printers could make books faster, which meant that knowledge could be spread more widely, and more people learned how to read.

Here are some cool facts about printing: 1. It took almost two years to produce Shakespeare's First Folio. The First Folio was printed in 1623 and was the first time that Shakespeare's plays had been published together.

2. Johannes Gutenberg adapted a wine press to make the first printing press in about 1439. Instead of pressing grapes, the equipment pressed metal letter forms onto sheets of paper, parchment, or vellum. Gutenberg was a professional goldsmith who used his metalworking skills to make the first set of movable type in Europe!

3. When books were made by hand, scribes used water-based inks; these inks did not stick to printed pages very well, so printers had to invent oil-based inks. The oil-based inks spread over the metal type more evenly. Printers sometimes used ingredients from their homes to create inks. Soot, for example, made a good homemade black ink.

4. Mexico had a working printing press in 1534— before Ireland, Russia, or America! The first American printing press was started in Cambridge, MA in 1639. Jose Glover came from England with his family to open the first print shop, but he died either on the journey or very soon after his arrival.

His widow and one of the assistants, Stephen Daye, successfully started America's first printing press.

5. Each piece of movable type, including letter forms, punctuation, and blank spaces, was originally made by hand. Some printers created their own typefaces, also called fonts. Some of these fonts are still used today. Garamond, for example, is on many computers and is named after the French printer Claude Garamond.

Pearl Harbor Survivor Shares Stories, Wisdom

extra carriers when he got back to the landing ship tank that would carry the supplies back over to our boys. I offered them an extra case of cigarettes and chocolate bars to get back over, and they let us on.”

Story and Photos by Sgt. Angela Parady

‘Sir, I am paralyzed. I am in the hospital, I’m an old timer. I have eight years in the service, what are you going to do to me if I don’t?’

I lost the battle with the colonel, but I wasn’t giving up on those whiskers. I said, ‘Sir, it took a long time to grow these whiskers and I am not shaving them off until I get a picture taken with them.’ So he went down and got his camera and took the picture. Then he told me, I had the picture, it was time to shave. I told him, ‘Sir, I know you have taken the picture of me, but I haven’t gotten it yet. When I get that picture I’ll shave them off.’ The next day I got the picture and I shaved the whiskers off.”

Growing up we read stories of how our predecessors shaped the world we live in today, through the events of their times. The Revolutionary War shaped our independence as a nation, and celebrates the foundations of the National Guard. The Civil War brought independence to the southern nations and made slavery illegal. World War II pushed the axis against the allies as Germany and Japan fought to dominate Europe, through force and destruction. Someday, children will read about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and study the actions of our heroes.

Often, we look through our text books and read the accounts of the men and women who lived these adventures. Sometimes, you want to ask them about their experience, or wonder how they felt in the middle of a battle. In late July, Maine soldiers were given the opportunity to meet one of the oldest survivors of the Pearl Harbor attacks, a Maine man, who survived more than just that fateful day in Hawaii.

Cpl. Maurice Storck was born in 1922. Following in the footsteps of his father and older brother,

Maurice joined the Maine Army National Guard’s 103d Infantry Division at the age of 14. Three years later he volunteered for an active duty post that led him to the Hawaiian Division in Honolulu, which later became the 65th Infantry Division, 25th Infantry Regiment.

Storck, who moved to Arizona after retiring from his coin collecting business, returned to Maine with his son for the July visit, and stopped into the Augusta Armory to share some of his stories with today’s servicemembers.

Dressed in summertime khakis and a blue shirt, Storck broke the ice by looking around the room full of clean shaven men and started with his first story.

Towards the end of the campaign in the Philippines, Storck was in a hospital in Guadalcanal when the colonel came to visit him. He was recovering from a broken back, the result of an explosion while at sea. He had grown a beard, which wasn’t allowed, even back then.

“The Colonel says to me, ‘Soldier, I want you to shave off those whiskers,’” said Storck. “I said,

The room broke out in laughter and Storck started in telling more stories of his crazy adventures.

Some of the stories were amusing, and some made the soldiers respect the dangers of war.

“I had been there for over a year before Pearl Harbor. We were sleeping in the Schofield barracks when it happened. We were often woken up in the middle of the night. We grabbed our gear and ran outside. We saw the planes come over. We could have waved to the Japanese pilots. We didn’t know there were Japanese- the Red Force is always fighting the Blue Force on maneuvers and these planes had the red disk on them, we saw these things come out- we thought they were flour sacks like they usually are- but this time, it was bombs. The next think you know the mess hall went straight up in the air. A couple hundred guys were killed in that I guess. “ “They took out the airplanes, the fighter planes in the field. It all happened so fast. People ask me how I felt, but we didn’t have time to feel anything, it all happened so quick! By the time we got any

He quickly became famous for being able to get items that were considered impossible to obtain, including a rare type of ink and a new jeep after he crashed the general’s in a freak accident involving one of the natives, a wild pig, and a big patch of brush.

ammunition it was too late for anything. One of my men and I were digging a foxhole, to get out of the barracks. I asked him what the hell he was shooting at. He said ‘I’m shooting at the plane.’ And I said, ‘Well you are a damn fool, that’s our plane!” and he said, ‘well how the hell am I supposed to know?’ and that’s just the way it was.”

