The House bill passed July 10 includes projects Tanner requested for Fort Campbell facility improvements and to push for construction of a veterans’ nursing home in Montgomery County.

“Passage of the Senate bill gets us another step closer to making these crucial investments at Fort Campbell and to make the VA understand what many of us have long known: that Middle Tennessee veterans deserve a nursing home in Montgomery County,” Congressman Tanner said. “We will continue following the legislative process and encourage the conference committee to realize why these are important commitments.”

Support for a Veterans’ Nursing Home in Montgomery County

While Middle Tennesseans have long recognized the need for a long-term care facility in Montgomery County, the Department of Veterans Affairs currently ranks the 140-bed home 70th on its priority list.

The House bill includes language instructing the VA to more closely study the needs of Middle Tennessee veterans, which will make it clear the home should be a top priority, Tanner said.

VA construction projects are decided at the discretion of the VA and cannot be directly funded by Congress. The instructive language drafted by Congressman Tanner and included in the House bill sends the strong statement that Congress sees a need for the project.

Physical Fitness Center, Fort Campbell

The House and Senate bills both recommend $900,000 to construct a 44,347-square foot Army Standard Physical Fitness Center to serve family members on the south side of Fort Campbell Army Base. Fort Campbell’s current conditioning and training facilities do not adequately meet the community’s needs.

Chapel and Multi-Purpose Complex, Fort Campbell

This $14.4 million investment, included in both the House and Senate bills, calls for construction of a 1,200-seat chapel and family-life multi-purpose facility important for worship services, large gatherings and classroom education. Current facilities were first constructed during World War II and cannot adequately meet the needs of the families on base today.

In accordance with the House’s appropriations-transparency guidelines, Congressman Tanner has posted detailed information about these requests on his Web site, www.house.gov/tanner.

About Congressman John Tanner

Tanner represents the 8th Congressional District in West and Middle Tennessee. Co-founder of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats, Tanner serves on the Ways and Means Committee, where he chairs the Social Security Subcommittee, and on the Foreign Affairs Committee. A veteran of the U.S. Navy and the Tennessee Army National Guard, Tanner chairs the U.S. delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and is serving as NATO PA President.

Operation Rising Star is an American Idol style singing competition which is hosted by the United States Army Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command (MWR),  and Army Entertainment. The Semi-finals are being held at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, until November 21st.

Thea had this to say:

I need your help! I made the top 6 according to the voting site and now it is up to the public to pick who the top 3 are. The judges liked all of us, so the public will be the deciding factor. Today is the voting!

They are wanting the top 6 this morning to practice in case we make the top 3. So I am getting ready to leave.

Clarksville is a big city. Let’s bring this hometown girl back with the title of Operation Rising Star! I know Clarksville can do it, if they knew.

Thanks for all your help and whatever you can do!!

The second day… First of all, from this day out I will refer to Operation Rising Star as ORS. Breaking it down a little. Whew! What a day.  It was suppose to rain but it held off and the sun shined through.  We started our day going through some vocal group warm ups, learning different technics.  We were able to get two of our group songs down for the show. We are above the curve, we were told, and so he gave us a little more time this morning to sleep in.  It was a late night.

After our practices on the group numbers we went to eat and then left for Ft. Myers.  On the way there we passed the Pentagon and saw the Airforce memorial, the Washington memorial (from afar) and the Arlington Cemetary.  I also got a call from Mayor Piper’s office saying the Mr. Piper requested me by name to sing the National Anthem for the Volunteer ceremony that will be going on November 19th, my birthday.  I am in VA so I wouldn’t be able to make it. I told her to please keep my name for any future events. She said she would. Anyway, when we arrived at the home of the Army Band, we went into a room with the band that will be playing for our competition.  They are DR, short for Down Range.  Great group of talented individuals.  You have to be, to be in this band!

