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Deploying Soldier receives early holiday gift

January 6th, 2011 | Posted by Don Veitch in Military | Photos | Stories - (Comments Off)
LOWELL, Mass. – Spc. Vannek Pech, a radar operator with Battery E, (Target Acquisition Battery), 101st Field Artillery Regiment, Massachusetts National Guard, holds his newborn daughter Evelyn , with wife Leakhena Ian in the background, shortly after arriving at Lowell General Hospital here, Dec. 6 2010. Pech had just boarded a plane and was prepared to deploy when senior leaders pulled him off to rush him to be with his wife. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Don Veitch, Massachusetts National Guard Public Affairs)

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Don Veitch, Massachusetts National Guard

LOWELL, Mass. – Seventy deploying Soldiers filed from the bus that had brought them across the flight line to the waiting command group and the aircraft that would fly them from Hanscom Air Force Base to their mobilization site at Fort Bliss, Texas on Dec. 6, 2010.

The line snaked along with starts and stops as the Soldiers, apparently preoccupied with their own thoughts, hesitated briefly as they acknowledged the general and two command sergeants major waiting to wish them off as they reached the foot of the boarding stairs. (more…)

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Sheriff deputizes Mass Guard MPs

June 10th, 2010 | Posted by Don Veitch in Military | Stories - (Comments Off)

Brig. Gen. Sellars introduces Sheriff Cummings to the troops

Brig. Gen. Sellars introduces Sheriff Cummings to the troops
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CAMP EDWARDS, Mass. – Brig. Gen. Thomas J. Sellars, commander of the Massachusetts Army National Guard and Barnstable County Sheriff James M. Cummings address members of the 972nd Military Police Company prior to the formal ceremony in which the Soldiers were Deputized June 8, 2010. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Don Veitch, 65th Press Camp Headquarters)

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Don Veitch, 65th Press Camp Headquarters

CAMP EDWARDS, Mass. — More than 60 military police from the Massachusetts National Guard were deputized in an official swearing-in ceremony conducted at the Joint Visitors Information Bureau here, June 8, 2010.

The Soldiers from the 972nd Military Police Company, based out of Reading, are conducting law enforcement operations here in support of the eXportable Combat Training Capability, or XCTC, exercise and were sworn in by Barnstable County Sheriff James M. Cummings.

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Mass. Guard photographers play key role in securing federal disaster relief funds

April 16th, 2010 | Posted by Don Veitch in Military | Stories - (Comments Off)
Pumping the pond

LITTLETON, Mass. - Industrial pumps transfer thousands of gallons of water per minute from spectacle pond to the opposite side of Route 119 here to alleviate flooding concerns while Massachusetts Department of Transportation employees work to repair damage from a collapsed culvert, April 8, 2010. Littleton emergency response officials borrowed several of the pumps from as far as Michigan and Pennsylvania to supplement the Massachusetts equipment on hand. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Don Veitch, 65th Press Camp Headquarters)

Story by Army Sgt. 1st Class Don Veitch, 65th Press Camp Headquarters

MILFORD, Mass. – Massachusetts National Guard photographers working with state and federal disaster response officials provided invaluable supporting documentation for the Commonwealth’s formal request for federal emergency funding during the recent flooding in Massachusetts.

Soldiers from the 65th Press Camp Headquarters, 1st Civil Support Team and the Joint Force Headquarters – Public Affairs Office accompanied representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency during preliminary damage assessment missions and provided photographic documentation of flood damage throughout the hardest hit communities in the Commonwealth.

The photos are intended be used to backup written assessments, said Bill Winn, a project specialist with FEMA. The photos could also be used for planning purposes during repair and mitigation projects, said Winn.

The Soldiers were among the more than 1200 Massachusetts National Guard Soldiers and Airmen called to state-active-duty to help combat the widespread flooding in eastern Massachusetts. (more…)

