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Olympic 98 - Issue #2, 28 Aug 98
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…But What’s Happening
Back In The World?
By MAJ Philip Logan
We’re out here, soaking in the sun and surf of scenic Neah Bay, but what is going on back at the ranch? Deploying tends to take you 'out of the loop' and suspend you in time as the days keep coming. However, life is still going on back home. Hurricanes are hitting the East Coast, the Mariners continue to burn deeper into last place and it’s almost Husky football season.
Oh and there is considerable interest in this operation, but not the way you might think. Unlike supporting various and sundry fires and floods, operations like this are new to the National Guard. The Army likes to call them "Peace Operations," and there is even Field Manual on the subject. Whatever they are called, 'Peace Enforcement', 'Peacekeeping' or 'Operations other than War', until now, these have always taken place in far off lands the average American couldn’t find on a map.
The Washington National Guard is breaking new ground here, and the public is very interested for several reasons: First, its happening at home, not over seas. Second, many of them know people in the Guard and are directly affected by this deployment. Third, the public, as taxpayers, have many questions about this use of their Guard. Finally, public attention is beginning to focus on terrorism and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) as these threats creep closer to our shores.
As guard members, we find ourselves in a vortex of many social, political, and military issues that may take years to unravel. Welcome to military operations at the end of the 20th century.
What do we do? At our level, it is still rather simple: Keep our eyes and ears open, acknowledge that change is coming, and just continue to do our jobs. The bottom line mission will never change - taking care of each other and supporting the citizens of Washington and the nation.
Air National Guard
Mobilizes
To Neah Bay
By Staff Sgt. Carlos Acevedo
In the spirit of total-force doctrine, Air National Guard personnel have deployed for Operation Olympic ’98 to help ensure public safety and support Army Guard operations at the Makah Tribal Center near Neah Bay.
"This is a terrific opportunity to further expand joint operations not only with the Army National Guard, but also with civilian law enforcement agencies. The Army National Guard has done an outstanding job of developing the operation, and the friendly, courteous support we’ve been given is superb," said Lt. Col. Jerry Baltzell, Air Liaison to STARC (State Area Command) Forward and the Incident Command Center.
The Air National Guard (ANG) units responding to the Governor’s proclamation of a state of emergency include the 141st Security Forces Squadron, the 116th Weather Flight, the 141st Services Flight and the 252nd Combat Communications Group.
Flying to the west side of Washington on Air National Guard KC-135s (large planes used for in-flight refueling and troop transport), Fairchild Air Force Base Guard members met up with personnel from McChord AFB and convoyed to Neah Bay.
The majority of the Air Guard personnel were Air Policemen from the 141st Security Forces Squadron, which deployed a team to protect the Makah Tribal Center and other locations. The Security Force troops are trained to defend bases, air strips and high-priority resources, and enforce military law and base regulations. These airmen are worldwide deployable.
More familiar to the Army Guard may be the weather forecasters here from Camp Murray. The forecasters, members of the 116th Weather Flight, support the Army National Guards 66th Aviation Brigade and 81st Infantry Brigade, which are both represented at Operation Olympic ’98. Weather forecasters are vital to air operations. As part of their mission, forecasters observe and predict weather, briefing aviators so they can fly and land their aircraft safely.
Also present are Air Guard units from the west side of the state. Members of the 252nd Combat Communications Group have installed voice communications in all tactical facilities here. Tactical Field Exchanges, a kind of PX in the woods, are provided by representatives from the 141st Services Flight, who literally brought a truckload of soft drinks, bottled water and personal-hygiene products to stock their shelves. These mobile convenience stores are available to both civilian and military personnel, and are located in the bingo hall at the Makah Tribal Center and at the Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) tent at the south end of the Task Force site.
Most of the ANG members are settled in at the Makah Tribal Center complex, which was, coincidentally, an Air Force Station until the late ‘80s, when it was transferred to the Makah Tribe.
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This Way To Neah Bay
By SPC Al Lancaster
"Transportation is our business," said CPT Michael Jones. "That’s why we are here." According to Jones, commander of the 1161st Transportation Company, Ephrata WA, the 1161st is here to transport soldiers and equipment in support of Operation Olympic ’98 at Neah Bay. "We were responsible for the movement of the vehicles in the convoys."
When CPT Jones was asked how well the convoy did, he replied with pride in his voice, "Let me tell you how it went. The entire convoy got here without any breakdowns, misdirection or incidents. The only issue en route was the lack of some facilities at a few of the rest stops. We improvised though, we do that very well. Shortly after our arrival, we held an after action report. We highlighted the critical points and went over the things we could have done better. We talked about what we did good." CPT Jones added that there were a lot of good points. The only negative point was operating on little sleep because of the training that needed to be accomplished the day before.
"With the amount of time we had and the assets available, which seemed to change every hour, we did really well," said 2LT Andrew Reider, 2nd Platoon Leader of the 1161st Transportation Company. 2LT Reider said, "The soldiers got about 2 1/2 hours sleep. We were up at 4:00 a.m. and still got the convoy out. We only missed our start point by about 5 minutes. We did pretty darn good. I think we performed well considering the lack of rest."
"While at Neah Bay, our responsibility shifts to moving Infantry soldiers to where they are needed in case of a civil disturbance," said CPT Jones. "However, we did go through the training in case we are needed to help. That is our secondary mission."
2LT Reider was asked about the mission and why we were here, his reply was, "What people don’t know, is everyone here has got families and a civilian life, but we are here to support the state and federal government if need be. Everyone out here is doing the job we have trained for. This mission is different than going to Yakima for Annual Training. The soldiers are excited that we are being used by the state for a real mission. We will do whatever we can to protect peace and support the state.
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