Storck made a name for himself during the campaign. He became known as a scavenger. He was able to get nearly anything the men needed, at any time. His captains knew of his connections and his ability to be resourceful, and gave him a lot of liberties not afforded to many other soldiers at the time. One time, in New Georgia, he was tasked to go get the soldiers cigarettes.

“So, I hitchhiked back to Guadalcanal, maybe 500 miles, and I got the cases of cigarettes50 cartons to a case- cases of Nestles chocolate bars, 1044 to a case and I got a brand new ¾ ton weapon carrier to load them on. When I got ready to get back, well coming out was no problem, but trying to get back with those during the war, that was the problem. The loading officer didn’t want to make any room for the

Between his scavenging ways, and an uncanny way of dodging death, Storck managed to do more in his ten years of service than most do in a lifetime. After surviving Pearl Harbor he went on to see combat in Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, New Georgia and New Caledonia.

He is seasoned. Tough as nails.

And ready to give back. After retiring in 1970 from the stamp and coin business, he and his wife travelled in a motor-home for ten years. He had met Nancy June at a milk bar in New Zealand while on leave from New Caledonia. He guessed her middle name, and she agreed to go on a date.

The two were married in a whirlwind affair involving Storck bartering for a New Zealand soldier’s uniform, a ride back with the New Zealand troops, and a nine day pass that turned into a three month adventure, and caused him a little bit of a headache to get back. The back injury from the ship explosion led to his honorable discharge from service, and the two eventually made their way back to Maine.

After his wife’s death in 1990, he made his home

in Arizona, and contacted the Veteran’s Administration. He says he volunteers more hours for the VA then some people actually work.

“In the last 27 years, I have put in more than 47,000 hours of volunteer work,” he said. “I work 40-60 hours a week volunteering there.”

The rest of his time, he spends traveling.

His memories of combat remain sharp as a knife and he is able to easily recap the events and the names of the men he stood next to. When a reunion interests him, he attends, and catches up with the “boys.”

Although these days, he’s usually the only surviving member of his era.

Although time and technology may separate him from the soldiers Storck talked with in Maine, he isn’t much different from them. He survived every day by focusing on the facts, of what needed to be done. Every day was a lesson learned on what to do and what not to do on the battle field, which our men and women still do every day, in some of the same places that he himself fought in.

As today’s soldiers continue to shape the events that the future generations will read and study, it is nice to be able to listen, and learn from a living legend such as Mr. Storck.

Maine’s Military History

Division (to which it belonged) the honor of being the only troops privileged in the South Pacific, Southwest, Pacific and Philippines Campaigns, to continue on to the enemy homeland.

It landed on Yokahoma Pier on September 10, moved to bivouac ____ miles north of Tokyo but on September 29 left for the United States of America and was deactivated on October 14, 1945.

Here is the 4th installament of our special from May 1957 about the history of the 103rd Infantry Division, Maine Army National Guard.

The Plan The 103rd Maine Infantry was to have a major part in this undertaking. The detailed missions of the regiment were given as follows: (1) The 2nd Battalion Combat Team with Companies “N” and “Q” and a detachment Battalion Headquarters, 4th Marine Raider Battalion, to land at Oliana Bay at 3 a.m. on D-Day, secure Wickham Anchorage, destroy enemy forces at Vuru Harbor and organize the defense of that area (2) The 3rd Battalion was in Division Reserve, and was to land at Kenlo Plantation or Rendova Island at 6:45 on D plus one day and secure the left flank of the Division on that island.

(3) Company “B” reinforced to land at Viru Harbor at Company “P”, 4th Marine Raider Battalion, to secure the Harbor. (4) the Regiment, less 2nd and 3rd Battalions and less Company “B,” to land at Segi Point, New Georgia island and secure it.

Took Munda Air Field Except that an advance detachment went to Segi nine days ahead of schedule because of a report that the enemy might secure the area first, the elements of the 103rd Infantry made their D-Day

landings as directed.

They also, in the course of time, carried out their mission completely but the Munda campaign that started on June 30, 1943 was not done in a month’s time.

The Second Battalion force that landed at OIiana Bay was in a fire fight with the enemy within seven hours after landing, and that fire fight lasted for five days.

The main body of the Regiment found Segi Point free of the enemy and moved closer to the Munda area, arriving at Barabuni Island on July 14. The Third Battalion, in Division reserve, landed on Rendova Island on July 1 and was divebombed by Jap planes.

