Story by: Sgt. Josiah Pugh

Posted: December 8, 2013

AUSTIN, Texas - For the first time in the Texas Army National Guard’s history it has a joint special operation’s detachment. The Special Operations Detachment – Africa (Airborne) (SOD-A) is one of eight such units belonging to the National Guard nationwide and was stood up in October of 2012 at Bee Caves Armory in Austin, Texas.

Their mission, to deploy overseas, lead and train both joint and combined special operations forces in support of theater campaign plans. 

In the last year, SOD-A has recruited soldiers that will allow them to support their higher headquarters Special Operations Command-Africa whose goal is to promote regional stability in Africa and combat terrorism. About half of the soldiers in SOD-A are from a special forces background while the remaining members come from special operations forces, human resources, intelligence, logistics and signal backgrounds. soldiers in this unit travel from as far as California and Washington, D.C., just to attend their monthly drill. 

Maj. Nathan Rettig, SOD-A Future Operations officer, said about the unit, “Getting a chance to support special operations in Africa was a long time goal, as I firmly believe special operations forces is an exponential force multiplier on the continent. Just as importantly, I knew and served with the high caliber individuals in this unit since we started the Texas Army National Guard Special Forces family in 2007.” Rettig added, “I know they are some of the most capable, experienced, and committed teams in the special operations forces community and I'm humbled and honored to serve with them."

In May, SOD-A participated in Epic Guardian, a joint staff-coordinated exercise focused on crisis action planning, deployment of forces and field operations. Aside from developing a partnership with Malawi, Djibouti and Seychelles, Maj. Duncan Smith, another SOD-A future operations officer, said the exercise provided much more to those countries’ militaries and militias. “We’re there to partner with the governments or militaries and offer an increased capability to provide a secure and stable region,” said Smith. 

SOD-A provides a place for special forces or special operations soldiers in the National Guard where they can grow and advance their careers. Lt. Col. Douglas O'Connell, SOD-A commander, said, “The soldiers who have joined SOD-A are looking for a chance to conduct real world operations in challenging and extreme environments.”

Sgt. 1st Class Joshua Carter, training noncommissioned officer, has been with SOD-A since April of this year. “I can’t think of a better place for me and my future goals to be or a better environment where the mentorship is from the top down,” he said.

In late June, SOD-A conducted Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk airborne operation training and a reflexive fire with M4 carbine rifles and M9 pistols alongside Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group. In August, the unit conducted its first joint training partnership with the U.S. Navy Reserve SEAL Detachment 208, in a joint military decision making course in order to prepare for future deployments.

Spc. Vanessa Freitag, a personnel administrator, has been with SOD-A since March and found her comrades have been more than happy to include her in all their training.

“I love it,” said Freitag. “I think this has challenged me. I’ve grown with them. It’s such an invigorating experience being a part of this group because initially it was very intimidating. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect or what they expected of me and everything’s formed together, especially for a new unit. A lot of the guys are special forces and they’re not quite used to a staff unit, but we’ve meshed so well together. They’ve made me feel very welcome from the beginning.” 

Lt. Col. Theo Unbehagen, Operations Officer, has been with SOD-A since October of last year and is excited to deploy to Africa. “It’s going to be a great experience I think, because we’re going to be in a different area,” said Unbehagen. “We’re going to be working with the partner nations, working, training with, learning from them and teaching them. It’s really rewarding.

Posted By: 7-DEC-13

DALLAS, Texas - Don Hart was a homeless man who lost his way in the world, but was finally found.

He now rests among the neat rows of markers at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery. He received a military funeral Thursday afternoon, with gratitude from soldiers and veterans who never knew him thanks to LTC-Chaplain Billy Corn and others who have made it their mission to take care of these heroes. LTC Corn has for years quietly and without fanfare made it a priority in his life to ensure these homeless veteran were not alone when laid to rest.

More than two dozen Patriot Guard Riders paid respects. An honor guard folded the flag. "Nobody knows this man here. Not one of us,” said Patriot Guard Ride Captain Rick Crabb. “But he's home with heroes now." The honors were earned a lifetime ago in Vietnam -- that much we know. "We know he's an Army vet. We know he served honorably from '71 to '73,"

And they were mourners, though strangers. “I’m just so sad this man had no family to be found. We’re his family,” Linda Tinnerman said. Tears dripped from beneath her sunglasses. She received the folded flag, just as she received her husband’s flag nearly nine years ago. We've learned that Don Hart was well known as “JD” on the streets and in the shelters in Fort Worth and Dallas. And that a formerly-homeless friend took him in just hours before Hart died. "He was looking pretty sick," Chester Williams told us. "He was a friend of mine. A real good friend of mine.”