We went over our solo numbers if we make the top 6.  This song was broken down to 90 seconds.  All of our songs that we sing alone will have to be broken down except for the winner.  I was given my song and it is “How do I live”.  There is still some tweaking we need to do but all in all I think it will sound good.  I want to add some brass or horns into the music, so I will see if that can be done on Thursday.  I will only be singing this song if I get enough votes from Ft. Campbell, Clarksville , fans, friends and family around the world.  If not, then I will still be here but only do group numbers.  But we aren’t going to focus on the “if not”! I know you will all come through for me with your votes.  You believe in me or I wouldn’t be here!

By the time we all finished our numbers it was about 5 pm and the 6 contestants that still needed to tape their accapella version had not been done.  So we waited for them to finish their tapings.  Once that was done it was around 7 and we headed to the restaurant to eat.  We were all tired and acting crazy.  Some laughing uncontrolably and some just laying their head down trying to sleep.

Today we are going to be going over the two songs and working on the 3rd one.  So, I am going to go ahead and end now and start listening to some music, getting more familiar with it.

Please remember that you need to vote on the 15th at 8 pm eastern and you only have two hours to do so.  If you want to vote more than once you can but you have to go through the whole process of voting again. I don’t think there is an easier way.  Voting will be on this website and you can also view the show at www.oprisingstar.com or if you would like to see it on t.v. the Sportsman Lodge will be having a viewing there with a buffet.

“I believe I can fly. I believe I can touch the sky. I think about it every night and day!”  Thank you for your support and helping me reach the stars. I have always felt that what ever you do, when done with the right heart, it will come back to you. Plus just doing something to help another smile is very rewarding in itself.  Blessings…

The third day… I woke up to hearing the rain outside and it was cold! What a change in the temperature. We were able to sleep in a little longer because of the day before, which was nice. I did some warm ups in my room and of course was keeping you up to date with how day 2 went.

Yesterday we started off going straight to rehearsals and singing from 9-11:30.  We went over our group songs, even did a little contest on which group of 6 contestants sold the show for one of the songs we are doing, “Party in the U.S.A.”  It really is going to be entertaining for y’all to watch.  My group didn’t win that time due to the meshing and not really connecting with what we were doing with our movements but we won with the vocals. The second time we did it, my group won.

We then took our lunch break and ate where we will be eating every lunch and dinner, Vinny’s. I believe we will be made of cheese when we leave here.  It is an Italian restaurant. Very good food but it doesn’t help if we are trying to fit in our performance clothes!  It’s funny, one of the girls has a bottomless pit for eating.  She just doesn’t seem to get full. So when I was done with my food and I still had some left on the plate she wanted to know if I wanted it. I gave it to her and she ate and kept eating.  It’s been like this almost every night.  So, last night she said that her clothes felt like they were getting a little tight and I said, “You want some more of my food?” She gasped and asked if we were trying to make her fat by offering her our food. We all laughed.  I wasn’t thinking that. I just thought she was still hungry. Some people can eat like that and still remain thin.  Must be nice! Not so with me!!

Another contestant offered everyone a throat lozenger in rehearsals and Joey, our vocal coach, gasped and said that he doesn’t want to see us singing with that in our mouth because when we take a breath the lozenger could be sucked down and we could choke.  So the joke from then on out was when someone is doing good, “Do you want a throat lozenger?”

After lunch we came back to the hotel and had to get the 6 outfits that we will be performing in.  We went back to the theatre and picked a row to place each outfit on a seat, along with shoes, for the director to see.  He called each person out to go over the outfits.  When he called me, he looked at my clothes and wanted to know what I was singing and then would point to an outfit and say, “You’ll wear that….you’ll wear that.”  So, that was cool being directed on what I would wear for the show if I move on to sing the songs that I am singing.

We then rehearsed from 1-5:00 pm.  It was a long day of singing.  Afterward I needed help with the song I will be singing if I make it to the top 6 and Joey helped me with that for about 10 minutes.  Everyone was waiting in the van to go eat dinner while Joey got the arrangement together.  I recorded it on my iPhone and then we were off to eat and then get back to the hotel.

