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Building leaders
Georgia National Guard, a number of other programs receive
These programs include the Youth ChalleNGe Program (YCP)
and Peach State Starbase.
Georgia’s YCP provides a second chance for at-risk 16
through 18-year-old youths to turn their lives around. Three
Youth ChalleNGe Academies in Fort Stewart, Fort Gordon,
and Milledgeville conduct 22-week military-like structured
environments that emphasize a holistic approach to selfdevelopment.
Through the efforts of administrators, instructors,
and partners, the program has resulted in almost 16,000 graduates
in 25 years. The YCP delivers a 166 percent return on investment,
according to a 2012 Rand study.
The Peach State Starbase program provides opportunities for
elementary and middle school-aged youth in the disciplines of
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The children
learn real-world, problem-solving skills through simulations and
experiential learning. This challenging program enrolls more than
900 students in 35 on-base academies, and provides a measured
increase of 71 percent in gained and retained knowledge over the
last four years.
The Georgia National Guard prides itself in serving as a
leadership factory. In addition to regularly providing strategic
management courses and the Baldridge Performance Excellence
Program to its personnel, the organization also offers a number
of scholarship and paid educational opportunities. Recently, the
Georgia DoD secured state funding for the Service Cancelable
22 | August 2018 | Real Hero Report
Loan program, which provides paid college tuition for
undergraduate and graduate-level degrees in exchange for service
in the Georgia Guard. Also, the Georgia DoD provides military
service members in their military occupational specialties as well
with Georgia Military College and University of North Georgia
through scholarships and simultaneous service initiatives.
Deployed Guard Units
The traditional model of the “one weekend a month, two weeks
a year” Guardsman is changing to a more direct role on the
global security environment, the threats America faces from its
enemies transcend regions and domains of warfare. To answer
these threats, the National Guard now trains to be interchangeable
with active duty units. With a focus on readiness, the Georgia
women to answer the high-tempo demands that have become the
operational standard.
In 2016, the Georgia National Guard was tasked with
supporting a pilot program for reserve and National Guard
units to be “associated” with an active-duty organization. The
48th IBCT quickly developed their partnership with the Fort
Stewart-based 3rd Infantry Division (3rd ID). Their collaborative
training plans and large-scale exercises over the last two years
have sharpened their skills and capabilities to serve in the same
capacity as 3rd ID’s brigade combat teams. In May, the 48th
IBCT completed a Joint Readiness Training Center rotation,
upcoming deployment to Afghanistan.
Company B, 1st Battalion, 169th General Support Aviation
Battalion and Company B, 935th Aviation Support Battalion,
deployed in June to support Operation Spartan Shield, a
contingency operation within Central Command’s area of
responsibility. Their primary mission is to build partner capacity
in the Middle East to promote regional self-reliance and increase
security.
In July, an element of the 201st Regional Support Group
deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.
They are supporting a combined joint task force whose mission
is to destroy ISIS in designated areas of Iraq and Syria and set
conditions for follow-on operations to increase regional stability.
A Century of Overseas Combat Service
A delegation of Georgia Army National Guard Soldiers
traveled to France from July 24 to July 30 to participate in
commemorations for the World War I Centennial. Over the course
of a week, the Soldiers followed in the footsteps of the Georgia
National Guard’s 151st Machine Gun Battalion (MGB), a unit of
the 42nd Infantry Division commanded by Brig. Gen. Douglas
MacArthur. The 151st MGB was composed of three Macon
Companies of the 2nd Georgia Volunteer Infantry Regiment (now
the 121st Infantry Regiment). Its Soldiers came from more than
150 towns across Georgia.
and Macon Volunteers,” said Maj. William Carraway, historian
As a precursor to the Freedom Calls Memorial Wall dedication,
Georgia Guard Soldiers marched throughout the night on August 7,
2014, carrying vials of soil from the Canton Veterans Cemetery with
the name of each of the 42 Georgia National Guard Soldiers who have
lost their lives in support of the Global War on Terror. The Freedom
Wall Memorial Marchers rucked 42 miles and at each mile marker
called out the name of a fallen Georgia Guard Warrior honored on the
wall at Clay National Guard Center headquarters in Marietta, Georgia.
(Georgia National Guard photo by Army Staff Sgt. Tracy J. Smith.)