This is what is right about America

December 22nd, 2009 | Posted by Don Veitch in Military | Stories - (Comments Off)
Massachusetts National Guardsmen (L-R) Staff Sgt. Edward Cole, headquarters Company, 25th Maneuver Enhanced Brigade, Spc. William Vargas, 379th Engineer Company and Staff Sgt. Dominic Whitamore, 101st Engineer Battalion, help pass in some lumber for the carpenters to frame in walls for Staff Sgt. Michael Downing’s new home, Dec 11, 2009. Homes for our Troops and more than 240 volunteers are building the house for Downing who was severely wounded in Afghanistan in 2008. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Don Veitch, Massachusetts National Guard Public Affairs)
Massachusetts National Guardsmen (L-R) Staff Sgt. Edward Cole, headquarters Company, 25th Maneuver Enhanced Brigade, Spc. William Vargas, 379th Engineer Company and Staff Sgt. Dominic Whitamore, 101st Engineer Battalion, help pass in some lumber for the carpenters to frame in walls for Staff Sgt. Michael Downing’s new home, Dec 11, 2009. Homes for our Troops and more than 240 volunteers are building the house for Downing who was severely wounded in Afghanistan in 2008. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Don Veitch, Massachusetts National Guard Public Affairs)

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Don Veitch, Massachusetts National Guard Public Affairs

MIDDLEBORO, Mass. – Nearly 100 Massachusetts National Guard members braved freezing temperatures to help one of their own at the construction site of his future home here, Dec. 11, 2009.

Staff Sgt. Michael Downing, who lost both his legs in an improvised explosive device attack in Afghanistan in 2008, was on hand to see the more than 240 volunteers as they helped out on the Homes for our Troops project.

Homes for our Troops is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to helping out service members who have returned home with severe injuries or disabilities since Sept 11, 2001, by providing no-cost housing to veterans. (more…)

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Military Police Take to the Skies

May 22nd, 2009 | Posted by Don Veitch in Military | Stories - (Comments Off)
1st Lt. Justin Prophet, 747th Military Police Co., conducts a pre-flight inspection of the RQ-11 Raven unmanned aerial vehicle during a flight demonstration at Devens, Mass., May 6, 2009. (U.S. Army photo: Staff Sgt. Don Veitch)

1st Lt. Justin Prophet, 747th Military Police Co., conducts a pre-flight inspection of the RQ-11 Raven unmanned aerial vehicle during a flight demonstration at Devens, Mass., May 6, 2009. (U.S. Army photo: Staff Sgt. Don Veitch)

DEVENS, Mass. – Six kilometers Northeast of Mosul, Iraq, Soldiers of the 747th Military Police Company, Massachusetts National Guard, speed towards their objective; the village of Olmush. The daily activities of the village unfold before the eyes of 747th, despite being 2 kilometers away. Shopkeepers hawking wares, sheppards tending flocks and insurgents placing improvised explosive devices are all clearly visible on 1st Lt. Justin Prophet’s laptop screen.

Prophet marks the location on his screen, radios in to report the suspicious activity and continues scanning the screen for additional danger. Moments after calling in the threat, Prophet maintains watch on the insurgents as the Quick Reaction Force moves in and neutralizes the IED and apprehends the suspects.

Olmush has recently been the focal point of a new round of insurgent attacks and the 747th has been sent in to investigate. With the threat to Prophet’s convoy removed, the MPs are clear to complete their mission.

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Teen Rekindles Spirit of Giving

November 22nd, 2008 | Posted by Don Veitch in Military | Stories - (Comments Off)
Brewster teen, Dylan DeSilva, kneels alongside some of the more than 500 care packages assembled during a Cape Cod Cares for our Troops drive held in Bourne, Mass.

Brewster teen, Dylan DeSilva, kneels alongside some of the more than 500 care packages assembled during a Cape Cod Cares for our Troops drive held in Bourne, Mass.

BOURNE, Mass. – As the Holidays fast approach most Americans focus on the economy and how to make ends meet. Sixteen-year-old Dylan DeSilva isn’t like most Americans. The Brewster native is focusing his efforts on giving even more to others this season. DeSilva is “giving even more,” because he’s been giving for over four years.

When DeSilva was twelve years old, he started Cape Cod Cares for Our Troops. His goal that year was, with the help of his family and friends, to send a few care packages to U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Recently more than thirty volunteers gathered in Bourne’s Trowbridge Tavern to assemble those care packages. Mountains of purchased and donated goods lined the tables and walls of the Tavern’s function hall. Affectionately referring to themselves as “Dylan’s Army,” the volunteers happily worked to spread hope and cheer to America’s finest.

Each package containing a Christmas stocking, greeting cards, candy bags, toiletries and various snacks is being mailed to a selected service member. The care packages are sent to Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines who might not otherwise receive a package. (more…)