Private Paul Pettit, 3rd Battalion, 1st Regiment, Texas State Guard, unloads a bag of bait to be dropped over the South Texas Zapata area during the 2012 Texas Oral Rabies Vaccination Program. Since the program's inception in 1995, more than 39 million doses of the oral rabies vaccine, Raboral V RG, have been distributed over approximately 540,000 square miles of Texas. (U.S. Army Photo photo by Laura L. Lopez)

 Story by: Staff Sgt. Malcolm McClendon

Story by: Spc. Aaron Moreno

Posted: December 13, 2012

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Members of the Texas Army National Guard’s 627th Engineer Heavy Dive Detachment, headquartered in Corpus Christi, Texas, welcomed a new commander during a unique underwater ceremony, Dec. 8.

Capt. Jacob Patterson received the detachment’s guidon and responsibility of the unit from Capt. Terrance Tysall, the outgoing commander. The ceremony was anything but routine as family, friends, and special guests watched the ceremony via an underwater video feed from a remotely operated vehicle. 

“I have many goals coming into this unit,” Patterson said, “but primarily I want to continue the history of diving that they’ve started here in Texas for the military.”

“One of our primary missions is to support civil responders and I want to ensure we have the ability and force packages available successfully support civil authorities,” Patterson said about his new command.

The underwater guidon exchange is a tradition within the detachment that also showcases the unit’s unique capabilities to friends, family, and high ranking officers. The Heavy Dive Unit is one of the Texas Army National Guard’s newest units and outgoing commander Capt. Terrance Tysall joined the unit shortly after its creation.

According to Tysall, his fondest memory as team member and commander was helping to build the team from the ground up and working with talented Soldiers who wanted to take the unit to a higher level of operational capability. 

“I was fortunate enough to be present when the team was growing and becoming a fully realized unit,” Tysall said. “I mean, we became real divers instead of just scuba. We got service supplied, we got our chamber, and we were really accepted by the Army as a larger entity.” 

The unit is composed of scuba and surface supplied divers that can perform underwater tasks, including: demolitions; port construction and rehabilitation; salvage and clearance; and search and reconnaissance missions. 

The unit was organized in 2008, and Patterson the detachment’s third commander. 

“At the end of the day, this ceremony is not about me, but a new chapter in the history of this unit,” Patterson said. “I’m taking over a unit of highly trained Soldiers that are eager to serve and ready to face the challenges ahead. I am excited about the future and confident that we will succeed in our future operations.”

Story by Staff Sgt. Phil Fountain

On Friday, Aug. 3, 2012, friends and family members of the Soldiers from the 136th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade say goodbye, with hugs and kisses, at Hendrickson High School in Pflugerville, Texas as the approximate 200 soldiers prepare to leave on a deployment to Afghanistan. While away from their loved ones, family members of the deployed soldiers will have opportunities to participate in yellow ribbon events and receive any necessary support from Family Support Services. (National Guard photo by Laura L. Lopez/Released).

Story by Laura Lopez

 CAMP MABRY, Texas - November 1st marks the start of a month-long proclamation declaring November as Military Family Month. With more than 31,000 men and women in the Texas Military Forces (TXMF) answering the call to serve the  nation in support of the Global War on Terror, members with Family Support Services (FSS) remain diligent in providing  top-notch care and support services to service members and their families.

 “Without strong families who stand by their service member, a successful National Guard cannot exist,” said Lt. Col. Alba  Villanueva, Family Support Services Branch Manager. “With the ever-changing face and duties of the National Guard, it’s  important to help National Guard families achieve readiness for what’s ahead while remaining flexible in the present.”

 An umbrella organization consisting of youth and family programs, Strong Bonds workshops, Transition Assistance  Advisors, Resilience and Mental Health programs, as well as family readiness, the Texas Military Forces Family Support  Services reports assisting more than 185,000 customers in fiscal year 2012.

 “Throughout fiscal year 2012 our Yellow Ribbon program, which aims to help Reserve and National Guard members  reintegrate with their families, communities and civilian employers following a deployment, reached nearly 6,300 people  over the course of 40 events,” said Villanueva. 

 A congressionally mandated program, established in 2008, the Yellow Ribbon Program focuses on preparing service  member and their families for mobilization, sustaining families during deployment and reintegrating service members and  their families following one’s return from a deployment. Phases commencing a minimum of 60 days before the Soldier  leaves and continuing throughout and for a minimum of 60 days post deployment, Yellow Ribbon topics include legal  readiness, family stressors, communication, suicide prevention, substance abuse and job fairs. 

