RADM Faller Named Centcom Director of Operations, BG Brown Nominated For Second Star

Posted Feb 21, 2012 by Howard Altman

Updated Feb 21, 2012 at 04:43 PM

Less than a year after assuming command of Carrier Strike Group Three, RADM (lower half) Craig S. Faller is finding himself on land as Director of Operations for U.S. Central Command.

As director, he will plan and coordinate operations for Centcom, according to spokesman Maj. T.G. Taylor.

The announcement was made today by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert.

According to Faller’s official Navy bio:

Faller assumed command of Carrier Strike Group Three, May 24, 2011. He most recently served as Commander, Navy Recruiting Command.

A 1983 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and a native of Fryburg, Penn., Faller earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Systems Engineering and his master’s in National Security Affairs (Strategic Planning) from the Naval Postgraduate School in 1990.

At sea, he served as reactor electrical division officer, electrical officer and reactor training assistant in USS South Carolina (CGN 37); operations Officer in USS Peterson (DD 969); station officer in USS Enterprise (CVN 65), and executive officer of USS John Hancock (DD 981). As commanding officer of USS Stethem (DDG 63), he deployed to the Arabian Gulf and participated in Maritime Interception Operations in support of United Nations sanctions against Iraq. During his tour as commanding officer of USS Shiloh (CG 67), he assisted victims of the devastating tsunami off Indonesia. Other operational assignments included executive assistant to the Commander, U.S. Pacific Command and Commander, U.S. Central Command.

Ashore, Faller was assigned to the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Plans, Policy and Operations); served as a legislative fellow on the staff of Senator Edward M. Kennedy; and as head of Surface Nuclear Officer Programs and Placement at Navy Personnel Command, and as executive assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations.

Faller’s awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (four awards), Meritorious Service Medal (three awards), Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (four awards), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal and various unit, service and campaign awards.

In other Centcom general news, congrats to Brig. Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., deputy director, operations, J-3, at U.S. Central Command.

Brown is one of 25 Air Force generals to be nominated for a second star by President Barack Obama.

Brown graduated from Texas Tech University as a distinguished graduate of Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps.

According to his official Air Force biography:

He has held various squadron and wing level positions during operational assignments to include instructing in the F-16 Division, U.S. Air Force Weapons School. His staff tours include aide-de-camp to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force; air operations officer, U.S. Central Command; Deputy Chief, Program Integration Division, Directorate of Programs; and later Director, Secretary of the Air Force and Chief of Staff Executive Action Group, Headquarters U.S. Air Force. He has also been a National Defense Fellow at the Institute for Defense Analyses, Alexandria, Va.

General Brown has served as a fighter squadron commander, Commandant of the U.S. Air Force Weapons School, and Commander, 8th Fighter Wing. Prior to his current assignment, he was the Commander, 31st Fighter Wing, Aviano Air Base, Italy. The general is a command pilot with more than 2,850 flying hours, including 85 combat hours.

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Scholarship Launched In Honor Of Gunny Terry Ball Jr. , Killed in Iraq in 2005

Posted Feb 21, 2012 by Howard Altman

Updated Feb 21, 2012 at 10:45 AM

How much does the Tampa Bay area love its Marines?

A lot, going by the more than 1,000 people who showed up at Tampa International Airport on Sunday to welcome home Cpl. Mike Nicholson, who lost three limbs in Afghanistan.

Now there’s a new cause on behalf of a local Marine.

The Marine Corps Scholarship Fund has established a scholarship in memory of Gunnery Sgt. Terry Ball Jr., who died after being injured by a roadside bomb on August 5, 2005 near Al Karmah, Iraq.

Ball left behind a wife and three children.  The Tampa Bay committee will launch the scholarship at this year’s 18th annual charity golf tournament on Monday, March 26. The event will be held at the Emerald Greens Golf Resort, 13903 Clubhouse Dr., Tampa.

Retired Major General Gene Deegan, the Tampa Bay committee leader,  stated “each year we are overwhelmed by the generosity of individuals and members of our local business community in Tampa Bay. It is through this continued support that we have been provided with the opportunity to recognize Gunny Ball for his sacrifice by naming a scholarship in his honor.”

Donations made online at http://www.MCSF.org/TampaBayGolf will go directly to the Gunny Ball Scholarship fund.

Federal Tax ID # is 22-1905062

For more information, contact Deegan at (813) 968-9635

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Wounded Tampa Marine Comes Home To Hero’s Welcome

Posted Feb 19, 2012 by Howard Altman

Updated Feb 19, 2012 at 07:03 PM

For months, a young Marine underwent grueling rehab after losing three limbs to an IED in Afghanistan.

For months, his family worried and waited to see him come home.

For months, a community rallied, rebuilding his home.

