Photo By Capt. Michael Thompson | Family members crowd around Cpt. Hubert Thompson for a group photo after the ADT III...... read more read more
CLAY NATIONAL GUARD CENTER, Marietta, Ga., – The Georgia National Guard’s 201st Regional Support Group held a departure ceremony at Fort Gordon Friday morning as the unit prepares for a yearlong deployment to Afghanistan as an Agribusiness Development Team (ADT). Friends and family gathered in a small gym on post to give last minute hugs, kisses and goodbyes before the unit departed for Camp Atterbury Joint Mobilization Training Center in Indiana.
“The unique military and civilian skills possessed by these Soldiers will open the eyes of the Afghan people giving a door of opportunity for peace and democracy to a land that had no hope or future,” said Col. Michael Scholes, the 78th Homeland Response Force commander. The 78th Homeland Response Force is the higher headquarters to the 201st RSG.
Just before Christmas, the ADT III completed pre-mobilization training at Fort Stewart earning the second highest grade in the state at 97 percent.
Earlier last year, selected personnel attended an agriculture boot camp at the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton hosted by the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. ABAC’s expertise in different agriculture sciences allowed for the Soldiers to gain knowledge in bee keeping, seed types, soil types, greenhouses, watershed management, dairy and cattle management, and other farming techniques.
“I was very impressed with this group,” said Steve Brown, Associate Dean for Extension with the UGA CAES. “We put them through a pretty tough week of intense agriculture training. I have to give our scientists credit, they really dug in and found out as much as they could about crops being grown, soil, and the climate in Afghanistan so we could give them the best training that they could use on their mission.”
The ADT will also undertake projects to improve the expertise of Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock (MAIL) employees and the general knowledge of farmers in the area. Specific areas of expertise and experience for the ADT members include agriculture (traditional farming), horticulture (orchards and vineyards), pest management, irrigation, animal husbandry, food processing, marketing, agricultural engineering, soil science, ice production, and storage.
The Georgia National Guard has made a three-year commitment to provide ADTs in Afghanistan. The first of these deployed for Southeastern Afghanistan in the spring of 2011. The majority of the service members come from the 201st Regional Support Group and the 265th Regional Support Group.
| Date Taken: | 01.04.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 01.05.2013 10:52 |
| Story ID: | 100003 |
| Location: | AUGUSTA, GA, US |
| Web Views: | 223 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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