Soldiers from the 273rd Engineer Company and Airmen from the 115th Fighter Wing teamed up for a weekend of training at the Regional Emergency All-Climate Training Center (REACT), at Volk Field, Wisconsin, on March 7.The REACT Center is a training complex that encompasses a wide variety of training options for units that specialize in technical rescue operations.Both units make up the Wisconsin National Guard's CERFP — or CBRNE (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high explosive) Enhanced Response Force Package. CERFPs are able to locate and extract victims from a contaminated environment and are ready to deploy within six hours of notification.
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan —Wisconsin National Guard senior leaders visited deployed members of the 115th Fighter Wing March 4 to learn how they are helping complete the mission here.During their visit, Chief Master Sgt. Gregory Cullen, Wisconsin Air National Guard command chief, and Brig. Gen. Gary Ebben, Wisconsin National Guard deputy adjutant general for Air, spoke with several squadrons about how the Wisconsin Air National Guard fits into Kadena's mission of providing unmatched combat power, a forward power projection platform and for the common defense of Japan.
FORT BLISS, Texas -- Nearly 100 Wisconsin Army National Guard Soldiers returned safely to U.S. soil Monday after nine months deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Freedom’s Sentinel.The 950th Engineer Company returned to a rain-soaked airstrip at Fort Bliss in the early morning hours of Aug. 24 where senior Wisconsin Army National Guard leaders waited to greet them at the base of their plane.
Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Airmen from the Wisconsin Air National Guard's 115th Fighter Wing applied their expertise to solve a real-world problem during a March 7 training exercise in Finley, Wisconsin.The Airmen supported the Juneau County Forestry Department by clearing a beaver dam, allowing water to drain properly and preventing further forest destruction and flooding throughout the local area.
MADISON, Wis. — Active duty Airmen officially became a part of Truax Field following a Feb. 7 assumption of command ceremony at the 115th Fighter Wing's Hangar 406.Lt. Col. J. Scott Gibson, commander of the 495th Fighter Group's Detachment 176, stationed at Dane County Regional Airport-Truax Field, was sworn in by Col. James D. McCune, 495th Fighter Group commander.
Another chapter came to a close Saturday (Feb. 21) in the Wisconsin National Guard's saga in the global war on terror.Saturday morning, five of the six remaining Soldiers from the 32nd Base Defense Operations Center (BDOC) returned to Madison, Wisconsin following nearly a year in Kuwait - one is still at Fort Bliss completing administrative requirements. Later that afternoon, more than 30 members from Battery A, 1st Battalion, 121st Field Artillery, arrived in Milwaukee, marking the end of their combat deployment in Afghanistan.
MADISON, Wis. — It didn't take long for a small team from the Wisconsin Air National Guard's 115th Fighter Wing to make a big impact on the Wisconsin National Guard's Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and high yield Explosive Enhanced Response Force Package (CERFP).The six-person Joint Incident Site Communications Capability (JISCC) team, Air Force-trained communication specialists, employs cross-banding technology to provide the CERFP the means to communicate with civilian first responders and other Department of Defense entities if the CERFP is called on to assist with response efforts to natural or man-made disasters.
FORWARD OPERATING BASE OQAB, Afghanistan — More than 50 Soldiers of the Wisconsin Army National Guard's 950th Engineer Company have taken on a new assignment — providing security for Train, Advise, Assist Command-Air, a U.S. Air Force effort to train the Afghan Air Force.The 950th Engineer Company Soldiers conduct base security, personnel protective details and provide quick reaction response forces at two Afghan Air bases within the country — a task they perform under pressure, every day where lives are at risk.
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.