Five Airmen, representing the Wisconsin Air National Guard's three bases, have been recognized as Wisconsin's Outstanding Airmen of the Year for 2015.The five Airmen, who will compete against their peers across the country for the chance to be named the 2015 Air National Guard Outstanding Airman of the Year, include: Senior Airman Michael Derhammer of the 128th Air Control Squadron, Airman of the Year; Staff Sgt. Christopher Johnson of the 115th Fighter Wing, Noncommissioned Officer of the Year; Senior Master Sgt. Craig Mortvedt of the 115th Fighter Wing, Senior Noncommissioned Officer of the Year; Master Sgt. Michael Krausz of the 128th Air Refueling Wing, First Sergeant of the Year; and Senior Master Sgt. Gerald Depotsie of the 128th Air Refueling Wing, Honor Guard Member.
Three Wisconsin employers of National Guard and Reserve members are among the 150 employers nationwide selected as semifinalists for the 2015 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award.Semifinalists include Mercury Marine, a Division of Brunswick Corporation, in Fond Du Lac; Stainless Tank and Equipment Company, LLC in Beloit; and the State of Wisconsin.The Freedom Award is the Department of Defense's highest honor for employers that provide extraordinary support to their Guard and Reserve employees.
"As the crow flies" is a common rural axiom for estimating distance. But agriculture students from Poynette High School roughly a half-hour north of Madison, Wisconsin, learned that information gained when a Raven flies could expand their career opportunities or shorten the time needed to complete a work project.The students and three instructors were invited to an informal briefing on the RQ-11 Raven Small Unmanned Aircraft System (SUAS) at the Headquarters Troop, 1st Squadron, 105th Cavalry Regiment, a unit in the Wisconsin Army National Guard. The Raven - a remotely piloted aircraft small enough to be launched by hand - is used to collect visual information to help cavalry scouts in reconnaissance, surveillance, target acquisition and force protection. But the same type of technology and techniques could also help farmers evaluate soil erosion or crop damage.
Three tornadoes have cut through Ozaukee County, each taking a different path. The damage is extensive. Major roadways, water supplies and communications towers have been damaged or heavily affected. At least that's the training scenario that Ozaukee County emergency management officials and members of the Wisconsin Army National Guard's 157th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade faced in a multi-day exercise April 17-19.Communities and emergency response agencies have been trained how to respond in the event of a tornado, but helping communities return as closely as possible to their normal day-to-day lives was the task at hand.
MADISON, Wis. — More than 250 Airmen from the Wisconsin Air National Guard's 115th Fighter Wing returned home April 19 from their deployment to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan."Welcome home and thank you for your service," Col. Jeffrey Wiegand, 115th Fighter Wing commander, told the returning Airmen in Hangar 406 on base. "It is great to have you back. As I said when you left, it's an honor to be on this stage looking at this group of impressive Airmen, families and friends supporting our Airmen, and the community serving and supporting our Airmen."Several key leaders on stage, including Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, addressed the Airmen during their welcome home ceremony.
The Wisconsin National Guard revealed how it is trained and equipped to respond to domestic emergencies with four key leaders from the Nicaraguan military April 21-24.The Nicaraguan offiers - Lt. Col. Moises Alexander Hodgson Harris, Lt. Col. Marlon Moreno, Lt. Col. Andres Abelino Rizo Gutierrez and Maj. Sergio Arturo Corrales - are members of the Nicaraguan Army branch of civil defense, and visited Wisconsin as part of the National Guard Bureau's State Partnership Program.
Representatives from local, state, and government agencies gathered to observe the 54th Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team (CST) change of command during a formal ceremony held April 23 in Madison, Wis.The 54th CST is made up of full-time Wisconsin Army and Air National Guard troops responsible for rapidly responding to emergencies and terrorist events involving weapons of mass destruction or toxic industrial chemicals.