By July 22 all battalions of the 103rd were in the line at Laiana Beach for the close-in on Munda Airfield. All through the rest of July and into August it was a case of routing out well-entrenched and heavily-armed enemy positions in the dense jungle country. The battle was gained yards at a time and on August 5

the occupation of Munda Airfield was complete. There was some mopping up left on auxiliary islands but the main job was done.

During the combat which the 103rd had experiences since June 30, 105 of its personnel had been killed and 308 wounded in action. By reason of this, transfers and other changed the Regiment that started with 129 officers, 6 warrant officers and 3,018 enlisted men was now reduced to 94 officers, 6 warrant officers, and 2,241 enlisted men.

The Philippines After the Munda occupation the 103rd on February 18, 1944 was moved back to New Zealand for a rest. The first three weeks was resting and then it was back to training again, to get in shape for more campaigns.

In the late Spring of that year, it became known that the 43rd division would

move to ‘somewhere in New Guinea’ and in July of that year the 103rd found itself along the line of the Driniumor River in Aitape, New Guinea. There was occupied pretty much of the time driving the Japanese out of the hills but on December 28, 1944 it left Aitape with the 43rd Division for the invasion of the Philippines. The 103rd Maine Infantry was going to be with General MacArthur when he kept his promise “I shall return.”

On January 9, 1945 following a heavy bombardment by major Seventh Fleet Units, the 43rd Division made amphibious landings on Linagayan Gulf. The 103rd went ashore on the beach at San Fabian under heavy mortar and artillery fire from the enemy.

The Division pushed on and the 103rd reached San Jacinto. The advance was slow, the enemy determined. On January 14th the 103rd reduced enemy pockets of resistance on Hill 200 at Manaoag on the Division’s right flank and pushed on to Pozorrubio which it captured on January 18. The 43rd Division front was now five miles inland from the shore on a 20-mile arc.

Offensive action continued and it was February 13 before the 43rd Division had completes the seizure and mopping up of its objectives.

Then the 103rd along with other units of the Division had a breathing spell near Santa Barbara to strain replacements and re-equip before other engagements in the complete recapture of the Island of Luzon.

Medals for Luzon Next was the repossession of Clark Field outside Manila and the driving of dug-in Japs from the surrounding hills. Then in March came the actions at Antipole and Teresa leading up to New Bosoroso and from there to Matibas in the Santa Maria Valley.

On May 1, 1945 the 103rd started in its last big attack mission, that for the recapture of Ipe Dam, which furnished the water supply for the City of Manila.

After 15 days of hard fighting through mountainous terrain during the rainy season the dam was taken. For its part in this exploit the 103rd received the highest praise. Camp at Cabantuan, medals were awarded for heroism in all the Luzon campaigns.

Right to Enemy Homeland And so, although it could not be bare at the time, the combat duty of the 103rd Maine Infantry was needed for World War II. It was to share with the 43rd

So ended the World War II volume of the ever-glorious history of the 103rd Maine Infantry.

On October 21, 1946 the 103rd Regimental Combat Team, was reactivated with Colonel Lester E. Brown of Portland in command. Colonel Brown, after long service with the 103rd had come into command of the Regimental Combat Team during the concluding adventures of the Munda Campaign in July-August 1943.

After he had the new Combat Teat well started in the true tradition of the 103rd, Colonel Brown came to the age of retirement and turned the command over to Colonel Robert E. Jensen of Portland who continued at the head.

2nd Battalion Here The new organization, which has its 2nd Battalion located in Lewiston-Auburn and vicinity, continues to maintain the honor of its predecessors. It is highly trained and methodical, rating high among National Guard organizations throughout the United States and its territories. It is not an organization that lives by military means because all of its members are men who earn their own livelihood otherwise and give additional time to military preparation.

Still – “To the Last Man” The members of the 103rd Regiment Combat Team, Maine National Guard, are not the type who wish for war.

Instead they are the type of citizens who believe the best way to assure peace is to be prepared to protect it. And if the call should ever come to fight for the principles of our peaceful country the 103rd is ready “To the Last Man.”

‘Serving together makes us just that much stronger’: Two Maine families share a long military tradition Story and Photos Courtesy of Nik-Noi Ricker, Bangor Daily News

For the Arnolds and the Gleasons, military service is a family affair.

The two Bangor-area families have members from multiple generations with decades of service within the Maine Air National Guard’s 101st Air Refueling Wing — known as the MAINEiacs — and members who joined the Army, Army Guard or Army Reserves, or who switched from one branch to another.

“The best part of my job is being part of another family, ‘The MAINEiac family,’” said Technical Sgt. Angela (Arnold) Adams of Orono, one of seven members of her family currently in uniform.

The Arnolds and the Gleasons have made the military their careers despite living in a state that only has one remaining active duty base, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery.

“They are living the ‘citizen militia’ tradition, the real Constitutional militia … which began with the muster of the first militia company in 1636,” retired Senior Master Sgt. Michael P. Gleason of Bangor said of the two families recently.

“One hundred forty years before there was a country, the National Guard was already existing to protect the citizens.”

“Military family tradition is very strong throughout the Department of Defense and the Coast Guard, witness Sarah Smiley’s family history, but I think it’s strongest in the National Guard, both Army and Air,” Gleason said, referring to the BDN columnist who writes about being a military wife. “My wife, all three brothers-in-law, my son and daughter and a whole bunch of my

To avoid being drafted in the Vietnam War, which would mean losing his choice in how to serve his country, Mike Gleason joined the military.

“I can’t say that I intentionally followed in my father’s footsteps.

I enlisted in 1968 to avoid being drafted,” Gleason said. “At least as an enlistee one had some choices as to branch of service and job within that branch, whereas draftees went into either the Army or Marine Corps, and were assigned a job that branch deemed them able to serve. “

Chief Warrant Officer Abel Gleason, a Blackhawk Helicopter pilot for the 126th Aviation Medevac unit in Bangor, took time during his 2012 deployment to Kuwait to strike a pose his late grandfather Staff Sgt. Gordon P. Gleason of Canaan made during World War II, while serving as a radioman on a B-17 Stratofortress.

in the Guard.”

on a B-17 Flying Fortress in the U.S. Army Air Force.

Gleason joined the Army and was based in Korea during the war.

He joined the Maine Air Guard in March 1973, becoming a recruiter four years later, a post he held for a quarter century.

family were

Bangor — with its geographic location on the country’s northeast coast — has been and remains a strategic military location, according to Bangor City Counci lor Nelson Durgin, who joined the Air Guard in the early 1960s and moved to Bangor in 1967 when he became comptroller for the Maine Air National Guard.

He later became Maine’s Adjutant General and Commissioner of the Department of Defense, Veterans, and Emergency Management and retired from the Air Guard as a major general.

The city’s first airport, Godfrey Field, opened in 1927 and was acquired by the military just before the U.S. joined World War II and became the Bangor Army Air Field. It was renamed Dow Air Force Base in 1947.

Dow closed in 1968 and the base

was sold to the city and became Bangor International Airport.

Both the Army National Guard base on Hayes Street and the Bangor Air National Guard base on Maineiac Avenue, located off Griffin Road, still call the former Air Force base home.

“There has been a long military heritage here in Bangor,” Durgin said.

The Gleasons

Gleason’s wife, retired Master Sgt. Della Gleason, joined the Maine Air Guard in 1981 and retired in 2008 and was followed into the service by the couple’s daughter, Amanda, and son, Abel. “[Amanda Gleason] joined as a senior at Bangor High School, where she was part of the oldest Junior ROTC unit in the country, and she retired as a staff sergeant” in 2009, Gleason said.

Abel Gleason joined in 2004.

“He originally joined the Air Guard, in the Air Guard flight training program. He went ‘green’ on us and joined the Army Guard and is now apart of the 126th [Aviation Medevac] unit in Bangor.”

Gleason said he “was always proud to be and to be seen in uniform … even when spat upon in the Seattle airport as I was returning in 1970 from 14 months in Korea.

I lucked out, and got sent to Korea instead of to Vietnam.”

“I remain proud of the uniform, and still do to this day on the odd occasion that I wear it,” he said, adding it still fits. “I was very proud when the rest of my family decided to join me and the Air National Guard. And I still am.

Military life has been very good for and to all of us! I got to go places and do things to which I would never have otherwise been even exposed, much less participate.”

Even with all his overseas military service, the one major event that stands out in his career is his service in Maine during the massive ice storm of 1998.

“It was the first time as a member of the state’s militia that I was called to duty to serve the citizens of the state of Maine — a basic tenet of National Guard,” Gleason said. “It was very fulfilling.”

The Arnolds Rick Arnold’s draft number had

The Gleasons’ military history started during World War II, when Mike Gleason’s father, Gordon P. Gleason of Canaan, tried to enlist and was told, at the age of 31, that he was too old.

“A year later, he was drafted,” Mike Gleason said. “During the Depression, he had been a radio operator on ‘tramp steamers’ running between Boston and South America, and the Army latched right onto that skill and he was assigned as a radio operator”

already been called, so he had a very short window of time to make a change.

“I was drafted. I didn’t really have a choice,” he said about joining the military. “I didn’t want to go into the Army and I wasn’t a big fan of the Marine Corps either. My next door neighbor was a master sergeant, and he said, ‘Why don’t you join the Air Guard?’”

Arnold did just that in September 1972 and spent his 33-year career refueling aircraft, first fighter jets and then KC-135 air refueling tankers when the 101st transitioned from a fighter wing unit to an aerial refueling unit in 1976. He retired as master sergeant in 2005 and now lives in Scarborough with his wife, Brenda.

After getting a taste of the military life and liking it, he encouraged his sister Patti to join in October 1977, “and the rest followed.”

“He loved it out there,” retired Chief Master Sgt. Patti (Arnold) Dudley of Orono said of her older brother. “I looked into the regular Air Force, and he said check out the Guard first. So anyway, I did.

I ended up staying right here. I have younger twin sisters, Angela and Tina, and they both joined after me.”

“I was very proud to be a MAINEiac, and still am as a retiree,” she said.

Patti Dudley was the first female Wing Command Chief for the Air Guard base in Bangor, and retired in 2004 after 27 years in uniform.

Technical Sgt. Angela (Arnold) Adams joined the 101st in 1986 and was joined by her twin, Master Sgt. Anntina “Tina” (Arnold) Michaud, in 1988. The twins continue to serve, as does their little brother, Dennis Arnold, who joined the U.S. Army in 1986 and is an Army Reservist in Lakeville, Minnesota.

World War II veteran the late Staff Sgt. Gordon P. Gleason of Canaan, left, with his son, retired Senior Master Sgt. Michael P. Gleason of Bangor, and grandson, Chief Warrant Officer Abel P. Gleason of Bangor.

Tina Michaud was selected Airman of the Year in 1991 and was given a ride in an F-16 Fighting Falcon

for earning the accolade, something that still makes her husband, Lt. Col. Steven Michaud, jealous.

dedicated group of people.

“Everywhere I went I saw a MAINEiac sticker,” Tina Michaud said. “I even found one at a drive-up to a Burger King in Mississippi. Why are there MAINEiacs stickers all over?

The Maine Air National Guard has been everywhere and they do a great job wherever they go.”

The team formed on the base becomes a family because of the job, she said.

“They stayed with it and I think they could see it was more than just a job — it was a lifestyle,” older brother Rick Arnold said of his three sisters. “It was a good job for them.”

Patti Arnold married John Dudley and their son, Staff Sgt. Jordan R. Dudley, became a MAINEiac in May 2009. He said he “grew up immersed in the culture,” and knew exactly what he was getting into when he signed up with the Maine Air Guard.

“It is serious stuff,” Tina Michaud said, referring to defending the country. “You have to feel completely comfortable with the people you’re working Lt. Col. Steven Michaud and his wife, Master with and know they have your Sgt. Anntina “Tina” (Arnold) Michaud, pose back.” with their son, Casey Michaud, who joined The twin sisters each have a The Arnold family has tallied his parents as a MAINEiac when he enlisted child who joined the MAINEiacs. more than 190 years in with the 101st Air Refueling Wing in Bangor Tina and Steven Michaud’s uniform, mostly with the in March 2013, prior to graduating from son, Airman 1st Class Casey Maine Air National Guard, and Orono High School.

Michaud, joined the 101st in the Gleasons are at around March 2013, prior to graduating 175, but that’s “not counting this year. from Orono High School, and their nieces, nephews and cousins,” He is in Alaska for training with his nephew, 2nd Lt. Dylan Michaud Mike Gleason said. unit and was scheduled to return to joined in April 2006.

Maine on Saturday, his mom said.

“I love that my family is in the Airman 1st Class Chad Adams, military and serving with me,” Everyone in the family talked about son of Angela and John Adams, Angela Adams said. “We are an traveling all around the world and joined the MAINEiacs in the fall and extremely close family but serving the country, and how proud they completed basic training in Virginia together makes us just that much were of the reputation of the and technical school in Texas earlier stronger.”

MAINEiacs as a hard-working,

Little Known Facts about the U.S. Army 1. 30 of the 43 Presidents served in the Army, 24 during time of war, two earned the rank of 5-star General (Washington and Eisenhower) and one earned the Medal of Honor (T. Roosevelt) 2. Less than 28 percent of Americans between the ages of 17-23 are qualified for military service, that’s only about 1-in-4.

3. The U.S. Air Force was part of the Army until 1946. It was called the Army Air Corp.

4. Only one President (James Buchanan) served as an enlisted man in the military and did not go on to become an officer.

5. The Department of Defense owns worldwide 29,819,492 acres of land worldwide.

6. The United States has 737 military installations overseas alone. believed to be introduced in 1817 to permit men to 10. The U.S. Army was in charge of exploring and mapping America. The Lewis and Clark Expedition was an all Army affair. Army officers were the first Americans to see such landmarks as Pike’s Peak and the Grand Canyon.

During their annual training at Fort Drum, Maine Army National Guard soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 142nd Aviation Regiment were afforded an up close, bird’s eye view of New York City. For the pilots it was an exceptional exercise in flying in a very high air traffic location, and to see and hear what that is like. For the crew chiefs it was an opportunity not to be missed. (Photos courtesy of 3/142 Aviation Regiment)

Maine Aviation Companies Shine in Annual Training

that aircraft, we all just want to take off safely and land safely. So, yes, we have a close bond, and it carries over to the ground.”

