From the Adjutant General

Guard MEGuard MEGuard MEGuard MEGuard ME

The Magazine ofthe Maine Army National GuardWinter 2001

Public Affairs Officer

Major Eldon Hardwick

Editors

SFC Angela BlevinsMSG Daniel Fortin

Staff

SSG Carl Weiss

Technical Support

CW3 Mark Houdlette

Guard ME

is an unofficial quar-terly publication authorized un-der the provisions of AR 360-81and NGR 37-78 and producedby the Public Affairs Office,Military Bureau, HeadquartersMEARNG, Camp Keyes,Augusta, ME 04333-0033.Telephone (207) 626-4335.Views and opinions expressedare not necessarily those of theDepartment of the Army. TheAdjutant General is MG JosephE. Tinkham, II.

WantedPhotographs and Story Ideas

Guard ME is currently accepting photographs and stories ideas forfuture issues. Send photographs, stories, comments and questionsto:To the EditorGuard MEPublic Affairs OfficeMaine Army National Guard HeadquartersCamp Keyes, Augusta, ME 04333MG Joseph E. Tinkham, II

All soldiers, except the green-est recruit, have had drilled into themthe requirement to use their chain of command to have grievances addressedor complaints heard. This is particu-larly important because a soldier’s lead-ers need to know what is going onwithin their unit and the state of moraleof each individual soldier. It is also im-portant because the final resolution of the vast majority of these issues is ulti-mately solved in the unit chain of com-mand.Thus, the soldier’s first step isto speak with his or her immediate su-pervisor, working up the line until theissue is resolved or it becomes clear thatno resolution is possible. But, what if the grievance is with the soldier’s unitchain of command or the unit can’tseem to get to a clear answer or solu-tion?In this case, the first consider-ation should be given to remainingwithin the chain, but requesting tospeak with someone up a link or two,say the Battalion Commander or CSM.No one can deny a soldier this right, butyou must follow the unit chain to getthere. If the issue is too personal orsensitive to discuss at the lower levelsof command, fine, don’t discuss it. But,you should follow and use the chain torequest an audience above your boss,right up to me, if appropriate.

There are circumstances, to be sure,when the chain of command must becircumvented. This is a judgement callon your part, and your judgement, mis-placed or otherwise, will not be criti-cized.Any soldier in the Maine ArmyNational Guard may turn to my Inspec-tor General, the IG. Our current IG isColonel Joseph Wannemacher, a JAGCorps officer, a traditional MaineGuardsman who also works for theMaine Attorney General’s office here inAugusta. Instructions for reachingColonel Wannemacher should be onyour unit bulletin boards. To supple-ment this column, you can find the IGinformation displayed in this edition of Guard ME.The IG works directly for me.He has the rank and status to break down barriers to get attention and an-swers. Issues brought to the attentionof the IG will get action. That actionmay take various forms, often rightback through the chain of command.No soldier can be punished for usingthe IG, and the IG is also sensitive toavoid putting soldiers with complaintsin awkward situations.In closing, if you or a soldieryou know has an issue needing resolu-tion, give the full chain of command achance to address it. If the traditionaluse of the chain of command fails you,don’t quit on us, call the IG. We can’tsolve every situation to everyone’s sat-isfaction, but if you think you are right,work the chain or call the IG.

Using The Chain ofCommand

Editors Note:

Colonel Wannemacher can be reached at: 626-4288. Leave your phone number and he will return your call.

On the Cover...

Display of Civil War Battle Flags and apicture of Brevet General Joshua Cham-berlain at the Annual Meeting of theMaine Military Historical Society.

(Photo by: MSG Daniel Fortin, PA)

Guard ME Winter 2001

In This Issue

Page 2

–Comments from theAdjutant General

Page 3

–Mountain Companytrains at KatahdinScout Resevation

Page 4

–Lead Climbers'Lead the Way'

Page 5

–Boy Scouts earnbadge with helpfrom the ArmyNational Guard

Page 6

–Maine HistoricalSociety's AnnualMeeting HonorsJoshua Chamber-lain

Page 7

–Stephen King plugsMaine Guard Benefit

Page 8

–Maine NationalGuard begins 'pow-wow' with Maine'snative Americans

Page 9

–Maine Guard His-tory: The Guard onNaval Vessels?

Page 10

–Promotions

Page 11

–Comments from theState CommandSergeant Major

The Magazine of the Maine Army National Guard – Winter 2001

Mountain Company testsit's 'Vertical Limits'

By: SSG Carl Weiss, PA

Drawing upon Mother Nature toprovide the requisite winter weather andusing the hilly terrain of the KatahdinScout Reservation as its backdrop, sol-diers of the 3/172

Mountain Companyassaulted a 200 foot cliff at the normallyserene scout camp in Eddington Maine,January 6-7, 2001. Using the terrain totheir advantage, lead climbers placedfixed ropes up the cliff, to aid eachplatoon’s advance to their objective. Thatobjective, a rogue element of enemytroops dug in atop the cliff, was to be met,engaged and then eliminated.Normally a commander or pla-toon leader is looking at the most likelyavenue of approach when he plans an as-sault. Issues like type of terrain, possibletime of attack, condition of his troops andthe mission come into play. The enemylooks at this as well. He will place histroops defensively in accordance withwhat the offensive troops are liable to do.“We look for the least likely avenue of approach, and try to incorporate this intoour plans,” Captain Will L. Dionne, Com-pany Commander of the Mountain Com-pany said.Captain Dionne went on to saythat the enemy probably isn’t going tolook down a steep cliff and think that anassault would come from that direction.This plays right into the MountainInfantry's hands. On an offensive note,the Maine soldiers are looking to sneak inthe backdoor.The Mountain Company is partof a battalion, with troops stationed inNew Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Is-land. These soldiers are the Army’s onlytroops whose primary mission is to train

See 'Mountain Company' page 5

Two soldiers of the 3/172d Mountain Company carry a 'wounded buddy' away from the objective, after determining that he was 'injured' during the assault. (Photo by: SSG Carl Weiss, PA)