Woman to command ADA Brigade

Army, Sep 2002

Woman to Command ADA Brigade.

Col. Heidi V. Brown became the first woman to take charge of an Air Defense Artillery (ADA) brigade when she took over command of the 31st ADA from Col. Charles A. Anderson on July 12. Col. Brown had previously commanded 2nd Battalion (Patriot), 43rd ADA. She was also the first female to command a Patriot ADA battalion. Col. Brown is not focused on such precedents. "Someday, gender will be a nonissue in these positions," she commented.

Documentary on Pentagon Attack.

"We Were On Duty," a first-person oral history of the September 11 attack on the Pentagon, will air nationwide on National Public Radio stations in September.

Because the Pentagon attack was dwarfed by the disaster at the World Trade Center, America has yet to hear the stories of the Pentagon survivors. This hour-long documentary without narration tells the stories of those in the Pentagon who survived.

Many of the stories describe the struggle to escape from the burning building and the challenges of coping with the aftermath of the attack.

To learn more, see the Public Radio Collaboration web site (http://access. mpr.org/features/0201_collaboration/index.shtml). The program will run in early September.

Army Fights Oregon Blaze. Active duty and National Guard soldiers helped firefighters in Oregon defeat wildfires that burned more than 233,000 acres in 18 locations across the state.

The Oregon National Guard provided 655 soldiers, most coming from the 3rd Battalion 116th Cavalry and 1st Battalion, 82nd Cavalry. Four heavy-hauling Chinook helicopters, a specially outfitted Firehawk and a Black Hawk helicopter with a water tank made up the air component. The Oregon National Guard has helped put out 13 fires in the last six years.

The U.S. Army provided 550 soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery out of Fort Riley, Kan. Putting down their weapons for shovels and wide-bladed pick-axes, the soldiers received a course in fire fighting from the National Interagency Fire Center before heading off to fight the blaze. Fifty Guard soldiers driving 20 cargo trucks also helped.

More than 10,000 firefighters fought the fires, which started by lightning.