Williams said he found Don Hart sitting outside the VA hospital one day in late September. "So I told him, 'JD, why don't you come to the house and clean yourself up?' He said, 'OK,'" Williams said.
Williams said his friend “liked a ruckus,” but was kind. That he took to sleeping outside because he didn’t like shelter rules. Caseworkers who tried to get “JD” off the streets preferred to call him private. They liked him. Williams said he cooked Hart dinner the night he died.

“I was reading my Bible,” Williams said, “and he said, 'Why don’t you just read it out loud?'” He said Hart fell asleep on the sofa. Sometime in the night, he passed away. The cause of death was heart disease. No next of kin were found. "He died at peace,” Chester Williams said. “You could tell, he died at peace." Williams is glad his friend got a dignified burial. “It’s a very peaceful place,” he said. “Very honorable place. I’m glad he’s finally home.” Don Hart was 62. He is no longer homeless thanks for LTC Corn and others who will always remember.

Posted: 30 Nov 13

Military troops overseas are going to receive some very special Christmas gifts thanks to service groups from Grapevine.

This is the 4th annual care package drive and it was created by specialist Colin O'Brien from the Texas state guard. The group had 1 box the first year, 74 last year and this year it's more than doubled to 188 packages full of snacks, chocolates, pencils, Christmas cards, hygiene products and much more.

"We're not forgetting about the troops overseas sacrificing what they're doing for us so this is our little way of giving them a little piece of home saying you're not forgotten and Merry Christmas," said Spc O'Brien

This year the Grapevine Elks, The Senior Citizens Center, The Odd Fellows and the Masonic Lodge all donated items and money to cover shipping costs.

Commentary by: Capt. Martha C. Nigrelle

Throughout our Texas Military Forces (TXMF) history, Native American Soldiers have made numerous unique and significant contributions to our force. 

During World War I, members of the Choctaw tribe fought with the 36th Infantry Division, many serving as “code talkers.” According to the TXMF Museum, the German Army was often successful in tapping the American Army’s phone lines during the war, enabling the Germans to know the locations of both troops and supplies.

The tides changed for the German Army when the 36th Infantry Division introduced their Choctaw code talkers.  The TXMF Museum’s records show a Ms. Mozelle Dawson of Coalinga, Calif., memoirs of her father, Albert Billy, a Choctaw warrior, and Soldier of the Texas Army National Guard,

“According to Mozelle Dawson of Coalinga, California, her father, Albert Billy, suggested to his commanding officer that the Choctaw language be used to confuse the enemy. She said Billy had the idea that Indians be used on the phone lines talking in their native dialect. This would confuse anyone tapping into the lines. As it turned out, the Germans were more than just a little confused, and after the Choctaw Code Talkers were put on the phones, the Germans immediately began losing.

“Ms. Dawson said her father told her that during the night, some Germans were captured, and a General of the German Army said that he would like to ask just one question: ‘What nationality was on the phones that night?’ The only reply that this German officer received was that it was only Americans that had been on the phones.”

Billy served in the 142nd Infantry, a regiment of the 36th Infantry Division.

For more information on the Choctaw code talkers, visit the TXMF Museum website:http://www.texasmilitaryforcesmuseum.org/choctaw/codetalkers.htm

Thanksgiving Day is a truly unique American holiday that brings all of us together, regardless of our many faiths and cultural backgrounds. Traditionally, we gather with family and friends to reflect on the year past, and give thanks for the blessings and freedoms we enjoy as Americans. It is a time when we stop for a moment from our busy schedules and share food, family, and fellowship.

I am very thankful for each of you--Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and family members.

I am also thankful to our friends and partners in the Texas Military Department, Texas Army and Air National Guard, Texas Department of Emergency Management, Texas Parks and Wildlife, Texas Department of State Health Services and the Texas Department of Public Safety among our other friends and partners for the hospitality and warm reception they have provided the State Guard as an organization.

I also encourage you to take the time today to reflect on those things that you and your families are thankful for. Take care and all the best. Happy Thanksgiving!

M.A. Rodriguez
Major General (TX)
Commanding

Commentary by: Staff Sgt. Jennifer Atkinson

There is no doubting the fact that military life can be hard on families, especially children.  Field problems, long hours, and deployments can take a heavy toll on both the service member and their family.

