SPRINGFIELD, IL (10/13/2012)(readMedia)-- The U.S. Department of Defense has approved an Innovative Readiness Training project that will allow the Airmen of the 183rd Civil Engineer Squadron, 183rd Fighter Wing to build affordable, safe and decent housing with Habitat for Humanity of Sangamon County in local low-income neighborhoods.

183rd Fighter Wing Commander Col. Michael Meyer announced the partnership today with representatives from Habitat for Humanity and the Enos Park Neighborhood Improvement Association at the site of the first project, a two-story townhouse that will be built at 1137 North 5th Street, Springfield.

"This is a win-win for both the Illinois Air National Guard, Habitat for Humanity, and - most importantly - local low-income families," said Illinois National Guard Assistant Adjutant General - Air Brig. Gen. William Cobetto. "Our Airmen practice the skills they need to perform their military missions and, through Habitat for Humanity, local families get decent safe housing."

The project is scheduled for three years and the 183rd CES will help build as many as 12 homes in Sangamon County. Three of those homes are slated to be built in Springfield's Enos Park Neighborhood. Habitat for Humanity will provide the building materials and supplies as well as meals for the Airmen working on the project and the Airmen will provide the labor and tradesman skills they acquired from their military training.

"As the Commander-in-Chief of the Illinois National Guard, I am so proud that Illinois was one of a handful of states to administer an Innovative Readiness Training Project approved by the Department of Defense," Gov. Pat Quinn said. "This project will improve the training of our men and women in uniform and strengthen the communities where they live and work."

This isn't the first DoD-approved Innovative Readiness Training project for the 183rd CES. Last year, approximately 35 members of the squadron helped construct a 3,200-square-foot adult programs building for the St. Michaels Association for Special Education in the heart of Navajo Nation in Arizona.

"My Airmen really enjoyed helping the Navaho Nation, but this project is even better," Meyer said. "Now they are helping their own communities in their own state. This is very special to us."

To acquire DoD assistance through the Innovative Readiness Training program, Habitat for Humanity had to submit an approval packet that underwent legal, fiscal and operational scrutiny. The local nonprofit had to prove the IRT would not put the military in competition with local contractors, would be a fiscally responsible use of military training funds and the work performed would accurately exercise the military skills the Airmen would need to perform their military mission. The 183rd CES' wartime mission is to build structures in support of military operations.

Airmen with the 183rd Civil Engineer Squadron, 183rd Fighter Wing help construct a home with Habitat for Humanity through an Innovative Readiness Training project in Springfield, Oct. 13.

Legislation Expedites Access for Wounded Warrior Disability Benefits, Reduces Financial Strain on Recovering Service Members

Washington, D.C. - Congressmen Dave Loebsack and Glenn 'GT' Thompson (R-PA) have introduced H.R. 6445, the Recovering Service Members Disability Benefits Act, legislation to exempt disabled service members from the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) 5-month benefit waiting period.  H.R. 6445 was introduced with the support numerous military and veteran support groups, including the National Guard Association (NGAUS) and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).

"Our servicemembers who have been wounded defending our country should not have to wait for benefits or face financial hardship," said Loebsack.  "They should be able to focus on their recovery, not delays in their benefits.  This bill will help our wounded servicemembers and their families and honors the sacrifices they have made for our country.  We owe it to those who have  put their lives on the line protecting our freedoms to ensure that they are able to quickly access the benefits they need."

"We must offer the brave men and women, who have put the welfare of the Nation and their comrades before their own, the best possible support upon their return from service, to ensure both their speedy recovery and future health and wellbeing," said Thompson. "The Recovering Service Members Disability Benefits Act will exempt disabled service members that have qualified for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits from the program's 5-month waiting period, which will go a long way in helping our Wounded Warriors and their families become whole again, without bureaucratic delay or undue financial distress."

Currently, when service members are wounded in combat and sent back to the United States to recover, some are unable to keep their current job in their respective military branch or find alternative employment due to their injuries. While disabled service members are eligible to apply for SSDI benefits, the Social Security Administration Disability Trust Fund mandates a 5-month waiting period before any benefits can be provided.

H.R. 6445 amends title II of the Social Security Act to provide that the waiting period for disability insurance benefits shall not be applicable in the case of a recovering service member. , which is defined as a member of the Armed Forces who is recovering from an injury or illness incurred in the line of duty in a combat zone.

The  Recovering Service Members Disability Benefits Act does not expand eligibility for SSDI benefits or automatically approve individual requests, and all of the same protections used to prevent fraud and abuse of the program remain as defined under current law.

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Story and photo by Sgt. Courtney Selig

FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md.- With the number of soldiers decreasing overseas, the mission has shifted and welcomed a new type of team to ensure a seamless transition.