 “We want to stress that whether it be a first deployment or sixth for our service members, new information and resources  are identified every year,” said Villanueva stressing those Soldiers with multiple deployments have an added value to the  families and other Soldiers by sharing their knowledge and lessons learned.

 In addition, the Family Support Services resilience team members strive to assist units, Soldiers, and Families by providing  programs, services and resources that address critical psychological and emotional needs. Through Peer-to-Peer (P2P)  training and other advanced courses, soldiers learn how to recognize signs of distress in their fellow Battle Buddies and Wingmen and how to get help when needed. Essentially enabling qualified service members to be peer interventionists at the unit level to identify, intervene and initiate referral management the ultimate goal is to ensure both their personal and extended military family is there for support.

“This program is focused on preventing our soldiers and families from getting so stressed that they consider taking drastic measures to deal with their stress and is one that is driven year round,” said Capt. Carina Robinson, Texas Military Forces Family Support Services Resilience Coordinator. “After all, we are Texans defending Texas.”

Other fiscal year 2012 highlights include the Job Connection Education Program’s 1000th hire, several youth program camps, multiple family outreach events and a Suicide Prevention 5K run.

For more information, about Family Support Services or a list of upcoming events visit http://www.txfss.us or call 1-800-252-8032.

Staff Sgt. Patrick D. Rogers, Jr., a flight medic and member of the Texas Army National Guard, visits with a news reporter after being presented the Purple Heart, the Air Medal with "V" Device for Valor and the Combat Medical Badge from Texas Gov. Rick Perry at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas, Nov. 1, 2012. Rogers received the awards for actions that took place during his service in Afghanistan. (National Guard Photo by Air Force Staff Sgt. Phil Fountain / Released)

 Story by Staff Sgt. Phil Fountain

Texas National Guardsmen conduct night operations training. The Soldiers are part of the Site Security Team, Task Force Raptor, 3rd Squadron, 124th Cavalry Regiment deployed in support of Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, whose mission is to promote regional stability, dissuade conflict, and protect U.S. and coalition interests

 Story by Staff Sgt. Phil Fountain and Laura Lopez

 Maj. Gen. John F. Nichols, the Adjutant General of Texas, and Maj. Gen. Joyce L. Stevens, the Assistant Adjutant General  for Army, have made fiscal responsibility and accountability a focal point for the Texas Army National Guard. 

 “Fiscal responsibility is a top priority,” Nichols said, the state’s senior military official appointed by the governor. “Our goal is  to always be mission-ready, and that includes accounting for our property.”

 Nichols said that the increased number of financial liability investigations in recent years reflects this leadership emphasis.

 “The Texas Army National Guard is the largest Army National Guard force in the nation,” Stevens said. Ninety percent of  our force is part-time, with only a little over ten percent working full-time to ensure deployment readiness.

 “We have more than 19,500 traditional Guard Soldiers that drill one weekend a month,” she said. “Since 9/11, Texas has  deployed Army Guard soldiers throughout the United States and to 40 countries around the world in response to federal  and state requirements,” Stevens said.

 Because of its size, the Texas Army National Guard is responsible for about $2.53 billion in property, which includes  installation property, such as office furniture and buildings, and equipment issued to individual Soldiers, including tents,  canteens and protective armor, said Lt. Col. Stanley E. Golaboff, Director of Logistics for the Texas Army National Guard.

This can be a daunting task in a state that spans 268,000 square miles and includes 96 armories and 17 joint reserve centers.

“We need to know where our property and equipment are so it’s ready when the time comes to respond to a call from our civilian leadership,” Nichols said.

Since 2008, the Texas Army National Guard has documented about $3.5 million in property losses.

“Of the $3.5 million, nearly $2 million occurred during the 36th Combat Aviation Brigade’s recent deployment to Iraq,” Golaboff said. “This includes damaged equipment that has to be documented as a loss, as well as gear that was reabsorbed by the active duty Army logistics system.”

For the last five years, the Texas Army National Guard has had to investigate annually the loss of less than 1/10th of 1 percent of the property entrusted to the organization by the U.S. Army to prepare units for deployment, Golaboff said.

While property can be lost as a result of damage or destruction during a dangerous mission, soldiers can be held liable if they lose or abuse their equipment.

“Our increased investigations have led to the recovery of $500,000 from soldiers,” Golaboff said. “We are determined to ensure that any loss of equipment is properly documented – immediately – and if a service member is found to be the cause, then he or she is held financially liable.”

The state’s military leaders want to ensure the military organization is responsive to Texas taxpayers.

“The Texas Army National Guard remains committed to transparency and accountability to the citizens of Texas while providing the governor and president with ready-trained forces,” Stevens said.