To help lessen the effects of stress on families, the Texas Army National Guard’s Child & Youth Program offers programs to help develop teambuilding, communication and life skills, and to encourage children to pursue higher education.

“Everything we do is fun,” said Brandon J. Savoy, the program’s child and youth coordinator.

Yellow Ribbon events are available - they are family-oriented workshops provided before, during and after deployments.

From fishing camps in March, to Camp Young Heroes in June, the Child & Youth Program offers opportunities throughout the year.

“These things help build family resiliency,” said Savoy.  “Knowing what’s going on and what’s going to happen helps the kids.”

For more information, contact the TXARNG Child & Youth Program on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TXMFChildAndYouthProgram or Brandon J. Savoy directly at brandon.j.savoy.ctr@mail.mil or 512-782-1245.

Texas Medical Command makes transition easier for Wounded Warriors

By Capt. Martha C. Nigrelle

The Medical Evaluation Board, or MEB, is known for being a long and arduous process.  For traditional guardsmen, this process if often even longer and more difficult, but for wounded warriors in the Texas Military Forces (TXMF), in the last year the MEB process became much easier.

According to Army Sgt. Gabriel Martinez, the Noncommissioned Officer in Charge (NCOIC) of behavioral health and assistant NCOIC of case management for Medical Command, in just one year, Medical Command, or Med Command, increased the number of packets submitted to the Medical Board by 200%.

After assuming command of Med Command in 2012, Army Col. John P. Drobnica, a licensed physician assistant, and Col. Robert Ferry, the Texas State Army Surgeon, spent their 2012 annual training period evaluating the Med Command system for submitting MEB packets.  Their goal was to figure out a way to make the transition process easier for Texas Army National Guard wounded warriors.  Ferry is the former Deputy Commander for Med Command, as well as, a licensed pediatric-endocrinologist. They are both traditional guardsmen who live and work in their communities as medical professionals.

“I really appreciate Col. Drobnica because he listened to us,” said Martinez.

Martinez went on to discuss how both Drobnica and Ferry took time to ask the Soldiers in Med Command what issues they saw and how they thought things could be improved.  “[Drobnica and Ferry] went down into the weeds and said ‘how can we change the weeds?’”

“The biggest challenge, once [the service member] is injured, is getting them through the process,” said Lt. Col. Brian Weber, the Division Surgeon for 36th Infantry Division, Texas Army National Guard, also a licensed Physician Assistant. 

Compounding an already long MEB process, before the packet is submitted, numerous doctor appointments and paperwork have to be completed. Additionally, according to Weber, this can become a confusing process.

“It’s all of the little steps – that is the biggest challenge,” said Weber.

Changes in Med Command’s process started with a trip to Florida, and continued with improvement in training, as well as the effective utilization of the medical readiness NCOIC.

“[Drobnica] took us to Pinella’s Park, Fla., where the National Guard MEB convenes to meet the providers who conduct the [initial review of the] MEB. We went three times. This helped us, in case management, leaps and bounds,” said Martinez.

Martinez went on to discuss the next step implemented – a mock MEB. Each month during Med Command drill, a panel of National Guard providers, with an array of medical background and expertise, review the packets assembled by case management as if it were the MEB.

“It’s where our full time support meets our M-Day support,” said Martinez, adding that the process has helped case management improve the quality of each MEB packet before it is submitted to Pinella’s Park.

Additional training was the next step taken to improve this process. Ferry oversaw the creation of the Texas Military Forces (TXMF) Provider Battle Book and User’s Guide. The book is tailored to the guardsman medical officer with little experience on TXMF systems and the MEB.

In addition to the battle book, training for the readiness NCO was added. Martinez said that this training has been instrumental in making the MEB process faster and smoother for the service member or wounded warrior. “Increasing the knowledge pool means there are more people that can help facilitate the process.”

The last change was fully integrating the medical readiness NCO with the MEB process. The medical readiness NCO is a full-time position at the battalion and/or brigade level and is focused to work one-on-one with the wounded warrior on their medical readiness to ensure that the MEB packet is initiated and completed as quickly and as accurately as possible.

Martinez credited Drobnica and Ferry for their leadership in implementing and enforcing all of these much needed changes.

For both Drobnica and Ferry, it is all about the mission – improving that transition process.

"We help people transition forward. Life moves forward, not backward,” said Ferry.

For questions regarding the MEB process in the Texas Army National Guard, call the unit Medical Readiness NCO or Case Management at 512-782-4206/5892.