Military Briefs

By Staff
June 6, 2003
Airman 1st Class Matt Pope recently graduated from the Air Traffic Controllers Technician School.
Pope received his control tower operator's license and is now a certified air traffic controller with the U.S. Air Force.
After graduation from Clarkdale High School, Pope attended Mississippi State University earning a bachelor's of science degree. Pope is now stationed at Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio, Texas.
Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class James E. Williams Jr. recently returned from a six-month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea and Arabian Gulf while assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, homeported in Norfolk, Va.
Williams is the son of Loisteen Jefferson of Cedarbluff and James E. Williams Sr. of Macon.
Williams was one of more than 8,000 Atlantic Fleet sailors and Marines assigned to the ships and squadrons of the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Battle Group who participated in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.
Aviators flew 1,280 sorties off the deck of Williams' ship, accumulating more than 5,700 flight hours and expending more than 1 million pounds of ordnance.
Williams is a 1999 graduate of Noxubee High School of Macon and joined the Navy in July 1999.
Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Jennifer A. Wash recently completed a deployment to the Arabian Gulf while assigned to the guided missile destroyer USS Milius, homeported in San Diego.
Wash is the daughter of Emma R. Wash and Frankie L. Wash, both of Newton.
Wash was one of more than 8,000 Pacific Fleet sailors aboard the ships of the USS Constellation Carrier Battle Group who participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Her ship was one of the first of 30 U.S. Navy and coalition ships to launch Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles during military operations to disarm Iraq.
Wash is a 1999 graduate of Newton High School and joined the Navy in July 1999.
Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Zachary J. Stephens recently completed a deployment to the Arabian Gulf while assigned to the guided missile destroyer USS Milius, homeported in San Diego.
Stephens is the son of Betty J. Jones of Philadelphia.
Stephens was one of more than 8,000 Pacific Fleet sailors aboard the ships of the USS Constellation Carrier Battle Group who participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
His ship was one of the first of 30 U.S. Navy and coalition ships to launch Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles during military operations to disarm Iraq.
Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Kevin E. Campbell recently returned from the Mediterranean Sea and Arabian Gulf while assigned to Carrier Air Wing 3. The unit was embarked aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, homeported in Norfolk, Va.
Campbell is the son of Bertha M. Campbell of Scooba.
Campbell was one of more than 8,000 Atlantic Fleet sailors and Marines assigned to the ships and squadrons of the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Battle Group who participated in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.
Aviators flew 1,280 sorties off the deck of the USS Harry S. Truman, accumulating more than 5,700 flight hours and expending more than 1 million pounds of ordnance.
Campbell's unit is the command element tasked to coordinate offensive and defensive air operations for aircraft squadrons.
Campbell is a 1992 graduate of Kemper County High School of DeKalb and joined the Navy in June 1992.
Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Milton L. Jimison recently returned from a sixth-month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea and Arabian Gulf while assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, homeported in Norfolk, Va.
Jimison is the son of Mr. and Mr. Milton L. Jimison Sr. of Lauderdale.
Jimison was one of more than 8,000 Atlantic Fleet sailors and Marines assigned to the ships and squadrons of the USS Harry S. Truman who participated in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.
Aviators flew 1,280 sorties off the deck of Jimison's ship, accumulating more than 5,700 flight hours and expending more than 1 million pounds of ordnance.
Jimison is a 1991 graduate of Kemper County High School of DeKalb, and joined the Navy in July 1991.
Navy Seaman Malcolm H. McDaniel, whose wife Amber is the daughter of Debbie A. Nutt of Quitman, is serving in Southwest Asia while assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion-7 based in Gulfport.
McDaniel's unit continues to assist with convoys, watch-standing, radio operations, administrative coordination and project operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Naval mobile construction battalions such as McDaniel's provide military construction support to Navy, Marine Corps and other forces in military operations; construct base facilities; and are armed to conduct defensive operations.
Their motto "We build, We Fight" illustrates their ability to work and defend themselves at construction sites outside their base camp and convoy through unsecured areas.
Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Eddie D. Underwood, a 1995 graduate of Louisville High School, recently returned from a deployment of the Arabian Gulf while assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Constellation, homeported in San Diego.
Underwood was one of the more than 8,000 Pacific Fleet sailors aboard the ships of the USS Constellation Carrier Battle Group who participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Aviators flew 1,300 sorties off the deck of Underwood's ship, accumulating more than 4,000 flight hours and expending more than 1 million pounds of ordnance.
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Dustin E. Yeager, a 2001 graduate of Newton County High School in Decatur, is preparing to reboard ships of the USS Nassau Amphibious Ready Group while assigned to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit based in Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Yeager's unit had been on a routine overseas deployment since August 2002, participating in exercises and operations in Dijibouti, Kosovo, Kenya, the Arabian Gulf and Iraq. Yeager was preparing to return to his home base when he received orders to support Operation Iraqi Freedom in March.
Yeager's unit is an expeditionary intervention force with the ability to rapidly organize for combat operations in virtually any environment.
Marine Expeditionary Units are composed of more than 2,000 personnel and are divided into an infantry battalion, aircraft squadron, support group and command element.
With this combination, Yeager's unit supplies and sustains itself for quick mission accomplishment and for clearing the way for follow-on forces.