AUSTIN, Texas - As the Texas Army National Guard transitions from the high deployment operational tempo of the Global War on Terrorism, it continues to implement the Campaign on Property Accountability (COPA) with intensity usually reserved for mobilization operations.

ALARACT 210-2010 and EXORD 259-10 outline the Army’s Campaign on Property Accountability. The campaign intends to account for all Army property. Excess equipment or equipment not on record is reintegrated back into the Army supply system to make better use of materiel resources assigned to both units and individuals. Lost equipment is also accounted for, meaning both missing gear, and equipment lost due to damage or destruction during deployment or mobilization.

In the Army National Guard, this effort relies on synchronization between the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics (DCSLOG), G4 supply and the United States Property and Fiscal Office (USPFO).
A prime example of this synchronization has been the ongoing effort to bring the Central Issue Facility- Installation Support Module (CIF-ISM) records of the TXARNG in line with current policy. This effort has included not only the DCSLOG office and USPFO but also the commanders and logistics personnel assigned to TXARNG MTOE and TDA units. The Texas CIF-ISM warehouse contains the clothing records of just over 19,000 current TXARNG Soldiers and is valued at a little over $54 million.

When Soldiers are discharged and still show clothing signed for from the CIF-ISM warehouse, a report, known as the CIF-ISM Discharge Report, is generated, showing a mismatch in the system. Currently, Texas exceeds the COPA goal of less than 5% of mismatched records. 

However, great strides have been and are continuing to be made on the CIF-ISM front of the Campaign on Property Accountability. Over the last six months Texas has seen an 18 percent decrease in the number of records and the overall dollar value of Organizational Clothing and Individual Equipment (OCIE) on the monthly CIF Discharge Report.

Texas conducted four regional CIF turns this past year in Midland, Corpus Christi, Houston and Fort Worth. During these week-long turn-ins unit supply sergeants were able to work directly with CIF warehouse personnel to turn in on-hand OCIE from discharged Soldiers and correct errors to numerous individual clothing records. These efforts lead directly to the recovery and reintegration of just under $700,000 of previously report unaccounted gear. 

In addition, unit commanders have spent the last year contacting previous TXARNG soldiers whose records do not show them as clearing the CIF warehouse properly; either by not turning in gear or failing to post turn-in documents if the soldier cleared supply prior to their discharge. These efforts have enabled unit supply sergeants to gather an additional $800,000 worth of gear scheduled for turn-in this fiscal year.

Commanders are also using the Financial Liability Investigation (FLI) process to resolve the accountability of many of these records. There are 700 open FLIs with a value of $1.3 million in OCIE being investigated at this time to determine what if any liability exists for this property being unaccounted for. 

Of course the real aim is to avoid having to resort to these reactive-type measures to ensure property accountability and as such the TXARNG has instituted several proactive steps. Among them is a change in turn-in policy, a more proactive monitoring methodology and a revised storage policy.

IAW with TXARNG policy 12-22 ETS management, soldiers are now informed during their 90-day exit interview with their company commander that if they are still undecided about re-enlisting or have decided to ETS, that they are required to clear supply and turn in all OCIE on their clothing by the end of the following drill weekend. The intent is to ensure all gear is recovered 60 days prior to the soldier’s exiting the service.

A new monthly metric tracked at all levels is the number of unconfirmed OCIE records. An unconfirmed report is generated every time a change is made to an individual’s clothing record. All changes to a soldier’s clothing record are required to be confirmed by the soldier. The soldier can either confirm his clothing record in person or online via the My Clothing tab on AKO. All confirmations are done using the Soldier’s Common Access Card (CAC).

Finally, all commanders are highly encouraged to allow Soldiers to store their OCIE in a secure portion of the armory. Many of the newer facilities come equipped with either individual storage lockers or rooms where soldiers can store locked duffle bags containing their OCIE.

These steps are no by no means an all-inclusive listing of the numerous efforts that commanders and supply personnel are using to maintain property accountability but are just a few highlights of the multiple actions on numerous fronts that occur on a daily basis in the Army’s efforts to implement the Campaign on Property Accountability.

The Texas Army National Guard remains committed to working with soldiers at all levels to increase transparency and property accountability to the citizen of Texas while proving the Governor and President with ready and trained forces.

