Amy Schlesing

Afghanistan-bound soldiers’ final week in state is tough one

The first deployment of Arkansas National Guard troops to Afghanistan will begin in less than a week with teary goodbyes beside rumbling buses at the Jonesboro armory.
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Veterans kept in service now due pay

Stop-loss policy extended military stints to keep wars’ ranks filled

Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars who were ordered to delay retirement or departure from the armed forces and deploy under the Pentagon’s “stop-loss policy” are now eligible for compensation for each month their service was extended.
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New airplanes lifting spirits at Guard wing

189th faces loss of avionics upgrade plan

The C-130 avionics upgrade program will be terminated with the passage of the current 2010 defense funding bills, but all is not lost for the 189th Airlift Wing of the Arkansas National Guard.
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Base goes west; 52nd activates

Adding squadron enhances its standing as C-130 leader

Lt. Col. Carlos Ortiz couldn't hide his enthusiasm Saturday as Col. David Kasberg passed the 52nd Airlift Squadron flag to him for the first time.
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Guard to teach Afghans to farm

More Arkansas soldiers to deploy

Another team of Arkansas National Guardsmen is headed to Afghanistan for a year, with deployment scheduled for late winter.
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Rise in troop suicides spurs prevention call

Maj. Gen. Bill Wofford on Friday said suicides this year have increased among his troops and asked the state's residents for help identifying soldiers and veterans struggling with mental stress or considering suicide.
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Full redo for C-130 rejected

Air Force advises: Pare avionics plan

U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz has recommended that the C-130 cargo plane avionics upgrade program be canceled and replaced with a less complex and cheaper upgrade of the fleet's air traffic control and defensive systems.
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Funding cutoff threatens upgrade of 189th C-130s

The C-130 cargo plane avionics upgrade program is again in jeopardy, threatened by slashed funding and a stalled timeline as Air Force leaders ponder whether to move forward with the program that for a decade has been scheduled for Little Rock Air Force Base.
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IN THE SKIES OF AFGHANISTAN Help coming from above

Arkansas C-130 crews make a difference in war

The war in Afghanistan has raged over the past eight years, fought primarily by U.S. Special Forces and foreign allies as Iraq's violence held America's attention.
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Tough 'Ombres march into history

NLR ceremony retires storied Army Reserve's 90th Command

Sgt. 1st Class Andy Knote took the flag tucked tightly in its canvas casing from his sergeant major Saturday and slowly walked through a cloud of smoke toward Camp Pike's historic gate in North Little Rock.
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