Story and Photos by Sgt. Angela Parady

First Battalion, 142nd Aviation Regiment is headquartered in upstate New York, with companies located throughout the state, as well as detachments in Maine and Connecticut. It isn’t often these units get the opportunity to train as a collective team, but this August they met for an annual training event that combined knowledge sharing, new experiences, and cohesive team building for all of the soldiers involved.

you get all of us, together, we are the 142nd Battalion.”

Thibodeau, who works fulltime for the Maine Army National Guard as the standardization officer for C CO, 142nd Aviation Regiment, said that being so spread out, can be a challenge.

When they met in July, it was a chance for soldiers such as Sgt. Josh Duffy, a UH60 Maintainer with the Maine detachment of D Company, to work with other aircraft mechanics in the 142nd.

For two weeks in July, the Regiment came together at Fort Drum, New York. There, they worked with units in the 10th Mountain Division to move both personnel and equipment, by aircraft, to and from different training sites, as well as working with the military police and canine handlers to familiarize themselves with different types of passengers, and missions.

“The 142nd battalion is headquartered in New York,” explained Staff Sgt. Tom Thibodeau, who is stationed in Bangor, Maine.

“All of A company and B company is in New York, with B Company divided between Albany and Long Island.

The majority of D Company is based out of New York, with a small part in Maine, which is our aircraft maintenance piece. E Company which is responsible for refueling and vehicle maintenance, based out of New York. And then us, we are a detachment of C Company; the other half of our company is based out of New York. So, when

he said. “But even then, we only get a slice of each company. The coordination is good when you can get together, and we have a fully functioning aviation team here, but there are still downfalls. One is that we only get a slice of the equipment too, it’s divided. As are the promotion slots.”

“I was able to see how they plan their workloads, and how they work together. It was nice to do inspections with them, and some major maintenance work while the aircraft was down.

We were able to do downed aircraft recovery missions, with a scenario, a map and a location and we would have to fix an aircraft in the field.”

Duffy, who lives in Waterville, said that it was a good opportunity to learn from each other.

“It does make everything challenging, but the guys come together and integrate every year or every two years, and that is good because you get to see the faces of the people you are talking with and emailing about training,”

“We discussed some of the issues they were having with their aircraft, and the issues we were having. It was a good chance to work with our counterparts. You work differently around different people, the guys back here; we work together 24 days a month.”

Sgt 1st Class Scott Chadbourne,

Thibodeau said that those connections are often tested during annual trainings. When you don’t get the chance to go home and have dinner and unwind with your family. Long days on the flight line are one thing, but learning to count on one another as coworkers and people can test those bonds.

a full time crew chief, and drill weekend platoon sergeant for D Company, agreed with the collaboration he saw between the different states and companies.

There were times that the Maine soldiers were afforded the opportunity to get some high quality training in the field and other times where Maine soldiers were able to share some of the knowledge they have, because so many of them do it on a full time basis.

Thibodeau, who lives in Glenburn said that not only did they sharpen critical skills that everyone needs to have, but he felt as though they validated their own worth. He said that the detachments in Maine spend so much time trying to understand the larger battalion’s standard operating procedures and be in accordance with those, that they were worried to integrate with everyone else.

“We are not in New York, or Connecticut, we are up here, to the far north, we are fully detached from everyone else. So, there was a fear of, like going to go see Mom and Dad, you want them to be proud of you, so we knew we needed to be on our best game, and our diligence and hard work paid off. We showed them

that we aren’t guys just sitting off to the sides on drill weekends, we are full time, and fully capable of doing our job to standard.”

Duffy agreed, he said that some of the other soldiers he was working with didn’t even know that they had a detachment in Maine.

“I think we were really given a chance to shine. We were all nervous that we haven’t been doing it the best that we could be, but in this collective training, we realized that we were all able to shine, as Maine units typically do.”

Besides integrating with their counterparts from other states and getting qualified at the aerial gunnery range, the soldiers were able to strengthen their own teams.

Chadbourne said that the aviation community in general is close knit because of all the time they spend flying and doing maintenance work together.

“We know each other; we know each other’s spouses and children. We know where they are in their lives, school, sports, and birthdays. We have closeness, when we are on

“We have to take direction or give direction as it’s appropriate during the day. But then we get back to our rooms, and you learn that you can count on them as people for their friendship; you learn who your friends are, who you can count on, and you is going to go the extra mile to help you out when you need it. I think that’s one of the things I learned with my crew chiefs. We all work together every day, but we all go home at night. When we were all together for these two weeks, we found that we are a much tighter group of people that I think we would have ever give ourselves credit for.”

251st Sappers Sharpen Skills during Annual Training Story by Sgt. Angela Parady, Photos courtesy of 251st UPARS said Kauffman, who lives in Wells.

“If we don’t use them, we lose it. We do a lot every month, so that we can stay skilled in them.