On Saturday, Aug. 18, 2012, Maj. Gen. Manuel "Tony" Rodriguez assumes command of the Texas State Guard from Maj. Gen. Raymond Peters at Camp Mabry in Austin, Texas. More than 2,200 men and women actively serve in the Texas State Guard, which is comprised of the Army, Air, Maritime and Medical components. (National Guard photo by CW2 Janet Schmelzer/Texas State Guard)

 Courtesy Story

 By Maj. Michael Sullivan, CW2 Janet Schmelzer and WO2 Cary Wintz
 Texas State Guard

 CAMP MABRY, Texas - In a change of command ceremony at Camp Mabry on Saturday, Aug. 18, 2012, Maj. Gen.  Manuel "Tony" Rodriguez assumed command of the Texas State Guard (TXSG) from Maj. Gen. Raymond Peters. 

 The ceremony is a landmark event in the history of the Texas Military Forces and the Texas State Guard to bid farewell to  one commander and welcome another. The Texas State Guard, along with the Texas Army National Guard and Texas Air  Guard, is a major component of Texas Military Forces under the command of the governor.

 The Texas Military Forces are commanded by the state's adjutant general, Maj. Gen. John F. Nichols. 

 Peters was commissioned in July 1965, as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. In July 2009, he was promoted to Major  General and appointed commander of the Texas State Guard.

 Reflecting on his 49 years of uniformed service, Peters said he was honored to see the organization grow and evolve into  its present role as a major component of the Texas Military Forces.

 "I'm fortunate that I got to serve in the Texas State Guard. I never dreamed I'd go this far," he said. "To the men and  women of the state guard I say, 'thank you.'" 

He is succeeded by Rodriguez, who was commissioned in 1983, as a second lieutenant in the United States Army. During his career, Rodriguez served in Honduras, Germany, Desert Storm, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Afghanistan and Iraq. 

As part of the change of command ceremony, Rodriguez was promoted to major general. 

Rodriguez said he was honored by the appointment and looked forward to serving the people of Texas in this new role.

Paraphrasing WWII era Gen. Haywood Hansell, Rodriguez concluded his brief remarks by saying, "When I've done some more work, I'll do some more talking."

Nichols said the state guard has become a key component of the Texas Military Forces over the last two decades, with the defining moment occurring during the activations in response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.

"I've asked Gen. Rodriguez to take the baton from Gen. Peters and make the organization even better," said Nichols. "I told him, get ready. Now he's going to get to work helping Texas."

On Thursday, July 26, 2012, a volunteer with Remote Medical Access prepares a set of lenses to be cut into glasses. One of the largest humanitarian missions of its kind, Operation Lone Star is an annual joint exercise involving the Texas Military Forces, several other military and civilian agencies that partner together to provide medical, dental and vision services to the under-served communities of south Texas, while taking part in a disaster preparedness exercise.

 Story by Laura Lopez

 A partnership that started 14 years ago is now the largest public health humanitarian mission of its kind in the United States  and includes the Texas Department of State Health Services, United States Public Health Services, international  representatives, as well as countless of volunteers from other local, state and federal agencies. For the man behind  Operation Lone Star, it is the memories of constantly being sick in the second grade that has made Dr. Brian Smith, Texas  Department of State Health Services Region 11 medical director come to appreciate medical care and those who continue  to help others.

 “Everyone involved in Operation Lone Star has been selfless over the years and been extremely dedicated to the mission,”  said Smith. “It has been an honor and privilege to work with all of you over the years.”

 A full-scale operation providing disaster recovery training and emergency preparedness, Operation Lone Star 2011 saw  nearly 10,000 people for more than 53,000 services that included immunizations, hearing and vision exams, sports  physicals for students, medical evaluations and exams, dental services and social services. 

 Also joining forces at this year’s exercise, members of the Remote Area Medical Foundation stated that while they have  completed over 674 missions across the United States in the last 20 years, this was their first time, and hopefully not their  last time, in Texas. Able to bring various medical, dental and vision services to the shorter one-week long Operation Lone Star, the message was clear.

“Some people may as well be on the moon in terms of the access they have to necessary medical care, that’s how essential this program is,” said Stan Brock, founder of Remote Area Medical Foundation.

Honored and thankful for the Texas Military Forces to be a part of Operation Lone Star for the last 14 years, Texas Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. John F. Nichols referenced Hurricane Dolly from 2008 as a situation where this very mission not only enabled our service members to deploy quickly, but also get much needed assistance to the citizens of Texas.

“When we go overseas to support our country we sometimes forget about what is going on back here at home and Operation Lone Star is just one example of how we can demonstrate ‘Texans serving Texas,’” said Nichols.

Despite Operation Lone Star being able to provide free medical care to more than 100,000 south Texas residents over the last 14 years and its ability to continue growing and strengthening to include international partners, many feel the mission is still a critical part in an on-going battle.

“It will never be enough, but it’s a great start,” said Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos.