IRON MIKE

Main Post Chapel

Jakhari Herbia age 12, who plays quarterback, scans the field to find an open receiver down field.

Iron Mike is a bronze statue that stands at the Harry Byrd Visitor Center in the Shenandoah National Park in Central Virginia. He is dedicated to the more than 10,000 young men who served in the Civilian Conservation Corps between 1933 and 1942.

Camera: Nikon N60

Film: Kodak Tri X 400, Pushed to 1600

Chemistry: Kodak HC 110 (B), 16 minutes

Blogged: Iron Mike and Miss Greene County

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This week’s ‘Lightning’ Brigade Soldier

of the week is Staff Sgt. Bradley Costa, an intelligence specialist with Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 319th Military Intelligence Battalion.

Master Sgt. Joseph Stark of the 95th Airlift Squadron, tries out gear aboard a C-130 during a bosslift for civilian supervisors and employers of Reserve Airmen from the 440th Airlift Wing, March 13.

Performers in traditional Puerto Rican costumes dance at the Fort Bragg Hispanic Heritage Observance Oct. 8, 2009. by Staff Sgt. Jacob A. McDonald

From the book, Real Chicago Sports.

Spc. Michael Harris and Spc. Selina Barry, Advanced

Individual Training students, enjoy the rides at the Fort

Bragg Fair, May 3, at the Fort Bragg Fairgrounds. On

Sunday, mothers will be admitted free when accompanied

by a paying child 36 inches or taller, up to age 17 as

part of the Mother’s Day special

Billy Currington 15 May 2015

Eric Ogden builds the pitcher’s mound at the new MLB field on Fort Bragg. The field will host the first ever major league baseball game on a military installation.

Fort Bragg children gather at the North Post Exchange June 6 to become padawans and learn the ways of the force. The children were instructed on using a lightsaber to defend against the Dark Side at this Star Wars training like a Jedi event. In the end each participant received a certificate proclaiming their accomplishments as a Jedi padawan.

The Jedi training event was hosted by the Post Exchange for the Fort Bragg community. It took place at the North and South Post Exchange. Exchange employees dressed as Jedi masters to train the children on the ways of the force.

Red and Seminole bats.

Spc. Wilfred Alemany, Company E, 1st Battalion, 82nd Attack Reconnaissance Brigade peruses the aisles at the Fort Bragg Army Community Service Lending Closet. The closet has a large assortment of household items PCSing Soldiers can borrow.

A heavy load rolls off the ramp of a C-130 Hercules aircraft above Nimegen drop zone during a Bosslift, March 13 that included supervisors and employers assigned to the Air

Force Reserve’s 440th Airlift Wing. The flight was also the last flight for Maj. Richard Galley, who served 23 years in the Air Force.

The Iron Mike Award for Volunteer Service Gold Star is an elite award presented by the Army Volunteer Corps to any adult who has a minimum of 1,000 documented volunteer hours (500 for youth). In an award ceremony at the Iron Mike Conference Center, Nov. 2, Josette Van Pelt received the Gold Star for her contributions to four organizations — the 82nd Airborne Division; 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade; 1st Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment; and the Gordon Elementary School Parent Teacher Association.

Children and teachers celebrated the success of military children and the month of the military child on April 21 at Hampton Primary School. The celebration was led by a performance by the all American Band, who sung and played pop songs and entertained the children.

Command Sgt. Maj. William G. Elliot, left and Col. Erik O. Gilbert present an Iron Mike statue to the guest speaker, Ravi Chaudhray, May 12. Chaudhray is the exectuvie director for Regions and Center Operations at the Federal Aviation Administration.

Chaudhray is a former Air Force officer, with 21 years of service. He also served at the Pentagon as a speechwriter and strategic planner in the Secretary of the Air Force Executive Action Group and deputy chief of staff for Air Force Strategic Plans and Programs. In 2014, he was appointed as member of the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders by President Barack Obama.

Black History Month is February and a cake-cutting ceremony was held Wednesday at Fort Bragg’s North Post Exchange to kick off the observance. Members from the

43rd Airlift Group and 44th Medical Brigade provided cake to those in attendance. Tracee McNeil, right, also gave a presentation about African-American history.

