NH Guard Stays on Target

Fort Drum, N.Y. – New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan gives the order and the missile blasts off at close to Mach 1. The M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System delivers the practice round to its target more than five miles away.

The launch is lightning quick. Blink and you could miss it. 

The 3rd Battalion, 197th Fires Brigade – the New Hampshire Army National Guard unit at Fort Drum for training – fires another round and observers don't miss a chance to applaud the awesome fire power. 

Hassan, commander-in-chief of the New Hampshire National Guard, led a contingent of state policy leaders and New Hampshire businesses with Guard members in their employ during the training missions July 22. 

On the return from New York State, they also observed the 157th Air Refueling Wing from Pease Air National Guard Base refuel F-16s flying 24,000 feet above Vermont. As boom operators Chris Storm and Kevin Johnson lowered the refueling apparatus, ultimately pumping about 4,000 pounds of fuel to each of the fighter jets, the F-16s cruised wing to wing at around 362 mph.

The Guard trip was in sync with regularly scheduled training and refueling missions, and coordinated with the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve. The Guard includes around 3,000 soldiers and airmen who also hold hundreds of jobs across New Hampshire.

Major Gen. William Reddel, adjutant general of the NH National Guard, thanked businesses for supporting the Guard and hiring members. Two-thirds of Air Guard members have a regular job outside of uniform, while about four-fifths of Army Guard members have a regular job outside of uniform.

"What a lot of you are doing is supporting our veterans," he said during a morning briefing. "The country sees that."

New Hampshire Guard leaders explained their dual missions: being on the home front and on the front line. 

Since 2001, approximately 2,700 Guard members have been deployed overseas.

The Guard currently has 139 members deployed overseas, 135 of whom are in Afghanistan. Forty-eight are waiting to be deployed, Reddel said.

On the home front, the National Guard also assists the state Office of Emergency Management when necessary, including during natural disasters and search-and-rescue operations. Perry Plummer, director of New Hampshire Homeland Security and Emergency Management, joined Reddel and Hassan for the training mission.

State Sens. Sharon Carson (R-Londonderry), Nancy Stiles (R-Hampton) and Lou D'Allesandro (D-Manchester), along with Rep. Al Baldasaro (R-Londonderry) and Dave Quinn, state chairman of the Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve, also participated.

Carson said it was a great chance to see first-hand the mission capability of the Guard on multiple levels, from the Air Guard to the Army Guard.

"It's always important that we know what our National Guard is doing," she said. "They're really our first line of defense if you think about it, if something were to happen. It's always good to connect with the folks that are in the Guard to find out what's going on, if they have any issues."

Stiles said the trip helps state leaders better understand the Guard, with its motto, "Always Ready, Always There."

"They don't ask for a lot," Stiles said after meeting some of the soldiers. "I don't think they ask for a lot. And so it's good for us to be out here to see exactly what it is they do and what their needs are and, moving forward, what their needs are going to be."

On a day when the state leaders and invited guests were listening to the importance of force utilization and mission capabilities, they also learned that July 22 was a furlough day for military technicians due to sequestration.