Congratulations to the soldiers of OSUT class 20-37 (ARMA3) for successful completion of training! These soldiers have been awarded the Army Service Ribbon and have earned the right to be full active members of their squad and the unit! This is merely the first step in your career here at 3rdID, we look forward to your continued success! Hooah

Graduates:

Private First Class Brandon Perez 
Private Second Class Jason Samuels  
Private Second Class Mac Blaser  

68W Combat Medic School is designed to prepare future combat lifesavers, platoon medics, and MEDEVAC personnel. By graduation, you will be familiar with the intricacies of ACE Medical. You will learn to use all of the medical equipment available to you, and you will learn the difference between various injuries and their treatments. Candidates complete a written test, movement under fire, TCCC patient assessment, patient extraction and evacuation techniques, bleeding control, triage, basic and advanced treatments, radio communications, and LZ establishment.

The following Soldiers have successfully completed 68W Medic School Class 20-01:

Graduates:

Specialist Brendan Moose 
Specialist Luke VanDenburgh 
Private First Class Steve Klein 

Cadre:

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Curtis Brennan
Warrant Officer 1 Garry Beaudoin

Instructors:

Sergeant Christoph Brock

Gold Star Mother’s Day began in the United States in 1936. Every last Sunday of September since then when a service member dies while on duty a Gold Star lapel button is issued to the surviving family members of the fallen service member. This allowed members of the fallen’s community to know the price their family had paid for service to their country.

When a son or daughter of a parent joins the US Armed Forces during times of hostilities their mother receives a service flag with a blue star. In the event their child dies in the line of duty a gold star is given to the mother of the fallen and that flag can be displayed to show the service and sacrifice of that family. 

There are many ways a fallen’s family can reach out to the community of fellow fallen families during the last Sunday of September. They can attend official gatherings at military installations or veteran organizations such as the American Legion. This is an important opportunity for many families to grieve and find solace in the child’s sacrifice to their country.

Congratulations to the soldiers of Land Navigation Course class 20-03 (ARMA3) for successful completion of Land Navigation training! The Land Navigation course is designed teach the fundamentals of basic land navigating skills. This course assists Soldiers in Infantry and non-Infantry fitted rolls to understand the techniques required to land navigate. Students learn navigating from one point on the ground to another point individually. 

Graduates:

Specialist Alex Cruze
Specialist Brendan Moose
Private First Class Clifford Simpkins
Private Second Class Jorge Gomez

Instructors:

Second Lieutenant Bailey Lambert

The Parachutist Badge, also commonly referred to as "Jump Wings" or "Silver Wings" is a military badge of the United States Armed Forces awarded to members awarded to U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy.

Congratulations to the class of 20-03 (ARMA3) for completing Airborne School in conjunction with the 173rd Airborne Brigade. Soldiers who have completed the school for the first time shall be awarded their Basic Parachutist Badge. Great job to everyone who attended. Hooah!

Graduates:

Second Lieutenant Bailey Lambert 
Sergeant Christoph Brock 
Corporal Eric Abel 
Corporal Giancarlo Tucci 
Specialist Anthony Sam 
Specialist Michael Luckie 
Specialist Kyle Skitz 
Private Second Class Roger Mullins 

173rd Airborne Instructors:

Second Lieutenant Austin Daniel
Warrant Officer 2 Rhett Loughran
Staff Sergeant Laia Arrieta
Sergeant Luke Storey

Congratulations to the soldiers of OSUT class 20-36 (ARMA3) for successful completion of training! These soldiers have been awarded the Army Service Ribbon and have earned the right to be full active members of their squad and the unit! This is merely the first step in your career here at 3rdID, we look forward to your continued success! Hooah

Graduates:

Private Second Class Jorge Gomez  

National POW/MIA Recognition Day is held on the third Friday of September every year since its indoctrination in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter. This event is usually held at the Pentagon and holds members of every branch with high ranking officials present as well as lower enlisted. While the most formal event is held at the Pentagon, POW/MIA Recognition Day is often observed across the country as well as at foreign based military installations.

According to DPAA (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency) the most recent MIA’s are from 1986 in Libya through Operation Iraqi Freedom. Three service members, one USAF and two others Navy, and three contractors are still unaccounted for. There are many more missing from older wars such as Korea and Vietnam while the bulk of the missing are still from WWII.

If you would like to know more about POW/MIA Recognition Day I have left a link below from the official website of the organization in charge.

https://www.dpaa.mil/

Image credit: US Air Force

Today the United States Air Force marks its anniversary, celebrating 73 years of service to our nation.

On this date in 1947, the Air Force was founded as a branch of the Department of Defense under the National Security Act.

But the roots of American military aviation go back to the beginning of the 20th century. On August 1, 1907, the U.S. Army Signal Corps established the Aeronautical Division, the nation’s first powered aircraft unit. Initially tasked with observation and reconnaissance missions, further flight testing by the unit would reveal the tactical benefits of air power.

American aviators would get a baptism of fire soon after, joining the Allies in World War I, and dueling against some of the Central Powers’ greatest aces. The experiences of these battle-hardened pilots and crew would lead to on-going development of military aviation.

It was during World War II that U.S. Army Air Forces would reveal the strategic power of military aviation. Allied bombing campaigns over occupied Europe and Japan brought our country’s enemies to their knees, destroying their capability to wage war against the free peoples of the world.

This legacy, together with the developments of jet aircraft and ballistic missiles, set the stage for the United States Air Force’s founding in the early days of the Cold War..

Established as an independent branch of the Armed Services so many decades ago, our nation’s Airmen continue to project defensive and offensive air power around the globe.

Now the second largest military service branch, the U.S. Air Force consists of over 320,000 active duty Airmen, with nearly 175,000 additional personnel serving in the Air Force Reserves and Air National Guard. With over 5,300 active military aircraft, and more than 400 intercontinental ballistic missiles, these fighting men and women stand ready to face the evolving challenges of the 21st century.