Every night I come in here and get ready for bed and watch HBO.  Last night I watched some of the CMA’s. Gotta love Taylor Swift and her innocense. She is so refreshing.  It would be good to have an older singer singing songs about “When your 40″.  Us women need songs we can identify to now, in the age we are in and the song being sung by someone that looks like they can experience it. I have had a lot of women coming up to me saying that they cannot relate to a song about them being sung by a 20 year old who probably has never experienced it. They don’t want to look back at 15 and wishing they were there again.  There is life after 15, after 25, after 35, after 50.  Who wants to write a song with me?

Anyway, we are on day 4 now. So be watching for my daily post tomorrow.  Busy day ahead and I gotta get going.  Have a great day.

Remember, voting to get me to the top 6 will begin on the 15th at 8pm eastern for 2 hours.  Go to www.oprisingstar.com and click on VOTE.  You will be able to vote more than once but there is a process that you will have to start over with.  Thank you for taken an active role in achieving my dream! Blessings

The fourth day… Yesterday was back to the normal schedule.  We ate the hotels breakfast and headed back to the theatre.  It was another cold, rainy day.  I am sure it didn’t help with what I have now.  A couple of contestants had a fever and some drainage. It went away after two days.  I don’t have the fever but I have the drainage.  I have been real careful with where I put my hands and using sanitizer.  Don’t know if this was something from being in a room with the heat on for the first time the other night.  That is when I woke up with a sore throat.

Anyway, my day was full of choreography.  It is going to be sooooo good.  We all have great harmony.  We worked on our first group performance on stage all morning until lunch.  After that wonderful italian restaurant we went to Ft. Myers again.  It is something to be inside the building that is home to the Army Band.  You see men and women walking out to go play at a service at Arlington.  While I was sitting in the foyer waiting for my turn to go in and rehearse my song with the band, I could see the cemetary.  I mean, I would only have to walk outside the building and maybe 500 feet and I am there.  That is how close it is.  Arlington takes your breath away. Seeing all the brave men and women who have served our country finishing their time on this earth here. It is just speechless.

I had a good practice to go over a part that Joey and I changed to allow me to sing higher.  This is for the day 2 song if I make the top 6. I will be singing, “How do I live”.  My first song will be what I sang to win the installation, “Just a Dream”. We had to send in that performance. Whatever was sent in for them to judge is what we are singing.  The Band sounds so good.  Now with this first song, this is the song that the judges have already seen and what made them choose the top 12.  So, it won’t be a judgement of why did I pick that song.

Yesterday after I practiced I got some really good feedback and advice from one of the back up singers with the Down Range band. So, hopefully I will make the top 6 and you can see what I do with it!

Remember, voting begins at 8 pm eastern, November 15th on www.oprisingstar.com and click on VOTE.  You will have 2 hours. You can vote more than once also.  I need your votes.  50% of them will either move me up or out. The other 50% is the judges. You can also go to the Sportsman Lodge to view it on t.v.  They will have the Pentagon Channel there.

Thank you for all you are doing to support your local resident representing Ft. Campbell!!

The fifth day… Yesterday we started off around 10:45 but our van didn’t come until 11:30.  So we had some time in the lobby area of the hotel to visit and talk about our performances with each other.  We can honestly say that whoever wins, we will not be saying, “How did he/she win this?”  Whoever wins we will understand and be thrilled for them.

We went to eat first and I went to the grocery store to get some medicine to get over this sinus drainage cold thing I got going on. I just don’t understand why I come all this way and I get a cold the day before I am to sing! Why? Why? Why?  I am still going to stand up and do my very best and your votes will pull me through, if the judges are pulling too. I can still sing but it might sound a little nasally. I will sound more like Willie Nelson..:) NOT!! Just watch to see what a cold does and then comment!

