MonticelloLive

Approximately 160 Soldiers with the El Dorado and Crossett based Troop A, 151st Cavalry Regiment, 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the Arkansas Army National Guard are scheduled to return from Iraq as the first wave of the brigade’s 3200 Soldiers coming home at the end of the brigade’s second deployment in support of Operation [...]

BAGHDAD - Sunday morning is a typical school day for children in Iraq; however, the red ribbon stretched across the entryway of the ‘Airport Village’ schoolhouse indicated this day was anything but typical. And as
community leaders joined forces with Col. Kendall Penn-commander of the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team- in cutting the ceremonial ribbon,

Thanks and congratulations. Col. Kendall Penn, 39th IBCT commander, shakes hands with a student during a tour of the newly refurbished secondary school in Airport Village.

Do you need help in filing a claim with the Veteran’s Administration for SC Disability Compensation, NSC Pension, Health Care ?  The Drew County Veteran’s Service Office provides this service to veterans.
We also assist families of deceased veterans in requesting headstones and related memorials,also outreach services for V.A. Educational Programs, V.A. Guaranteed Loan Eligibility Certificates.  [...]

Drew County Developmental Disabilities Council, Inc., is conducting a Socks for Soldiers program. The agency is seeking donations of new knee-length, white tube socks. These socks will be packaged and sent to soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Often, it is the little things that mean the most, and the soldiers can always use the [...]

While today marks the end of his command in Iraq, General David Petraeus recently took time to visit the brigade-Arkansas’ 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team-responsible for overseeing security on Victory Base Complex where he lived and worked.

Arkansas Guard gets first call for support in preparation for Gustave ~ Over 40 Guardsmen heading to Louisiana to provide Airspace Management

Checking the signal. Tech. Sgt. Bill Smith, left, practices aligning a satellite with the help of Staff Sgt. Scott Roach. The men are members of the Arkansas Air Guard’s 154th Weather Flight, which provided [...]

Members of the 1st Battalion of the 185th Aviation provided the aviation assets during annual training at Swindle Airfield in Walnut Ridge, Ark.  “The most important take away from the practice missions is making lessons learned on things that would have been better if you’d had the resources and assets that you needed,” said 1st [...]

Sgt. Shaun Taurone, from Dover, Ark., explains his training experience within the tactical operations center for flight operations with the 77th Aviation Brigade’s 1st Battalion of the 114th Security and Support.  Communication is their first priority and identifying the equipment needed is part of this annual training. 
(Photo by 2nd Lt. Theresa L. Walker, 119th Mobile [...]

Checking the signal.  Tech. Sgt. Bill Smith, left, practices aligning a satellite with the help of Staff Sgt. Scott Roach.  The men are members of the Arkansas Air Guard’s 154th Weather Flight, which provided weather support to the Arkansas Army Guard’s 1st Battalion, 114th Security and Support during their recent annual training. 

A Soldier with 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery  Regiment, 101st Airborne Division provides instruction during a vehicle  search class in the Radwaniya community of Baghdad. “They are a very proud  people, and they want very much to protect their community,” said 2nd Lt.  Vincent Barber.
(Photo by Maj. Craig Heathscott, 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team Public  [...]

Spc. Jason Stevenson (foreground), 1st Battalion, 320th  Field Artillery Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, serves as the  demonstrator during personnel search training at a school in the Radwaniya
community of Baghdad.  “Our guys are very professional. . . great [enlisted  leaders], and we’re basically trying to teach them skills we’ve learned in  our careers,” said 2nd Lt. [...]

During a vehicle search demonstration, a ‘Sons of Iraq’  student in Radwaniya opens the hood to begin the search. The SOI training  was being conducted by 1st battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment of the  101st Airborne Division. “I want to protect my family and keep it safe from
the outside terrorist,” claims one middle-aged Iraqi man [...]

A Soldier with 1st Battalion, 153rd Infantry Regiment of  the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, shows his ‘Sons of Iraq’ students how  to detain an individual during a personnel search. “They know the area, and  the people in it. And when strangers come up to a checkpoint, they are very critical of them as to [...]

Staff Sgt. Justin Fisher, of Hatfield, Arkansas, speaks with his interpreter while training the ‘Sons of Iraq’ on vehicle searches. Fisher is a member of 1st Battalion, 153rd Infantry Regiment of the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
(Photo by Maj. Craig Heathscott, 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs Office)

Members of the ‘Sons of Iraq’ participate in hands on training in Makasib with the 39th’s 1st Battalion, 153rd Infantry Regiment. The Soldiers are working to train the SOI to more effectively secure their own communities.  “It’s a win-win situation as they have a sense of pride for what they are doing, and they’re able [...]

Staff Sgt. Justin Fisher, of Hatfield, Arkansas, provides ‘weapons posture’ training to members of the Sons of Iraq. Fisher is a member of 1st Battalion, 153rd Infantry Regiment of the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.  “Bottom line, we want the Iraqi citizens to own security of their country, and we’re doing our part to ensure [...]

Staff Sgt. Justin Fisher, of Hatfield, Arkansas, provides ‘weapons posture’ training to members of the Sons of Iraq. “It’s kind of like a friendship,” said Fisher, who was leading the instruction on weapons posture on this day. “It’s a very positive working relationship, and we have a mutual respect for one another. The important thing [...]

‘Sons of Iraq’ to secure their own communities~ Iraqi neighborhood watch group proves to be anything but ordinary.
by Maj. Craig HeathscotT

Sheik Abu Mohammed (left) and Lt. Col. David Burwell join in on the cutting of the ribbon to mark the opening of the water purification system.  “If we want the Iraqi people to help themselves we need to simply listen to their needs,” said Burwell. “If ever there was a measure of success in Iraq [...]