SPRINGFIELD, IL (10/31/2012)(readMedia)-- Six Soldiers with the aviation units in the Illinois Army National Guard completed Lincoln Land Community College's (LLCC) Airframe and Power Plant Technician course Oct. 18 at the school's aviation facility in Springfield.

The four-week course prepares the mechanics for the certification to support and maintain the four new UH-72A Lakotas the Illinois Army National Guard will be receiving September 2013, said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Norman Brooks of Clinton with Detachment 1, Company B, 1st Battalion, 376th Aviation Regiment. This is the first course of its type with other classes to follow in 2013.

"The UH-72A is a civilian off-the-shelf aircraft," said Brooks. "As military helicopter mechanics, we are not qualified to perform maintenance on the UH-72A. The UH-72A must be maintained to civilian standards with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations."

At this time the Army does not have military training for Soldiers to obtain the FAA certification, said Brooks. In order to meet the requirements and receive training the Illinois National Guard reached out LLCC for a way to train mechanics.

Brooks said according to FAA regulations servicemembers with 30 months of documented full-time experience can test for the Airframe and Power plant certification. The six Soldiers will take the certification testing starting roughly the last week of October with the final Soldier completing the evaluations on Nov. 3.

Over the past year the Illinois National Guard's State Aviation Office has worked in conjunction with LLCC to create a civilian Airframe and Power plant certification course. After taking the course the Soldier will then take the test for their certification of Airframe and Power plant technician that is granted by the FAA.

The course is typically 18 months long but is condensed to a four-week course for the Soldiers, said LLCC aviation instructor Todd Cole of Jacksonville. The three-week course covers all 44 sections outlined by the FAA aviation maintenance training standards.

"It's not aircraft specific," said Cole. "With what they learn here, they can take this information and apply it to any aircraft in the future."

The Soldiers showed a high level of proficiency and experience in the classroom and while working hands-on. In the end these Soldiers will have a greater knowledge of how to repair and maintain a variety of aircrafts, said Cole.

"They should have a thorough working knowledge of how to perform not only the upkeep maintenance and routine maintenance, but also major repair and alterations," said Cole.

First Sgt. Michael Garver of Decatur, with Company D, 1st Battalion, 106th Aviation Regiment has worked as a military helicopter mechanic for more than 25 years.

"It's an opportunity to learn more about another type of aircraft that's a commercial version rather than a military version."

Garver said the course has been an enjoyable challenge to learn maintenance on the various types of civilian and commercial aircrafts.

"In the military I learned how to work on two types of aircraft, the UH-58 (Kiowa) and the UH-60 (Black Hawk)," said Garver. "This course expands it and opens it up to everything. I've gained a lot more knowledge about types of engines, air frames, airplanes and different types of systems we in the military don't necessarily use."

The three-week course prepares the Soldiers for the certification testing which typically takes eight hours a day over a two-day period.

"They have to be prepared," said Jim Van Kleek aviation program director with LLCC. "In nationwide norms for this in FAA, nearly 20 to 30 percent fail this test the first time."

The information in the course and the testing ensure that those certified are trained and can provide the needed maintenance to ensure the readiness of the aircrafts, said Van Kleek.

"It's always about safety when it comes to aviation," said Van Kleek. "We try to teach them how to maintain these (aircraft) as safely as possible and that's our main goal. If you don't have the training, you don't know if these (aircraft) are operating properly."

Children are invited to Brucemore for a festive and memorable evening of holiday tradition?Santa, Snacks, and Stories on Sunday, December 2 and Tuesday, December 4 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The Mansion's holiday décor and the estate's seasonal spirit add to the evening's activities. In the Visitor Center, children will be delighted by sing-a-long caroling with Brucemore's most famous resident, Leo the Lion, and a snack making station. In the Mansion, children will participate in a craft, listen to holiday stories, and give Santa their wish-lists. In between activities, children and parents are invited to view the first and second floors of the Mansion and to ask any questions to the available stationary guides.

Admission is $7 per child and $5 per child of a Brucemore member. One adult is free per child admission; each additional adult is $5.  Space is limited; purchase tickets online at www.brucemore.org or by calling (319) 362-7375. . Santa, Snacks, and Stories is sponsored by US Bank.

Experience Brucemore, an unparalleled blend of tradition and culture, located at 2160 Linden Drive SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. At the heart of the historic 26-acre estate stands a nineteenth-century mansion filled with the stories of three Cedar Rapids families.  Concerts, theater, programs, and tours enliven the site and celebrate the heritage of a community.  For more information, call (319) 362-7375 or visit www.brucemore.org.

