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  • A Legend Retires

    The first non-prior female to enlist in the Alabama Air National Guard, Senior Master Sgt. Judy Holland, retired on June 9 after 40 years of honorable service.Holland began her career in the Air National Guard on Jan. 28, 1972."I can't believe how fast 40 years have gone by. It seems like a couple

  • Change of Command, 117th Air Refueling Wing

    The 117th Air Refueling Wing hosted a Change of Command ceremony here on April 14. Many special guests and dignitaries were in attendance. Among these guests were the Adjutant General for the Alabama National Guard Major General Perry G. Smith, Alabama State Representative the Honorable Dickie Drake

  • 106th Air Refueling Squadron Celebrates 90 Years of Service

    The 106th Air Refueling Squadron of the Alabama Air National Guard will celebrate its 90th Anniversary here on Saturday.Established on January 21, 1922, the 106th Air Refueling Squadron has been actively involved in overseas campaigns, maintaining national security and supporting humanitarian relief

  • Purple Heart Found After Storm

    A Purple Heart was found in the storm debris two weeks after the April 2011 tornadoes in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The Purple Heart is believed to have been awarded to Pfc. Amos H. McDonald, an Army Soldier who was killed in action shortly after the Normandy invasion in 1944. Volunteers found the medal in

  • Deployment Processing Center

    On July 7 the 117th Logistics Readiness Squadron personnel began moving into the new 8,000 square feet deployment processing center on base.The facility is one of the first of its kind in the Air National Guard and was completed by Cooley Construction from Oklahoma.The deployment processing center

  • Small Air Terminal

    The 117th Air Refueling Wing has a new section on base. We received the manning for this section in April of 2008. As of this writing, it is fully manned plus one, thanks to a superior recruiting office. But, that's a story for another day. This new section makes up one quarter of the Logistics

  • Air Forces Associate Unit Arrives At Birmingham

    Webster defines the word "association" as an organized group of people who share a common interest, activity, or purpose. Pretty good word I think. Looking back through American history, we enjoy freedoms and liberties won by our forefathers and their associates. We all know that our Nation's first

  • Operation NOBLE EAGLE and the 117th Air Refueling Wing

    Operation NOBLE EAGLE is the North American Aerospace Defense Command initiative to aid in the defense of North American skies. The ongoing operation began Sept. 14, 2001, in response to the Sept. 11, terrorist attacks. The 117th ARW has played an important role in ONE from the beginning. Aircrews

  • A Promotion for a Star Officer

         A thirty-eight year veteran of the Air National Guard, and member of the 117 Air Refueling Wing, moves on to an office and a star at state headquarters.      I had the honor of meeting with Brig. Gen. Paul A. "Poke" Pocopanni and talking with him about his journey and legacy in the unit. As I