If we don’t practice these things, like demolitions calculations, knot tying, crater charges, they aren’t fresh in our minds. It would slow us down. You don’t want to be trying to remember how to do something in the middle of a demolitions field.”

Maine Army National Guard Soldiers in the 251st Engineer Company (SAPPER) recently completed their annual training in Fort Indiantown Gap, Penn.

The two weeks were amply filled with demolitions, weapons qualifications, land navigation, and other physically and mentally demanding tasks that support their role as combat engineers.

Sappers are highly trained combat engineers who specialize in supporting infantry units by conducting reconnaissance of bridges and roads, mine-detection and clearing operations, bridge, road and airfield construction and the using explosives to aid allied units and impede enemy forces.

Sappers often work with, or ahead of, infantry units on the front lines, so a variety of physical and mental demands are always a part of any training conducted by the 251st.

Pfc. Nicholas Kauffman, a combat engineer with the 251st said that the concentrated training period was a valuable time to take inventory of where they stand as a collective unit with the skills they need to be proficient in.

“These are very perishable skills,”

Kauffman said that the training they were getting on newer equipment, such as the Javelin and the Raven, that not everyone was familiar with yet, was another added asset to the experience.

The Raven, is an unmanned aerial vehicle that the soldiers can use to collect information about the enemies whereabouts and activities.

The Javelin is a mostly self directed antitank missile that is capable of destroying a r m o r e d vehicles and low flying aircraft.

Spc. Mark Pierce, traveled to Alabama last year to get the training needed in order to operate the Raven.

“It’s been about a year since we last flew the Raven, so this has been a good chance to take it out and get some practical experience with it,” said Pierce, who lives in Augusta. “It’s

for surveillance. We can fly it out, get pictures, it brings us back recon information on the enemies position and what they are doing, without us having to go there.”

Pierce said he was happy to sharpen his skills on the Raven, and on the other practical tools his company uses on a daily basis.

The cost of the Javelin limits the amount of physical hands on training soldiers can actually use to practice with it. Most of the training with the missiles comes in the form of simulated trainers that can replicate most, but not all of the weapons characteristics.

The training reinforces the basics, and reminds soldiers of what they need to focus on.

“The demolitions range was the

most fun, watching stuff blow up,” he said. “That’s what we do; it’s our bread and butter. But, at the end of the day, I like to be able to critique myself, find out what I need to brush up on. Knot tying is one of those things I need to focus on, and the demolitions calculations. This stuff comes back to you once you are doing it, but it would be nice to just be able to know it.”

The training area in Fort Indiantown Gap provides more opportunities to conduct the demolitions training, one of the main tools that the 251st has in their arsenal, which is why training there is an advantage to the soldiers.

important.”

Kauffman agreed the training was a valuable experience, both in knowledge gained and in building more unit cohesion.

Instead of being able to go home at night, the soldiers got the chance to drill day. You are here with them for two weeks. You get a lot of funny stories, you get a lot of good times. The training is fun, because you are doing it with them.”

Just because the 251st is back in Maine, doesn’t mean the training ends.

For these National Guard soldiers, a lot of work is required on their part to stay sharp and ready, said Kauffman.

It isn’t often during their normal drill schedule that they can have hands on experience with the demolitions back in Maine.

“We are combat engineers,” said Pierce. “If we get deployed, that’s what they will call for us to do. They want us to work with the demolitions, clear routes.

Find the IEDs, stuff like that.

Having this experience is really

discuss the day’s training, to talk about home and family, and get to really know each other.

“There is just something about being at annual training. You spend time with people in your platoon.

You build that brotherhood, that family.

It’s not like the end of a

Being in a Sapper unit, means you are held to the highest of expectations.

According to Fort Leonard Wood, Mississippi where the Sapper Leader Course is conducted, a sapper is considered an elite combat engineer in the United States Army. In the French Army, sapeur (sapper), refers to the first official corps created by Napoleon I, a military engineering corp.

“You are always being physically and mentally challenged in my unit,” said Kauffman. “No matter how tough it gets, you can’t quit.

Don’t quit. It gets easier. You have to train yourself to study and train at home. If you know there is a drill weekend coming up, you have to train for it, you have to be ready for it.”

488th Military Police Company Awarded for Service Photos by Sgt. 1st Class Rhonda Russell

The 488th Military Police Company was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC) in a ceremony, Sunday August 10 at the Waterville Armory.

The MUC is a unit award of the United States military which is awarded to any military command that displays exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding service, heroic deeds, or valorous actions.

The 488th deployed in September 2012 to Bagram Airfield Base, Afghanistan in support of Operating Enduring Freedom. There they conducted Base Defense Operations and mentoring of Afghan National Army Soldiers on Critical Site Security in Regional Command East, Afghanistan, until June 2013.

During the year-long deployment the units worked directly with Afghan National Army detention command, and conducted extensive security force assistance to train, advise and assist their Afghan counterparts.