We got to the COLD theatre around 1 pm and started rehearsing with the whole show. Group 1 singing “Party in the USA” and then the first contestant singing, etc…  Then group 2 (my group) getting up and singing and doing our solo parts.  After 4 hours of doing that, we then went to eat at where?…… VINNY’S and then we went back to the theatre and practice the whole thing on stage.  Went over it a couple of times and one of the men who help cast for America’s Got Talent and our Contest was sitting in the judges seats and watching.  He gave us all good advice.

After that was done we all did some relaxing exercises with Joey, our Vocal Coach, and then came back to the hotel.  It was around 9:30 pm when I put my head on the pillow.  I woke up at 3 a.m. and then fell back to sleep, had some nightmares and now I am up at 7 a.m. filling my nose with Afrin and Salin sprays, trying to clear this out.

Anyway, y’all have a great day and be praying for my voice and performance.  I want to bring this song across to everyone sitting in listening ear shot. I hope you enjoy the performance and vote for me!

Voting begins tomorrow, Sunday, at 8:30 pm-11:30 pm Central for 2 hours. The broadcast can be seen at 7 pm central on the pentagon website: www.pentagonchannel.mil clicking on steaming live or if you see Operation Rising Star, click there. Voting is done on www.oprisingstar.com clicking on VOTE then picking me.

The prize is part of a nationwide blitz, with one lucky winner in each of 101 cities. “Some folks don’t believe that we are “for real” or that we really give away real big checks” said Dave Sayer, the Prize Patrol Chief who appears in the company’s TV commercials. “All across the country we’re awarding 101 “Reality Checks” of $10,000 each – We are giving away over a million dollars – to show that winning at Publishers Clearing House and pch.com is a definite reality.”

PCH Prize Patrol Deputy Al Guerra holds one of the 101 Reality Checks

With so much geography to cover in the space of a few days, Publishers Clearing House employees Al Guerra and Sheryl Schlameuss were part of a group of 60 deputized to help deliver scores of prizes from coast to coast. This was to be their third delivery in the last few days. They had already awarded prizes in Columbus IN, and Lebanon Junction KY.

In each case, there was a chance that the person who won would not be home. If that occurred the Prize Patrol deputies would endeavor to track the winner down. ” We interview the winners neighbors and ascertain where the person was and when they would return. If the person was at work the prize patrol would make the delivery there.” said Al Guerra.  “Workplace deliveries are so exciting, there are usually so many people around” said Sheryl Schlameuss, “On one delivery the winner was a teacher, and the principal allowed us to make the delivery at the school in front of her students, it was a lot of fun!”

Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol Deputy Al Guerra attempting to notify Cindy Milliron of her prize

We arrived at the address for Mrs Milliron, and moved up to the door to award the prize. It turned out that she wasn’t home, and after getting our hopes up for a workplace delivery, we found out from a her landlord Gary R. Lehman that she had recently relocated when her husband a military contractor was transferred from Fort Campbell, KY to Fort Rucker, AL.

The Prize patrol deputies were able to reach her via telephone and made the official notification via telephone.

Cindy Milliron being notified by phone that she won $10,000 from Publishers Clearing House

This week’s winners are still eligible to win in the much bigger multi-million dollar giveaways. Consumers can enter by responding to company mailings, or by going online to their increasingly popular website, pch.com where prizes are awarded each day.

About Publishers Clearing House

Publishers Clearing House is a multi-channel direct marketer of magazine subscriptions and merchandise. They were founded in Port Washington NY in 1953. Its name has become synonymous with the sweepstakes and prizes it has used since 1967 to draw attention to the “unbeatable” deals and values offered in their colorful mailings. Nearly half of Publishers Clearing House profits are donated to charitable causes ranging from Social Services to the Environment.

