Butts County Civic Visit

Georgia DoD welcomes civic group from Butts County

Story By: Capt. Bryant Wine| Public Affairs Office | Georgia Army National Guard

The Georgia Department of Defense hosted a civic group from Butts County, Georgia, at Clay National Guard Center in Marietta, Georgia, Oct. 7, 2021. U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Tom Carden, The Adjutant General of Georgia, led the group through a tour of the department’s headquarters.

Civic engagements promote relationships and improve collaboration between civil authorities and the Georgia DoD to ensure whole-of-state efforts in responding during times of need.

“Community engagement is critically important to our organization. Our citizens through their tax dollars fund what we do, “said Carden. “We have a responsibility to make sure that we tell every Airman’s and every Soldier’s story, and we do that by engaging with the communities that we support.”

The tour began with a visit to the memorial wall outside of Clay National Guard Center. The memorial wall is enshrined with plaques dedicated to 43 Georgia Army National Guard Soldiers that died while serving overseas during the Global War on Terrorism.

Next, Carden presented a civic brief to the group showcasing the readiness status, capabilities and activities of the Georgia DoD.

The tour ended with a visit to the headquarters’ joint operations center and briefing from U.S. Army Lt. Col. Pervis Brown, the officer-in-charge of the JOC. The JOC is the brain of the Georgia DoD that receives requests from civil agencies and tasks personnel from Georgia’s Air National Guard, Army National Guard and State Defense Force to complete those requests.

“The visit was very nice and I really liked the tour,” said Kristie Head-Stodghill, a staffing coordinator at Wellstar Sylvan Grove Hospital in Jackson, Georgia. “We were in a critical state at Wellstar and we needed help, and you guys [Georgia Department of Defense] came to help.

Butts County serves a vital role to the Georgia DoD. Jackson, the county seat of Butts County, is home to the Georgia Army National Guard’s Bravo Company, 148th Brigade Support Battalion, 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. The unit formed in 1902 as the Jackson Rifles.

Jackson, Georgia, also hosts one of 11 field maintenance shops for the Georgia Army National Guard. Here, mechanics provide maintenance and repairs on vehicles beyond the capabilities of units in surrounding areas.

“For the leaders of Butts County to understand what we do and how they factor in terms of workforce development and supporting local units is critically important to our success,” said Carden. “If we’re successful in our relationship with Butts County, our chances of being successful across the state goes up exponentially.”

By Command Sgt. Major Jeff Logan State Command Sgt. Major Georgia Army National Guard

NCO Notepad

Words of wisdom from one to another

As the State Command Sergeant Major, I was asked to talk about two different areas, Readiness and taking care of Soldiers. For me, those two topics go hand in hand. While visiting Soldiers, different issues are brought to my attention regarding bonuses, SLRP,

Promotion, and pay. These every-day concerns ultimately impact retention and retention, in turn, impacts readiness. In order for Soldiers to keep a continued faith in the organization, it is very important that we as leaders address these issues and find a way to solve them. Each one of our Soldiers came into the Georgia Army National Guard with a goal, it is our job to help provide a pathway of success to help them meet their goals. As leaders, we must keep the care of our Soldiers as a primary mission and in turn the retention and success will follow. When we talk about readiness as a single element, this is very broad and covers many different areas. There are four areas that falls under the umbrella of readiness and they are personnel, equipment on hand, supply/ maintenance, and training. However, the main reason for readiness is to have each Soldier ready and able to deploy to a combat environment and accomplish its mission. As an organization, these areas are normally the focal points of drill weekends or during the unit’s annual training. With mindfulness centered around readiness and taking care of Soldiers, we can keep a portion of the Soldier’s creed in the forefront of our minds at all times, “My two basic responsibilities will always be uppermost in my mind: accomplishment of my mission and the welfare of my Soldiers.”

“My two basic responsibilities will always be uppermost in my mind: accomplishment of my mission and the welfare of my Soldiers.”