SPRINGFIELD, IL (12/26/2012)(readMedia)-- Col. Robert J. Mayberry Jr., of St. Charles, Mo., will retire from the Illinois National Guard on his 60th birthday, Jan. 2, 2013.

"It's natural for me to be in the service," said Mayberry. "My dad led the way and I appreciate what I've been able to do and where I've been placed."

Mayberry followed in a long line of family members serving in the military, but only he and his father made a career of it.

After moving every couple of years growing up with his father in the Air Force, Mayberry enlisted in the active Army in 1972 as a wheel and track mechanic and was stationed in Kitzgingen, Germany. After serving four years he returned to Illinois and started a brake and front end alignment business, where he worked until he joined the Illinois National Guard in 1982.

"He doesn't mind getting his hands dirty and doing some heavy lifting," said Col. Fred W. Allen of Delavan, Illinois Army National Guard chief of staff. "He is a common sensed, hard working, outspoken officer and because of those qualities this organization is better."

Mayberry was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1985 through the Illinois Military Academy Officer Candidate School. In 1989 he accepted a federal technician position with the Illinois National Guard surface maintenance shop and has continued to serve the maintenance community ever since.

"He is one of the most dedicated and passionate guys I have worked with in the Illinois National Guard," said Col. Eric K. Little of Springfield, deputy United States Property and Fiscal officer. "He set the standard for field maintenance shops. He equipped them to be stand-alone units that have their own property and tools that stay even during mobilization."

Having a dual-status position, Mayberry's first command position was with the 1244th Transportation Company in Cairo. After that, he held battalion commands with the 733rd Quartermaster Battalion and the 65th Troop Command Battalion.

"I had great mentors who gave me good guidance," said Mayberry. "I've been lucky to have really good people around me the whole time."

Mayberry deployed to Iraq twice. From 2005 to 2006 he deployed as the deputy director of logistics maintenance in Diwaniyah, Iraq with the Multi - National Division, which comprised of 18 countries. He deployed again from 2007 to 2009 as the commander of the Tallil Logistics Military Advisor Team in the 10th Iraq Army Division in Ur, Iraqi.

One thing Mayberry said he learned from his combat experience is to trust the training.

"Pay attention to the training you receive throughout the year," he said. "When faced with a scary situation, you don't think, you just do it and that training is very valuable."

Along with overseas deployments, Mayberry worked many state active duty missions throughout Illinois. From flood duty to winter storms, he advised the Adjutant General on logistical requirements, supporting procedures and accountability.

"I have loved this job the entire time I have been here," he said.

Mayberry celebrated his retirement with friends and family at the Field Maintenance Shop on Camp Lincoln in Springfield, Dec. 8.

Looking into retirement, he said he plans to work with Habitat for Humanity and organizations to prevent suicide. He also plans to fish and work on his antique vehicles while spending time with his family.

In January of 1994, an electrical fire at the Metropolitan Community Church of the Quad Cities ("MCC QC"), then located in Rock Island, Illinois, left the congregation temporarily without a home. Several communities of faith in the Quad Cities were quick to lend a hand, including Temple Emanuel in Davenport, which housed MCC QC worship services at the Jewish synagogue for a time until the current facility at 31 st and Harrison Streets was purchased.

In January of 2013, history will repeat itself in reverse - sort of. The MCC QC congregation sold the Harrison Street facility in December and is excited to be seeking a larger facility with adequate parking that is handicap accessible. Now finding itself again in need of temporary worship space, the Tri-City Jewish Center in Rock Island has opened its doors to the growing church. So when the congregation lost its home in Rock Island, it took refuge at the Jewish Temple in Davenport. Now when the congregation leaves its home in Davenport, it will take refuge at the Jewish Center in Rock Island.

"God has called us to go and we will go where God leads us," says MCC QC's pastor, Rev. Rich Hendricks. "I am so pleased that we will have a temporary worship home at the Tri-City Jewish Center and we are very grateful for their hospitality." MCC QC strives to live up to its mission of providing lively worship and reaching out to all people with God's inclusive love, and that includes those with physical handicaps. "We can't say 'You and your spiritual journey are welcome here,' and mean it if we are not handicap accessible,"

says Hendricks. During the past year, the congregation met once a month at the Clarion Hotel in order to provide handicap accessible worship services at least once a month. From now on all of the Sunday morning services will be handicap accessible.

The growing 33-year-old congregation hopes to find a permanent home soon, as its facilities housed AA groups, QC Pride meetings, feed the hungry cooking and many other weekday activities. All of that has had to be relocated for now. Rev. Hendricks remains confident: "We know that this is a great community and we feel sure there is a wonderful facility out there for us that we can afford."