Sunday afternoon, the wait was over. Cpl. Michael Nicholson, a Plant High School graduate, arrived back home for a month leave.

My colleague Keith Morelli was at the airport and captured the dramatic return.

U.S. Marine Cpl. Mike Nicholson emerged from the Tampa International Airport Airside F shuttle today to a resonating roar from about 1,000 people welcoming the wounded soldier home after he lost both legs and his left arm in an explosion in Afghanistan seven months ago.

Nicholson slowly pushed is own wheelchair down the gauntlet of people thanking him for his service and sacrifice. The 22-year-old Tampa native and Plant High School graduate greeted everyone with a smile and handshake, appearing at times to be overcome with emotion.

Supporters closed in around him as he made his way through the terminal.

Michelle Brooks said she came here for support. Her son is a Marine who fought in Afghanistan. She doesn’t know Nicholson.

“I’m paying it back instead of paying it forward,” she said. And with tears forming in her eyes, she said, “This doesn’t feel any different than if it was my own son.”

For the young and vibrant-looking Nicholson, this is his first trip home since his injury.

His grueling rehabilitation has been anything but easy at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. — hours upon hours of strenuous work just to be able to move from one spot to another. With a Marine’s determination, though, Nicholson has made tremendous improvements, and it appears his bad times may be behind him.

Nicholson, who is still with the Marines, is home for a short visit but will soon head back to Walter Reed for more therapy.

The first thing on his list of things to do when he arrived in Tampa: Take an afternoon ride down Bayshore Boulevard.

So his escort, comprised of some 50 flag-bearing motorcycles ridden by representatives of Patriot Guards from both sides of the bay, patrol cars and other well-wishers, accompanied the Marine from the airport to downtown, where the procession headed south along the iconic Bayshore Boulevard.

Along the way were hundreds of people holding welcome-home signs and American flags that snapped in the riptide wind.

Nicholson’s greatest challenge in his two-plus decades of life began while he was on patrol in Afghanistan on July 6, when his squad came under attack and an improvised explosive device was detonated.

After the welcome-home ceremonies concluded at Christ the King Catholic Church in South Tampa, Nicholson headed home to the house where he grew up in South Tampa. It’s not the same, though: A community volunteer effort under way since August led to the construction of a 300-square-foot addition to the house with amenities to accommodate Nicholson’s condition.

Richard Hartmann, the Tampa architect who designed the addition, said he and the Nicholson family attend Christ the King Catholic Church, though he has never met the wounded Marine.

The call for help went out, and the entire community stepped up, he said. Dozens of subcontractors called offering services free of charge. Materials were donated at every turn. The project, which normally would have cost about $75,000, ended up costing $13,000, he said. That was paid for out of fund that aids wounded veterans.

“This experience has made me proud to live here in Tampa,” Hartmann said. “This was a community effort.”

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MacDill Runway Reopens, Its Birds Soon To Return Home

Posted Feb 17, 2012 by Howard Altman

Updated Feb 17, 2012 at 09:21 PM

After a brief period where visitors to Tampa International Airport saw KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refueling jets in addition to the usual passenger jets, the runway at MacDill Air Force Base will reopen.

MacDill’s runway has been closed for repairs since Jan. 31 and reopened after completion of routine maintenance.

The 6th Air Mobility Wing’s aircraft will return home over the next few days, according to a MacDill media alert.

“We are very appreciative of Tampa International Airport’s willingness to work with us and allow our mission to continue, it’s another wonderful example of Tampa being an Air Force town,” said Col. Matt Molineux, 6th Operations Group commander.

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Clearwater Coast Guard Unit Wins DoD Family Readiness Award

Posted Feb 17, 2012 by Howard Altman

Updated Feb 17, 2012 at 09:29 PM

Congrats to Coast Guard Port Security Unit 307.

The Clearwater-based unit was presented the 2011 Reserve Family Readiness Award by the Department of Defense in a ceremony at the Pentagon today.

According to a PSU 307 Media Release:

The RFRA is presented to the top unit in each of the reserve components of the armed forces that demonstrate outstanding family readiness while maintaining superior mission readiness.

“PSU 307 is honored to be receiving this prestigious award,” said Cmdr. Andrew Wallace, PSU 307’s commanding officer. “Our families’ strong support through our recent deployment to the Middle East ensured that all of our members in the field could safely and successfully complete the mission.”

During their recent deployment in of support U.S. Central Command, PSU 307 actively educated unit members and their families about resources available to them. This included a network of support to assist families in emergency situations and to maintain regular contact with families of deployed members. Due to the extensive dispersion of unit members, the unit Ombudsman and the Coast Guard Yellow Ribbon staff traveled extensively to where unit families were and where the need was greatest to help alleviate
deployment stress and anxiety.

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