During WWII Fort Campbell served as a prisoner of war camp, and housed a number of German Prisoners. According to Fort Campbell:

Victory in North Africa in 1942 netted an unplanned capture of a quarter-million German soldiers, mostly from the famed Africa-Corps. Prisoners held at Fort Campbell were segregated between three stockades by rank and by Nazi vs. Anti-Nazi sympathies. Many German officers and NCOs were utilized in post support details, while many of the enlisted German soldiers were available for hire on a daily basis to local farmers and dairies.

During the war five of the German soldiers died while being held at Fort Campbell.

• Eugen Ulrich (Dec. 3, 1944)
• Kurt Franke (Jan. 2, 1945)
• Herbert Lindner (Jan. 11, 1945)
• Josef Reidinger (Jan 22, 1945)
• Gunter Cassens (Sept 15, 1945)

After the war several of the former Fort Campbell POW’s immigrated to the U.S., And returned to Clarksville. Some would later became Edelweiss Club members. They are all now deceased, but their widows still live in the area.

Boy Scout Troop 525

As an ongoing project, Boy Scout Troop 525 assists the Edelweiss Club with maintaining the cemetary. They keep the grass mowed, pick up leaves and other debris, and twice a year mulch the cemetery. This year they also had to reset and level the grave markers, and give them a much needed cleaning.

Editor’s Note: Clarksville Online held this story for publication on Veterans Day.

When we arrived we were given a tour of the stage and was able to walk on it.  It is at an angle, so it will be something to get use to when it is time to do our choreography. The reason for the design is to let the audience get a wider view.   The set looks awesome and it is a beautiful theatre.

After our tour, we all sat in our chairs and started with our morning group vocal warm up.  It was then that we were told not to sing in the morning before we did our warm up.  To let our voices rest.  Also, not to talk in the evening after our vocals have been used. (So thankful for texting) It was a pleasant surprise to me how well we sounded as a group!  We sound awesome. It is going to be a great show!

Our practice lasted until noon and then we went to have lunch at Vinny’s restaurant. It was a great time of fellowship with each other.  I can see all of us getting close and wanting nothing but the best for the other.  Personally, Andrea Griffith and I have been hanging together. She has been in the military for 14 months and a proud mother of a gifted daughter who will be graduating high school at the age of 16!  She also has a son, I believe.  Still learning about each other.  I have memorized everyone’s names to faces.  That is something that always seem to be a challenge for me.  Not so in this competition.

After lunch, it was time for the interviews for the 6 contestants that were chosen to go first.  I was one of them. My time didn’t come till the end.  They didn’t want to keep moving the camera up and down, so they did two short people first and then when the next 2 were tall, they switched me to be last so they wouldn’t have to readjust.  I totally understand.  I was pretty nervous with the interview.  But all in all, when they edit it, it will look and sound good.

Once that was done, it was time for the accapella songs of the 6.  I went ahead and sang one of my favorite songs by Martina McBride.

During this time, the vocal coach wanted to hear what we sounded like without music and to get our range.  He would give us tips that we needed to use to become better.  With my audition he said that I was very smart with my vocals.  Everyone that has heard me knows I have this thing I do at the end of my notes.  I don’t know what you would call it. He said he loved that and when he would be wanting to hear it, it was like a teaser and I would give it to him when he would start thinking about it.  He also said that hearing my voice I have no pitch problems, that the songs I picked to sing are the right choice. That I was smart in my song selection.  The only thing he heard was when I hit the high note. He didn’t want me to look like I was straining. So I need to watch myself and practice dropping my jaw.  Not bad.  I was a nervous wreck wondering what he was going to say.  If it was going to be a lot of bad things wrong.

While we were waiting for everyone to get finished with their interview and song, it was a time to get off by yourself and listen to music or gather around each other and play the guitar and hear talent!  It was awesome.  Like I said earlier, everyone is talented in their own way and to be honest, we are all winners here.  What did the vocal coach say? We could very well be the Daughtrey’s of the world. (Not in those exact words) Remember him from American Idol? He didn’t win but he is living his dream in a big way now!