Team Bluetick, a Security Force Assistant Adviser Team from First Army Division East, and Occupational Coordination Center - Provincial Nuristan staff recently conducted a site survey of the Nuristan Provincial Capital, Parun.

During this visit, they assessed the current and planned infrastructure to determine the feasibility of co-locating Nuristan with the provincial headquarters in Parun.

Nuristan, known as the "Land of the Light," is treacherous with its sheer cliffs sheltered by the spurs of the Eastern Hindu Kush. Its terrain, comprised of nearly 99 percent mountains, leaves only the most minimal amount of flat land.

"Our mission is to train and advise our Afghanistan counterparts of Nuristan on how to coordinate both air and ground operations with all elements of the Afghanistan National Army, Afghanistan Border Police, Afghanistan National Police and their National Directorate of Security," said MAJ Lucas Morales, Team Operations and Communications Officer, First Army Division East, a native of Kellogg, Idaho.

Team Bluetick and other SFA ATs mentor and assist Afghan National Security Forces as they take the lead in conducting security operations. The SFA ATs are a key step in continuing efforts to improve ANSF capability and to help them assume responsibility for the security of Afghanistan.

"One of our significant challenges is assisting the OCC-P to overcome the significant geographical challenges of this province and improve their communications with the Provincial Capital of Parun," Morales said. All parties continue to explore options for a combined facility.

Morales said the relationship between Team Bluetick and OCC-P Nuristan is strong. He went on to say the OCC-P not only understands the SFA AT member's mission, but they welcome it since they have not had the assistance of an Advisor Team in the past.

"As with all good relationships, it helps both teams learn and expand to improve their capabilities," said Morales. "The biggest advantage is that the OCC-P wants to learn and wants to help their province and country."

The SFA ATs, teams of highly trained officers and noncommissioned officers, mentor and advise Afghan Army and Police units as they conduct security operations. SFA ATs began training in mid-January 2012 and deployed in Spring, 2012. A second iteration is planned this fall.

First Army Division East is responsible for the overall mission of mobilizing, training, validating, and deploying Reserve Component Soldiers around the globe and demobilizing them upon their return home. Last year, First Army Division East mobilized more than 20,000 Soldiers and demobilized almost 26,000.

URBANA, IL (09/26/2012)(readMedia)-- The Illinois National Guard and nearly a dozen other emergency response organizations participated in the Illinois Emergency Management Agency's (IEMA) emergency response drill Sept. 24 to 26 at Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System in Urbana.

The drill focused on the reception, staging, onward movement and integration (RSOI) process for deploying response assets to a notional tornado disaster in Muscatatuck, Ind.

In Illinois, the exercise tested the RSOI process of preparing, deploying, tracking and redeploying assets to and from another state to provide relief efforts during a major disaster.

Any resources deployed to support the operation will go through the RSOI process to be accounted for and credentialed, said Trent Thompson of Chatham, the chief of operations with IEMA. This is to ensure they are mission-capable and can properly support the response effort.

Thompson said IEMA has used other means of tracking assets in the past, but this is the first exercise that will test the RSOI's efficiency for joint civilian and military agency response efforts.

"We spent the last couple months developing the concept to a standard operating guide and this is our first effort to exercise it," said Thompson.

The exercise integrates several relief organizations to include the Illinois National Guard, and state and local law enforcement, fire rescue and other emergency response organizations and support assets said Thompson. He said with so many organizations supporting the incident, it is critical IEMA is able to process them all through one system at one centralized location versus one location for each agency.

For this operation, representatives from the major commands in the Illinois National Guard were assisting with the in-processing of personnel going through the RSOI site, said Sgt. 1st Class Mark Ballard of Athens, with the Illinois National Guard's Joint Force Headquarters in Springfield.

"This is the Guard's proof of concept, that we can work with the civilian agencies to manage that process of accounting for and pushing assets forward," said Ballard.

During the three-day exercise the Illinois National Guard worked with its civilian counterparts providing JRSOI support. The Illinois National Guard uses the RSOI process and was able to share and receive ideas and lessons learned with IEMA and other agencies during the exercise.

The Illinois National Guard is capable of assisting the in-processing, briefing and preparation of personnel and equipment prior to its deployment to an incident site or area of operation, said Col. Thomas Purple Jr., of Springfield, with the Illinois National Guard's Joint Force Headquarters in Springfield.

Purple said the RSOI process is key to the mission readiness of civilian and military assets in the case of a major emergency and the need for relief efforts.

"We have to go through this process before we send state personnel, civilian personnel or Soldiers to the incident site so we have good accountability," said Purple. "If we don't have this task done, there's the potential for losing sight of personnel or not knowing their capabilities."

Purple said this exercise better prepared military and civilian relief agencies how to effectively deploy in a joint effort in the case of a real world emergency.

"This is a unity of effort to make sure we're ready when the next disaster comes," said Purple.