Playing for a Cause

Photos Courtesy of Mike Edgecomb, TWC Maine welcomed the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team in a fundraising event this August.

Thirteen of the team’s 25 players – all military veterans missing limbs, many of them from combat – flew in from around the country to go up against the Maine Army National Guard team Saturday Aug. 9.

TRANSITION ASSISTANCE

Your Money Matters saving on a tight budget

assistance. ****FYI, Travis is a former Army National Guard member and is now a member of the Air National Guard in Bangor.

Setting saving goals will double your chance of being successful.

Writing down your goal will increase your chance for success 10 times.

Military OneSource Consultants provide information and make referrals on a wide range of issues, including personal financial management. Free face-to-face counseling sessions (and their equivalent by phone or online) are also available. Call 1-800-342-9647 or go to www.militaryonesource.mil to learn more.

VeteransPlus provides free, confidential financial education counseling to service members and veterans. Their resources can help you better manage your finances, get control of any debt that you may have and learn how to save and invest for your future. For more information: www. veteransplus.org or call 888-488-8767.

Savings goals need to include: what you’re saving for, the total dollars you want to save, how much each paycheck you will contribute and the time frame in which you want to reach your goal. You should also identify where this money will be saved.

2. Tricare for Retirees

1)The best way to save money is to track your expenses. If you do this for 1-4 weeks you will raise awareness of your spending and make different choices.

1. ATTENTION JOB SEEKERS!!!

Remember a little is a lot over time: Reduce eating out by one meal a week $10.00 X 52 weeks = $520.00 a year

Travis Hill was recently hired as the new Hero2Hired (H2H) Employment Transition Coordinator. He works with National Guard, Reserve, Veterans and their family members who are searching for employment.

2)Discover ways to make your purchases for less: coupons, bulk, discount stores, comparison shop 3)Decrease debt, free up money to save ahead for purchases 4)Build an Emergency Fund - this will keep you from incurring more debt 5)Set up automatic transfers from your pay check or your checking account into a savings account. What you don’t see you will not miss.

6)Put all your loose change each day into a jar. Set a specific goal for these dollars when the jar is full.

7)If you are getting several thousand dollars back from taxes you can increase your exemptions which will increase the amount of your paycheck and decrease the dollars you receive from your tax returns.

If you decide to do this be sure to check with HR or a tax advisor to make sure you will not owe taxes if you make a change.

Gayle Rose Martinez Joint Family Support Assistance Program Personal Financial Counselor 207-274-3987 gmartinez@mflc.zeiders.com maine.pfc@gmail.com

Hero2Hired

The mission of H2H is to reduce the number of unemployed and underemployed service members.

To date H2H has roughly 171,500 job seekers and 21,200 employers registered on the website and over 3,700,000 jobs posted.

Some service members may be eligible to draw their retirement pay before age 60 due to a qualifying period of deployment.

While they may receive retirement pay early, they are not eligible to use their retiree Tricare benefit until age 60.

However, they may purchase Tricare Retired Reserve (TRR) from the time they begin to receive retirement pay until age 60.

TRR is also available to any Reserve service member who is no longer drilling but eligible for retirement pay at age 60, otherwise known as a “gray area retiree”.

3. Survivor Benefit Plan-

The H2H.jobs site provides a “fast, easy, simple” and robust job search engine, with resume building capability, military operational skills (MOS) translators, career assessment, a salary negotiation predictor, industry information, education and training resources and networking opportunities.

Sign up is FREE and is available to service members, their family members and veterans! Sign up today at www.H2H.jobs.

Contact Travis Hill at thill@aeamsolutions.com or by phone at 207-779-6921 for additional

will receive a “20 Year Letter” notifying them of their eligibility for retirement pay through their unit.

The service member must acknowledge receipt of the 20 year letter within 90 days of date of the letter. At this time the service member is asked to make an election for the Reserve Component Survivor Benefit Plan, SBP-RC. The SBP-RC allows the service member to make an election about what happens to their retirement benefit should they die before the age of 60. This election only is in effect from the time they become eligible until they turn age 60.

The three election that can be made are: A - No coverage is elected for family members or persons of interest.

B - Deferred annuity – this means that the designated individual(s)will receive the benefit when the service member would have turned 60.

C - Immediate annuity – the designated individual(s) would receive an annuity effective upon the death of the service member.

If no election is made by the 90th day after the issue of the eligibility letter, the election will default to an automatic election for an immediate annuity for spouse and children, if applicable.

No premiums are collected until the service member begins to receive their retirement pay at age 60.

Wendy J. Moody

Reserve Component and your 20 Year Letter A National Guard member who has 20 “good years” of service becomes eligible for retirement pay at age 60. They

Transition Assistance Advisor (207) 430-5778 wendy.j.moody2.ctr@mail.mil

BAYONET the