It was a very productive day and I can’t wait for this morning to start!  The other 6 will be doing their interviews and song, while we read, practice or whatever is in store for us.  This is one of the BEST things that has ever happened to me and like my Momma said in a text to me this morning quoting Richard Bach:

“No matter how qualified or deserving we are, we will never reach a better life until we can imagine it for ourselves and allow ourselves to have it.”

Remember, voting is done at www.oprisingstar.com and you click on VOTE starting November 15th at 8pm eastern for two hours.  You can vote more than once but remember, you have to go through the whole process to vote each time. Thank you for believing in me and my dream! I do!!

Narowski will speak to the Soldiers of the 106th Transportation Battalion and 129th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 101st Sustainment Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, Thursday and Friday. She will also conduct a special high-risk behavior presentation to the teen-agers of the Soldiers assigned to the “Lifeliners” Brigade on Saturday.

Kelly Narowski

Narowski, then 25, was injured in an automobile accident in 1998, after she was thrown from the jeep she was driving. She was driving a friend home who had drank too much that afternoon, but Narowski did not wear her seatbelt.

The accident left her paralyzed from the chest down. Since then, she has traveled the country talking to the public about the dangers of high-risk behavior behind the wheel, including drinking and driving, and texting while driving.

She first spoke to Soldiers of the “Lifeliners” Brigade this past September during a Brigade-level Safety day.

The case involves an Air Force staff sergeant who is appealing his conviction for using marijuana and cocaine and possessing marijuana. At the conclusion of his court-martial, Staff Sgt. James Cowgill was sentenced to two months confinement, a reduction in pay grade to E-1 and a bad conduct discharge.

The issue before the court is whether the military judge improperly denied Cowgill’s motion to suppress all evidence seized from his house.

The court’s Fort Campbell visit is part of an Outreach Program. Although most of the court’s hearings are held in Washington, D.C., the court also travels on occasion and hears appeals at military installations, law schools and other public facilities around the country.

The goal of the Outreach Project is to educate the public on the legal process in the military, while giving Americans a chance to see and experience high-level appellate proceedings on criminal cases involving such topics as constitutional law, criminal law, evidence, criminal procedure, ethics, administrative law and national security law.

Courts-martial, the judicial proceedings conducted by the armed forces for service members accused of crimes, have been used in the U.S. since they were first authorized by the Continental Congress in 1775. However, until the Uniform Code of Military Justice was enacted in 1950, the appellate processes for service members convicted by courts-martial were very limited compared to the civilian appellate process. This changed in 1950 when appellate courts were first established by Articles 66 and 67 of the UCMJ. The UCMJ brought consistency and unity to the different services’ military justice systems, as well greatly expanded the legal rights of Soldiers.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces passes judgment on appeals over service members subject to the UCMJ. The first step in the appellate process is the individual service’s Court of Criminal Appeals.

The objective of the training is to exercise company commanders’ abilities to plan, integrate and control critical enablers into their mounted and dismounted maneuver operations.

The purpose of this type of training is to stress company commanders demonstrating proficiency in direct and indirect fire planning, rehearsals, back briefs, and execution of combined arms operations. Company commanders will become confident in troop leading procedures, mounted and dismounted maneuver, as well as, planning and integration of combat enablers such as combat observation lasing teams.

The Soldiers are conducting the training in order to provide them with pertinent realistic training to prepare them for possible contingency operations.

A welcome home ceremony is scheduled for 7 p.m. honoring members of the 159th Combat Aviation Brigade.

159 CAB has been on a 12-month deployment to Afghanistan. The remainder of the unit is scheduled to return by the end of the year.

The first is for our community economic preparedness by the Department of Economic and Community Development, as a certified member of the Three-Star Program. This initiative, a Five-Year Asset-Based Strategic Plan, recognizes the importance of successful community development and its impact on sustaining economic growth. Montgomery County is certified as a Benchmark Level III recipient. This designation brings grant opportunities as well as reductions in the local match for the Fast Track Grants.