Spc. Colby Thomas, an infantryman assigned to Company C, 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, ascends a rope at an obstacle course during the last leg of long range surveillance selection, June 24, at Fort Bragg, N.C. The obstacle course was the final determining selection event for F Company (Long range surveillance), Headquarters Battalion, XVIII Airborne Corps. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Paige Behringer, 10th Press Camp Headquarters)Hometown: Riverton, UT

Paratroopers from 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division participated in the Towle Megellas completion on Fort Bragg, 8 May. (Sgt Almon Bate, 40th Public Affairs Detachment)

Fort Bragg to host third annual combatives tournament

Latvian jumpmasters conduct aircraft familiarization training on U.S. Army aircraft at Simmons Airfield on Fort Bragg, N.C., Dec. 2, 2015. The jumpmasters demonstrated procedures in order to conduct a jump in support of Operation Toy Drop.

Fort Bragg played host to 21 regional community leaders, Oct. 26 as part of the Leadership Fort Bragg program.

The program connects civic leaders and military personnel stationed at Fort Bragg to foster community relations

Allie Polacek pauses at the top of her deadlift and waits for a passing mark from the judge during the Fort Bragg Powerlifting Tournament at Ritz-Epps Physical Fitness Center,

Saturday. Polacek placed second in the womens 181 pound weight class with a total of 665 pounds.

Staff Sgt. Markella Embree, monitors the aircraft as a flight engineer assigned to the 95th Airlift Squadron, during a bosslift that included supervisors and employers of Reserve Airmen from the 440th Airlift Wing.

The 2016 Pinehurst Concours d'Elegance and Iron Mike Car Show returned to Fort Bragg, April 29, at the Main Post Polo Field.

Leslie Rosas, left, spars with Kelly Kawacki during the October Old School Smoker Buddy Bout at Sports USA, Friday.

Brig. Gen. John E. Deedrick, 1st Special Forces Command’ deputy commanding general and civil affairs Vietnam veterans unveil the civil affairs memorial stone at the Army Special Operations Memorial Plaza at Fort Bragg, June 3. The memorial stone immortalizes and honors the civil affairs Soldiers from the 2nd, 29th and 41st civil affairs companies.

The 21st Military Police kickball team wins the Fort Bragg 2016 kickball championship game in a walk-off fashion at Pope Field, Sept. 7.

Standing, from left to right: Corey Largent, Pvt. Earlgrabiel Ituralde, Sgt. Drake Largent, Pvt. Marcus Royster, Sgt. Tyler Ellis, Spc. Angel Almanza,

Pfc. Chaniesha James, Spc. Robert Griffin, Spc. Anthony Lewis. Kneeling, from left to right: Capt. Adam Herring and Sgt. Juan Ortiz.

Soldiers and civilians work side-by-side during Vibrant Response 2015 at Camp Atterbury, Indiana, April 23. Vibrant Response is a field training exercise designed to confirm the operational readiness of the Department of Defense’s specialized forces tasked to respond to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear incidents in support of local, state, federal and civilian agencies.

Gale Yandell, with the International Fellowship of Chaplains leads training for Fayetteville and Fort Bragg fire department chaplains, Aug. 11, at Fayetteville Firehouse 19.

Family member of a

volunteer and Army retiree, dines on barbeque, April

14, at McKellar’s Lodge. Volunteers have a significant impact on Fort Bragg, saving the installation

more than $18 million in 2015.

519th Military Intelligence Battalion command sergeant major Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Quinn passes the ‘Thunder’ Battalion guideon to former ‘Thunder’ Battalion commander Ltc. Joshua Fulmer for the last time during a change of command ceremony November 24 at Lightning Field.

Suzy Goodwin runs the North Carolina Halloween Half Marathon in Fayetteville, Oct. 30.

Goodwin set a Guinness World Record in the race for the fastest half marathon time while

pushing a triple stroller.

Southern Trouble vs Total Pitchez

Latvian jumpmasters conduct aircraft familiarization training on U.S. Army aircraft at Simmons Airfield on Fort Bragg, N.C., Dec. 2, 2015. The jumpmasters demonstrated procedures in order to conduct jumps in support of Operation Toy Drop.