The congregation will hold its worship services at 11:00 a.m. on Sundays at the Tri-City Jewish Center, 2715 - 30th St., Rock Island for now. For more information about MCC QC you may call the church at 563.324.8281 or check them out on the web at www.mccqc.com .

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CAPE MAY, N.J. - The Coast Guard and American Red Cross will place more than 200 Coast Guard recruits with approximately 80 South Jersey families for Christmas as part of Operation Fireside Tuesday at 11:45 a.m.

Coast Guard Training Center Cape May has approximately 200 recruits in training from more than 39 states, U.S. territories and countries. Operation Fireside has placed recruits with South Jersey families during the holiday season since 1981. It allows recruits to celebrate the holiday with a host family while they're separated from their loved ones during the rigorous basic training program.

"Our new Coast Guardsmen will be conducting dangerous frontline Coast Guard missions in the U.S. and abroad within days of graduation, and we make them Coast Guardsmen by pushing them to new levels of physical, mental and emotional toughness," said Capt. Bill Kelly, the commanding officer of Training Center Cape May. "The volunteers of Operation Fireside make them feel at home, which is probably one of the greatest gifts for a service member separated from their family during the Holiday season."

Operation Fireside has been coordinated annually by the American Red Cross Southern Shore Chapter in Cape May Court House, N.J., since the program started three decades ago.  The Red Cross solicits and tracks volunteers and host families, while Training Center Cape May pairs each recruit with a family Christmas Day.

The families and the recruits will meet at Training Center Cape May's Guardian Chapel, and the recruits will be with the families until 8 p.m. While the recruits are off base, they will be allowed to eat as much as they want, call home, and relax before beginning training again that same day.

"We're proud to say supporting military members is just one of our many Red Cross missions, and the families who host these men and women are also honored to have them in their homes," said Donna Croskey, the Operation Fireside coordinator for the Red Cross.  "Even after the Holidays, many of the host families attend the recruits' graduation ceremony and stay in touch long after boot camp."

Training Center Cape May is the Coast Guard's only enlisted basic training program, and more than 83 percent of the Service's workforce receive basic instruction here to become Coast Guardsmen. The recruits are trained in everything from fire arms familiarization to basic water survival.

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Program Helps Injured Troops Overseas Connect with Family

CHICAGO - December 23, 2012. Governor Pat Quinn today joined United Airlines to encourage people across Illinois to help injured servicemembers overseas connect with their families this holiday season through Operation Hero Miles. This program helps wounded or ill overseas servicemembers and their families visit each other without having to worry about the financial burden of airfare.

"There's no better cure than the care and support of loved ones," Governor Quinn said. "Operation Hero Miles gives our Wounded Warriors a chance to be with family and friends while they heal and undergo medical treatment. I encourage people throughout Illinois and across the country to donate their frequent flyer miles to this program and help Wounded Warriors connect with their families this holiday season."

Administered by the Fisher House Foundation, Operation Hero Miles uses donated frequent flyer miles to provide free round-trip airline tickets to military families flying overseas to visit a servicemember receiving medical treatment. The program also enables wounded or ill servicemembers with approved leave to fly home at no cost. To date, Operation Hero Miles has issued more than 34,000 donated tickets, saving servicemembers and their families nearly $54 million. To donate airline miles, visit www.fisherhouse.org.

The governor recently returned from his eighth annual trip to visit servicemembers receiving treatment at Landstuhl Medical Center in Germany, bringing holiday cards made by children in Illinois with him.

Governor Quinn has made commitment to veterans, servicemembers and their families a top priority throughout his career in public service. He has led programs including the Illinois Warrior Assistance Program and the Veterans Cash lottery ticket, which has awarded more than $10 million to non-profit organizations across the state that provide health care and post-traumatic stress disorder treatment, housing assistance, disability benefits and other services to Illinois' veterans.

As Lieutenant Governor, Governor Quinn championed the Illinois Military Family Relief Fund Act, which established a fund to provide grants to families of Illinois National Guard members and Illinois residents serving in the U.S. Armed Forces Reserve components who were called to active duty as a result of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. These grants help service members and their families with the costs of food, housing, utilities, medical services and other expenses they struggle to afford because a wage-earner has temporarily left civilian employment to be placed on active military duty. The fund has distributed more than $14.5 million to over 27,200 Illinois military families to assist with the financial burden at home when a loved one is deployed overseas.

For more information about these and other programs for our Veterans, visit www.OperationHomefront.org or call the Illinois Dept. of Veterans' Affairs at 217-782-6641 or 312-814-2460.

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