Two others awards received recently were from the Greater Nashville Regional Council. The first was an Economic Development Award for the County’s commitment and efforts that helped bring Hemlock Semiconductor, LLC to the County’s mega-site. This project will have significant economic impact and the County worked hard with many entities to make this project come to fruition. Second is a Public Facilities award for the creation of Civic Hall in Veterans’ Plaza. This multipurpose event space was much needed for Montgomery County and serves as a source of revenue for the County.

We are very proud of these recent accomplishments and continue to work hard for the citizens of Montgomery County!

Former District 18 Commissioner Mark Kelly

For those who may not already know, at the September County Commission meeting, commissioners appointed Glen Demorest to fill the District 18 seat. The seat was vacated by Mark Kelly, who is moving out of the district.

Demorest is a Principal Mission Planning Support Engineer at Fort Campbell and will serve in the District 18 seat until the election in August when he must run for reelection.

You may reach him at 931-647-3784 or by email at .

Please join me in welcoming Commissioner Demorest to the Commission and thank you for your interest in staying updated on the news of Montgomery County Government.

Sincerely,
Carolyn Bowers
County Mayor

About Carolyn Bowers

Montgomery County's Mayor Carolyn Bowers

Prior to becoming Mayor of Montgomery County, Mayor Bowers served two terms as County Trustee. As Trustee, she earned twenty million dollars through prudent investment of idle county funds. Mayor Bowers has utilized integrated accounting for all County departments by implementation of the MUNIS® system. MUNIS® integrates the mass of county accounting data making it possible to continuously monitor the budget and maximize efficiency for all users.

Approximately 3,700 Soldiers will deploy as part of the United States’ commitment to maintain the level of forces necessary to provide sufficient military capability for the NATO-International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to further improve security and stability operations.

“The Bastogne Soldiers of our 1st BCT have been preparing for several months for their upcoming deployment to Afghanistan in anticipation of this formal announcement,” said Maj. Gen. John F. Campbell, 101st Abn. Div. (AASLT) commanding general. “They continue to train hard and I have no doubt they will be prepared to face the challenges of the tough fight in Afghanistan. They will replace a brigade combat team currently deployed in Eastern Afghanistan as part of a scheduled rotation of forces this spring approximately the same time our division headquarters deploys next year.” The deployments of 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101 Combat Aviation Brigade and the headquarters of the 101st Abn. Div. were previously announced.

Fort Campbell

A Cavalry tradition, the spur ride will include a variety of events aimed at testing the abilities of cavalry Soldiers to “earn their spurs,” including weapons ranges, ruck marches and an obstacle course.

During the Wednesday portion of the event, spouses from the squadron will conduct a “Spouse’s Spur Ride” which will include many of the same rigorous tests faced by their soldiers.

Media are welcome to attend any portion of, or all of the spur ride events.

For more information call Staff Sgt. Jimmy Norris, 3rd Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs, at 931-494-3548.

This event is designed to provide information and updates regarding Retiree benefits and to thank Retirees for their service to the nation. Representatives from more than 20 organizations that support Retirees will be available for one-on-one assistance. Additionally, all military Retirees attending will receive a special Retiree Commendation Package upon registration. Refreshments will be provided.

Retirees with military identification cards or a post decal may enter post at any gate. Visitors to the installation with neither must obtain a one-day pass at Gate 4. Valid driver license, registration and proof
of insurance is required for all vehicles to receive a pass.

For more information call 270-798-5280/3310.

Fort Campbell

A welcome home ceremony is scheduled for 2:15 a.m. Sunday honoring members of the 159th Combat Aviation Brigade.

159 CAB has been on a 12-month deployment to Afghanistan. The remainder of the unit is scheduled to return by the end of the year.