At the National Guard Bureau

Best of the Best: Top Guardsmen Recognized

The National Guard’s 2011 outstanding soldiers and airmen of the year are continuing a 375-year tradition of guarding America, defending freedom and being the best our nation has, Command Chief Master Sgt. Denise Jelinski-Hall said this month in Arlington, Va.

“They are warriors, leaders, professional soldiers and airmen, our nation’s finest,” the senior enlisted advisor to the chief of the National Guard Bureau said during an awards banquet to honor the 20 National Guard members selected as the best of the best for the National Guard.

Sgt. Guy Mellor of the Utah Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 145th Field Artillery, is the 2011 Noncommissioned Officer of the Year.

Spc. Ryan Lindberg of the North Dakota National Guard’s 817th Engineer Company is the 2011 Soldier of the Year.

Mellor and Lindberg will represent the Army Guard in the Department of the Army’s Best Warrior Competition.

The Air Guard’s six Outstanding Airmen of the Year are:

Airman of the Year: Staff Sgt. Kathryn Morrill, 133rd Airlift Wing, Minnesota Air National Guard;

Noncommissioned Officer of the Year: Staff Sgt. John Norris, 193rd Special Operations Wing, Pennsylvania National Guard;

Senior Noncommissioned Officer of the Year: Master Sgt. Michael Quitugua, 36th Wing, Guam National Guard;

First Sergeant of the Year: Master Sgt. Christopher Taggart, 177th Fighter Wing, New Jersey National Guard;

Honor Guard Team Member of the Year: Staff Sgt. Erin M.H. Ryan, 101st Air Refueling Wing, Maine National Guard; and

Honor Guard Program Manager of the Year: Tech. Sgt. Angela Jenkins, 149th Fighter Wing, Texas National Guard.

IRAQ – Navy Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, presents coins to Army Staff Sgt. Edgar Bowers for the crew of the UH-60 Black Hawk here Aug. 1.  Army Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III (far right), commanding general of United States Forces – Iraq, waits for Mullen’s arrival. Bowers and his crew are members of C Company, 1-131st Aviation Battalion, North Carolina National Guard. The battalion, based out of Salisbury, N.C., is currently providing aircraft support in Iraq as part of Operation New Dawn.

(North Carolina National Guard photo.)

The North Carolina National Guard Memorial, Joint Forces Headquarters Complex, Raleigh

The North Carolina National Guard will be constructing a memorial in 2011 for fallen Army & Air National Guard service members that served in Southwest Asia following the deadly September 11, 2001 attacks on America.

3-D Image – Wesley Alexander Hassell, January 2011

In March 2010, a committee was formed at the Joint Forces headquarters to explore ideas for a proposed memorial.  Due to the committee’s hard work, and the full support of the executive leadership, a fully-designed project is ready for construction.   All NCNG Soldiers and Airmen that died on active duty since 9/11 will be honored on these hallowed grounds.

This project featured a participatory process facilitated by the designer, a two-time veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom.  The committee drew inspiration from relevant historical precedent, notably the Malmedy Memorial (Baugnez, Belgium), the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (Washington, DC), and the Columbine Memorial (Littleton, Colorado).  These famous memorial projects – each very unique in their own fashion – had features and motifs that the committee felt we should analyze and re-interpret.  In particular, the following specific ideas began to resonate:

-          A stone wall with memorial plaques in the manner of Malmedy and Columbine.

-         A well-contained space for peaceful reflection.

-         Adaptive re-use of existing materials, and heavy reliance on native landscape species.

-         A natural landscaped grove or park that can be easily maintained and added to over time.

Eastern Elevation (as seen from JFHQ Building) – Danny W. Hassell, Fall 2010

If you would like to find out how you can help with this memorial project, please send a message to danny.w.hassell@us.army.mil, or call 919-664-6422.
Thank you.  DANNY W. HASSELL, LTC (ret), MLA, M. Arch., ASLA

ALS Class 11-3 Leadership Award

McGHEE TYSON AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Tenn. – Staff Sgt. James C. Newman, right, a security forces journeyman with the North Carolina Air National Guard, receives the Paul H. Lankford leadership award for Airman Leadership School Class 11-3 at The I.G. Brown Air National Guard Training and Education Center from Chief Master Sgt. Donald Felch, EPME commandant, March 14, 2011. The leadership award is presented to the student who made the most significant contribution to the overall success of the class by demonstrating superior leadership abilities and excellent skills as a team member. It is named in honor of CMSgt Paul H. Lankford, a Bataan Death March survivor and the first commandant of the Air National Guard Enlisted Professional Military Education Center. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Kurt Skoglund/Released)