CLAY NATIONAL GUARD CENTER, Marietta, Ga., Oct. 31, 2011 – Since becoming Georgia’s Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. Jim Butterworth has made a point of personally meeting many of the Georgia National Guard’s estimated 14,000 Citizen-Soldiers, -Airmen and civilian employees to watch them train and work, and to offer them an opportunity to get to know him better as well. These trips, according to his staff, give the Guardsmen the opportunity to get to know him and his goals for the organization as it moves forward under his leadership.

With Butterworth on many of these trips has been Georgia’s Deputy Adjutant General Russell Carlson, Army Guard Commander Brig. Gen. Joe Jarrard, and Senior Enlisted Advisor Command Sgt. Maj. James Nelson.

During the latest trip, Butterworth and Jarrard spent time following Columbus’ 648th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade at the Florida Army Guard’s Camp Blanding near Stark as the unit prepared for its upcoming Afghanistan deployment. Both generals not only spoke to Soldiers and their leaders, but also participated in medical evacuation and convoy training to gain a first-hand look at how the brigade is gearing up for its mission.   

“There are three things I saw that day,” Butterworth recalled. “A high level of professionalism, a high level of readiness, and a high logistical investment to make this training as real as it can possibly be. These were Guardsmen at their best, getting ready to support the warfight with the same enthusiasm and the same steadfast commitment they would give to any mission to support civil authority on the home front.”

First Lt. Marc Pfrogner, an infantry officer who left the Georgia Army Guard’s Recruiting and Retention Battalion to deploy with the 648th, says he is quite impressed that Butterworth and Jarrard made the effort to visit.

"It’s not every day you have a two-star general ride in your vehicle on a training lane,” Pfronger said. “I have to admit, it was fun briefing them and then having them ride along. Their presence actually added even more realism to the training, seeing as how we could possibly have VIPs with us at times while we’re in country."

Trips before the one to Blanding saw Butterworth, Carlson and Nelson  meeting with the officers, Airmen, Soldiers and civilians who facilitate Warner Robins’ 116th Air Control Wing’s Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (J-STARS) mission. After his meeting with Brig. Gen. William Welsh, the wing commander, Butterworth participated in the awarding of the Georgia Medal for Valor to a member of the 116th’s explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) team.

"What a great experience to have the adjutant general honor someone like me,” said Master Sgt. Gregory Stephens, the noncommissioned officer-in-charge of the EOD team and the medal recipient. “I don’t believe there is anyone who met him [Butterworth] who wasn’t left with the impression that he cares about us and our families as much as he cares about making the Georgia Guard better than it is.”

Butterworth followed up that visit with one to Macon’s 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT), where he met with the officers and Soldiers who make up the brigade headquarters. Among them were Col. John King, the brigade commander; Lt. Col. Randall Simmons, King’s deputy commander; and the IBCT’s senior enlisted leader, Command Sgt. Maj. Joseph E. Recker Jr.

“As we move forward, we have a plan to make the Georgia National Guard better than it already is, and we will stick to that plan,” Butterworth told King and his staff. “Stabilization, training, quality people and the good stewardship of resources is vital to the success of any organization, and we have that because of people like you.”

Speaking on behalf of the 48th, Simmons said everyone, from their commander down, was grateful that General Butterworth thought enough of them to visit, get their views on the organization, and to share his own with them.

“Knowing that he [Butterworth] is quite busy, everyone appreciates his being here to share his vision, his intent for the future – our future,” Simmons said. “What better way for a senior leader to get to know the folks who carry out the plan and who do the tasking than to spend time with them while they are in action, hearing their thoughts and opinions about the organization they so proudly serve?”

The week following the Macon trip found Butterworth, Jarrard and Nelson calling on the more than 200 Soldiers of Marietta’s 3rd Squadron, 108th Cavalry, 560th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, who are at the Indiana Army Guard’s Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center in Edinburgh, preparing for deployment in support of NATO peacekeeping mission Kosovo 15 (KFOR 15).

While 3rd Squadron is only one part of the force taking on the KFOR mission, the unit will comprise the largest portion of troops falling under Multinational Battle Group East, which will also include Soldiers from Wisconsin, Mississippi, Nebraska, Vermont, North Dakota, New Jersey, Wyoming, Massachusetts, and Puerto Rico.

“The fact that Georgia is providing about half of the ‘boots on the ground’ who are here at Atterbury training for this deployment makes me quite proud that our guys are playing such a big role in that mission,” said Butterworth. “There is no question in my mind that they will represent Georgia and the U.S. very well.”

As he continues to move across the state, visiting units and Guard offices as much as his schedule will allow, Butterworth has made it clear that everyone who is a part of the organization is important to its success.

“Every one of us – Soldier, Airman, civilian employee and family member – should be proud of who we are, what we do and what our organization has done and will continue to do in the service of our state and our nation,” he said. “We are family, we are the National Guard, and we will always give more than our best to being the best.”

Story by the Public Affairs Office

Georgia Department of Defense

(Contributions to this story were also made by Master Sgt. Roger Parson, 116th Air Control Wing Public Affairs; Staff Sgt. Stacey Flury, 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team UPAR; Staff Sgt. Matt Scotten, Atterbury-Muscatatuck Public Affairs; and the 648th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade Public Affairs Office)