For the second concert of this year's Masterworks season, the Quad City Symphony Orchestra is performing a collection of concert hall favorites from incomparable composers Mozart and Beethoven: the Overture to The Magic Flute, Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in A Major, and Beethoven's "Pastorale" Symphony. These concerts will be performed on November 3 and 4 and are sponsored by the Charles B. Preacher Foundation. Saturday evening's concert will be held at the Adler Theatre in Davenport at 7:30 p.m. and followed on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. at Centennial Hall, Augustana College, in Rock Island. Tickets for this concert can be purchased in person at the QCSO Box Office, 327 Brady Street in Davenport, by phone at 800.745.3000, or online at www.qcsymphony.com.

Burt Hara has been the Minnesota Orchestra's principal clarinet for 24 years and has drawn acclaim for his solo appearances in works of Bernstein, Copland, Debussy, Nielsen, Weber and others, as well as his many chamber performances. In recent seasons he has been featured on Orchestra programs playing Messiaen's Abyss of the Birds, from Quartet for the End of Time, Copland's Clarinet Concerto, Mozart's Clarinet Concerto and Sinfonia concertante, Bernstein's Clarinet Sonata, and Crusell's Second Clarinet Concerto. Before his appointment in Minnesota, Hara was principal clarinet of the Alabama Symphony. An active chamber musician, Hara has performed at the Aspen Music Festival, Pensacola Chamber Festival, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Music in the Vineyards, Salt Bay Chamberfest, and La Jolla Music Society SummerFest, as well as the Minnesota Orchestra's Sommerfest.

The Quad City Symphony Orchestra is excited to provide Inside the Music at the hip and historic Hotel Blackhawk. The lectures series will still be held on the Thursday previous to each Masterworks program at 5:30 p.m. Doors will open at 5 p.m. with free hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar available.

Music Director Mark Russell Smith will also be available at Kai Swanson's Concert Conversations, held in the concert hall an hour before each of the weekend's concerts. At Concert Conversations the audience members will be led through highlights of the program they are about to experience. This look into the background of the concert's repertoire, sponsored by Rich James of Wells Fargo Advisors, is in its fifteenth year and has become an audience favorite.

After the Saturday night performance, the audience is invited to mingle with the musicians of the QCSO, Mark Russell Smith, and Burt Hara in the lobby of the Hotel Blackhawk at Afterglow. The evening includes free hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar. The November Afterglow is sponsored by Jane Chiappinelli, DDS.

SPRINGFIELD, IL (10/31/2012)(readMedia)-- Approximately 20 Illinois Army National Guard Soldiers who served in Afghanistan will return to Illinois this week. The homecoming ceremony for the Bilateral Embedded Staff Team (BEST) A9 will be Nov. 1 at 9 a.m. Camp Lincoln, 1301 N. MacArthur Blvd. in Springfield.

The BEST Soldiers were mobilized in January. They trained for a brief time at Camp Atterbury, Ind., before deploying to Poland for approximately two months to train with the Polish Land Forces 6th Airborne Brigade. The unique mission allowed Illinois Army National Guard Soldiers to train and deploy side-by-side with their Polish counterparts. Following the training, the Soldiers deployed to Afghanistan for a six-month mobilization. The Soldiers are from various parts of Illinois and were selected for the mission based on their training and skills.

The team was part of Task Force White Eagle XI, which included more than 3,000 Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines from the U.S., Poland and Ukraine. The task force kept the roads between Kabul and Kandahar safe and reduced the insurgent influence in the area.

Task Force White Eagle had the highest rate of found and cleared roadside bombs in the region, greatly reducing the number of innocent civilians, Afghan National Security Forces and Coalition Forces who were injured or killed. The task force also worked in regions of the country that were previously neglected and helped build a new security presence. Additionally, the servicemembers worked with the Internal Security Assistance Force to coordinate and execute multiple raids with Afghanistan commanders that targeted the Taliban in Ghazni Province. The raids captured and removed a majority of the Taliban commanders and sub-commanders in the region. The task force also found and removed more than 30,000 kilograms of explosive materials from the area and the team found more than $21.3 million of lost and unaccounted for property.

BEST A9 was awarded 13 Bronze Star Medals, five Army Commendation Medals, two Combat Infantry Badges and three Combat Action Badges. They also received four Polish Army Medals-Silver and five Polish Army Medals-Bronze.